We recently spent five weeks in colorful Oaxaca de Juarez in southern Mexico. There is much to love about this city, however, we both grew up in places full of lakes, rivers and ocean and Oaxaca city is very dry.
Luckily, three weeks into our stay, the new highway to the beautiful Oaxacan coast opened, reducing driving time from Oaxaca to just 3 hours instead of a stomach churning 8+ plus hours on a winding road. Needless to say, we didn’t waste any time planning a four-day getaway from the city.
The new highway ends in the coastal city of Puerto Escondido, but we wanted to stay somewhere smaller and quieter. After researching the options along the coast, we decided on the peaceful village of San Agustinillo. This seaside hamlet is about 40 minutes from Puerto Escondido, sandwiched between the popular beach towns of Mazunte and Zipolite.
Why We Chose H20 Container Cabins
Once we had decided on our destination we began the search for accommodation. San Agustinillo does not have mega resorts and chain hotels but there are plenty of other options including basic guest houses, boutique hotels, beach cabanas and other unique accommodations.
Because of our love for the uncommon we decided on H20 Container Cabins. As the name hints at, the unique feature of H20 is the fact that the guest suites and the two swimming pools are made from re-purposed containers. We’ve seen containers repurposed into shops, bars and restaurants but container cabins and container pools were something new to us. So, we just couldn’t resist booking this unique glamping in Mexico style accommodation.
How to Get to H20 in San Agustinillo
San Agustinillo is just under 90 minutes’ drive time from Puerto Escondido. If you are driving from Oaxaca in your own car, you can easily make it to San Agustinillo in just over four hours without stops.
If you’re taking public transportation there are several ways to go and we will be covering them in a separate post. For this trip we took the ADO bus to Puerto Escondido, then a shuttle to San Antonio followed by a taxi to San Agustinillo. It cost us $500 Pesos per person and took about 5 hours in total from Oaxaca city.
H20 Container Cabins are on the main street, just past the center of San Agustinillo on the left as you’re going towards Zipolite.
H20 Accommodations
Don’t let the idea of sleeping in a container deter you, the suites are beautiful and comfortable with rustic but contemporary décor. Each container suite has a private palapa covered terrace overlooking the pools with Acapulco-style chairs and a hammock for relaxing.
There are two options for the container suites: 6 standard doubles and 2 family bungalows.
The double suites are entered from the deck through sliding glass doors. Inside is a comfy king-size bed, a mini fridge, a coffee maker, a small wardrobe and an AC unit. But the thing that we fell in love with was the bathroom!
You step through frosted sliding glass doors from your bedroom into the bathroom which has a palapa roof. The ingenious designers used the container doors to open up and form two of the four walls of the bathroom and then created a cement wall for the large shower wall.
There is space between the top of the walls and the palapa roof letting in fresh air and giving the feeling of an outdoor shower but with full privacy. The shower is massive with a stone seat, plants and two shower heads: rain shower and moveable arm.
The family bungalows are two containers stacked on top of each other and each has a terrace and king size bed but there is only one shared bathroom which is on the main floor.
H20 Grounds and Amenities
The complex is small and compact with the container suites terraced around the two pools in the center. Just steps from any one of the container suites are 2 lovely container pools for dipping, each with a small deck for lounging. One pool is about chest deep for an adult and the other is deeper. At night the pools are lit and create a beautiful ambience.
Lush landscaping and jungle plants surround the cabins and pools making you feel like you’re immersed in nature and in the eveing there are twinkling lights in the trees for a romantic vibe.
They also have a small restaurant and bar on site open for breakfast and dinner. Dinner is freshly made wood fire oven pizza from Ric’s Pizza. We had been eating incredible local dishes in Oaxaca but we had tried and failed to find decent pizza in Oaxaca until we came to H20.
The pizza oven is out in the open and Ric, the pizza chef, puts on a great show of kneading and tossing the dough before topping it and popping it into the hot oven. Based on the amount of food delivery drivers coming and going the secret is out that this is the best pizza on the coast!
H20 Container Cabins are not on the beach but it’s just a 5-minute walk down a lovely shaded path that opens up to a long stretch of soft golden sand and crashing waves.
Final Thoughts
If you’re looking for a quiet place close to the town center and the beach H20 is a great choice for location. Add to that the comfort, design and uniqueness of H20 Container Cabins and we have no hesitation in saying that you will love your stay here.
If you do go, make sure to say hello to Luis and tell him we sent you!
Born in England, Sarah developed her wanderlust at a young age as she traveled around Europe with her parents. As a young adult she spent every penny she could on experiences as opposed to possessions. Eventually she found a way to earn a living doing what she loved: traveling, writing and capturing images of the wondrous world we live in. When not on the go Sarah enjoys time in her “sometimes home” of Vancouver.