Casa Franquilo

About the spa

Step into a world of tranquility at Casa Franquilo's Spa & Wellness sanctuary.

From rejuvenating massages and body treatments to holistic rituals inspired by local Oaxacan traditions, every experience is crafted to melt away tension and nourish the soul. Let the gentle sounds of the Pacific be your soundtrack as you surrender to pure relaxation.

We recommend booking spa treatments in advance, particularly during peak season, to ensure availability during your stay.

The pool

Cool off, float away, or simply lounge poolside with a drink in hand.

Our stunning pool is the beating heart of Casa Franquilo. Framed by lush tropical greenery and kissed by the ocean breeze, it's the perfect place to let the day drift by at its own sweet pace.

Towels and sun loungers are provided complimentary for all guests. Poolside service from La Brisa Dorada is available throughout the day.

Pool information

Our restaurant

Bold flavors, locally sourced ingredients, and dishes that honor tradition while embracing creativity.

La Hacienda is Casa Franquilo's signature dining experience, celebrating the vibrant and soulful flavors of Mexican coastal cuisine. Our chefs work closely with local fishermen, farmers, and producers to bring the very best of Oaxaca's rich culinary heritage to your table — morning, noon, and night.

Whether you join us for a leisurely breakfast with a view of the gardens, a long and indulgent lunch, or a candlelit dinner as the Pacific breeze drifts through the terrace, every meal at La Hacienda is an occasion to savor.

Reservations are recommended for dinner. Guests of Casa Franquilo receive priority seating.

Our beach bar

There is no better seat in Puerto Escondido than at La Brisa Dorada.

Where the drinks are cold, the views are endless, and the vibe is effortlessly golden. La Brisa Dorada is Casa Franquilo's beachfront bar — the kind of place where an afternoon drink stretches into a sunset and the sunset stretches into an evening you will never forget.

Whether it is a lazy morning juice by the waves, a fresh ceviche and mezcal cocktail at midday, or the house signature as the Pacific turns amber and gold — La Brisa Dorada is where memories are made, one sip at a time.

Open to hotel guests and walk-ins alike. No reservations needed — just show up and let the ocean do the rest.

On the water

The Pacific. Just yours.

There are days you spend at a resort, and then there are days you spend at sea — and those are not the same thing at all. The Luxury Yacht Day is one of the finest experiences we offer at Casa Franquilo, and for many guests who take it, it becomes the undisputed highlight of their entire stay.

Your private yacht departs from Puerto Escondido and heads out into open water, where the coast of Oaxaca reveals itself from an angle most visitors never see. Dramatic cliffs, hidden coves, sea caves, and stretches of beach accessible only by boat — the Oaxacan coastline is extraordinary, and from the water, it is breathtaking.

The crew will take you wherever the day takes you. Drop anchor in a sheltered bay and swim in water so clear you can see the bottom. Put on a mask and snorkel through calm turquoise shallows. Dry off on deck with a cold drink in hand as the coast drifts slowly past. Or simply stretch out and do absolutely nothing — which, it turns out, is one of the most underrated things a person can do.

Food and drinks are provided throughout the day — fresh, thoughtfully prepared, and served at exactly the right moment. The crew are experienced, professional, and deeply attentive without being intrusive. This is their ocean. They know it well.

The yacht is available for full-day and half-day charters, and can be arranged for couples, families, or small groups of up to eight. For a special occasion — a birthday, an anniversary, a proposal — it is simply without equal. Let us know and we will arrange everything, down to the last detail.

As the day winds down and the yacht turns back toward shore, the sun begins its descent over the Pacific. The sky turns gold, then amber, then a deep impossible red. And for a moment, the world is exactly the size it should be.

Out here, the only thing on the agenda is the horizon.

Wildlife

Where the giants come to breathe.

The Pacific Ocean off the coast of Puerto Escondido is one of the most extraordinary stretches of water on earth — deep, warm, and alive with creatures that have roamed these seas long before any of us arrived. This excursion takes you out into that world, and what you find there is genuinely humbling.

From November through March, humpback whales migrate through the waters of Oaxaca — some of the largest animals to have ever lived on this planet, moving with a grace that seems impossible for their size. When a humpback breaches — launching its full body out of the water and crashing back down in an explosion of white — time stops. There is simply nothing else like it.

Spinner dolphins are here year-round, and they are a joy in the most uncomplicated sense of the word. They approach the boat with what can only be described as curiosity and delight, spinning and leaping alongside you as if putting on a show they have rehearsed a thousand times — and never grown tired of.

Our guides are local, deeply knowledgeable, and genuinely passionate about the ocean they have spent their lives on. They will read the water, follow the signs, and bring you as close as responsibly possible to these remarkable animals — always with the animals' comfort and wellbeing as the first and final consideration.

You do not need to be a seasoned seafarer to enjoy this experience. The boat is stable and comfortable, the duration is manageable, and the reward — seeing a whale surface just metres from where you are standing — is the kind of moment that rewrites the rest of your day.

Go early. Bring sunscreen. And leave your phone in your pocket for at least a few minutes, because some things deserve your full and undivided attention.

The ocean has been here for four billion years. Today, for a few hours, it is yours to witness.

Wellness

Begin your day the right way with a guided yoga session as the sun rises over the Pacific.

Nestled within the lush tropical gardens of Casa Franquilo, our open-air yoga studio is a space where stillness comes naturally. Crafted from warm natural wood, framed by swaying palms and the gentle sounds of the Pacific in the distance, the studio feels less like a room and more like a clearing — a place where the boundary between practice and paradise dissolves entirely.

High vaulted ceilings, woven fans overhead, and a polished hardwood floor that catches the early morning light — every detail has been considered to create an environment that invites you to slow down, breathe deeply, and arrive fully in the present moment.

Whether you roll out your mat at sunrise as the sky turns gold over the ocean, or find your way here in the quieter hours of the afternoon, the studio holds the same quality of calm. There are no distractions here — only the wind in the trees, the warmth of the Mexican sun, and the steady rhythm of your own breath.

All equipment is provided. Classes are offered daily at sunrise and can be arranged as a private session or a small intimate group. Our instructors are deeply experienced and passionate about meeting each guest exactly where they are — whether you are stepping onto a mat for the very first time or deepening a practice you have carried for years.

This is not a workout. It is a coming home.

Day trip

One of the great cities of the world — and it is just three hours away.

Oaxaca City is the kind of place that stays with you long after you leave. A UNESCO World Heritage city, a living museum of pre-Columbian culture, and one of the most celebrated culinary capitals in all of Latin America — it rewards every sense and leaves you wanting to return before you have even made it back to the car.

Your day begins with a comfortable private transfer from Casa Franquilo through the Sierra Madre mountains, as the Pacific coast gives way to high valleys, colonial villages, and the extraordinary landscape of inland Oaxaca.

In the city, you are free to move at your own pace — or guided, if you prefer. Either way, the highlights speak for themselves. The Zócalo, one of the liveliest central squares in Mexico, is alive with vendors, musicians, and the easy energy that defines this city. The Templo de Santo Domingo is a masterpiece of baroque architecture, and its adjacent cultural museum holds some of the most important archaeological collections in the country.

Then there are the markets. The Benito Juárez market and the nearby Mercado 20 de Noviembre are an immersion in Oaxacan life — stalls piled high with chiles and chocolate, tlayudas hot from the comal, mezcal poured from clay cups, and a noise and colour that is impossible to replicate anywhere else on earth.

Lunch is the event it should be. Oaxacan cuisine is recognised as one of the most complex and distinctive in Mexico — seven moles, rich black beans, fresh-pressed tortillas, and ingredients that have been cultivated in these mountains for thousands of years. We can recommend exactly where to sit, what to order, and which mezcal to end with.

In the afternoon, there is time to explore the artisan districts of Xochimilco and Jalatlaco, browse for hand-woven textiles and black clay pottery, or simply sit with a mezcal in the shade and watch the city pass by.

The return to Puerto Escondido arrives just in time for sunset over the Pacific — a perfect ending to a day that felt like a lifetime.

One city. One day. A thousand things you will never forget.

Adventure

Puerto Escondido does not whisper. It roars.

There is a reason surfers come from every corner of the world to stand on this stretch of coast. The waves here are not polite. They are powerful, fast, and uncompromising — and for those who know how to read them, they are the most exhilarating few seconds a human being can experience standing up.

The Zicatela Pipeline is one of the most legendary surf breaks on the planet. A heavy, hollow barrel that detonates on a shallow sandbar, it has humbled some of the best surfers in the world and made heroes of others. You may not ride it on your first visit. But you will stand on the beach and watch it, and you will understand — instantly and completely — why people organise their entire lives around being here when it breaks.

For those newer to surfing, or simply looking for something more forgiving, the beaches of Carrizalillo and Manzanillo offer gentler, longer waves that are perfect for learning, for progressing, and for the particular pleasure of catching a wave cleanly and riding it all the way to shore. There is no feeling quite like it.

Our instructors are experienced, patient, and local. They have surfed these waters their whole lives and know exactly where to take you based on your level, the conditions, and what you are looking to get out of the session. Whether it is your first time on a board or you are chasing something bigger, they will put you in the right place at the right time.

All equipment is provided — boards, rash guards, and wax. Sessions run in the early morning and late afternoon when the winds are offshore and the waves are at their cleanest. We keep groups small so that every guest gets proper attention and proper waves.

Come in the water. The Pacific is waiting.

Some places you visit. Some places visit you.

Culture

Full Day — The complete journey

The full-day mezcal tour is an immersion into one of Mexico's most ancient and soulful traditions — from the raw, sun-scorched agave fields to the smoky, candlelit palenque where the spirit is born.

Your day begins with a scenic drive through the mountains of Oaxaca, winding through villages where time moves differently and the landscape opens up into vast fields of agave stretching toward the horizon. Your expert local guide will walk you through the different varieties — espadin, tobalá, madrecuixe — each one a different world of flavour waiting to be discovered.

At the palenque, you witness the entire process up close: agave hearts roasted slowly in underground earthen pits, crushed beneath a great stone tahona wheel, fermented in open wooden vats with nothing but wild yeast and patience, and finally distilled twice in clay pot stills to produce something that is unmistakably, irreplaceably Oaxacan.

A long, unhurried tasting follows — guided by someone who has spent a lifetime in this world. You will taste across different producers, different agave species, and different stages of aging. Lunch is served at a local family restaurant, where the food is as rooted in Oaxacan tradition as the mezcal itself.

The full day ends with a visit to a small artisan market where you can take home a bottle — or several — along with handcrafted goods from the region.

A full day. A full life.

Half Day — The essential tasting

For those who want the heart of the mezcal experience without a full day away from the beach, the half-day tour delivers everything that matters most.

You visit one carefully selected artisanal palenque — a producer chosen not for their scale, but for the depth of their craft and the quality of their spirit. Your guide introduces you to the production process from field to glass, and the tasting that follows is unhurried, generous, and genuinely illuminating.

You will leave with a new understanding of what mezcal truly is — not a spirit like any other, but the distilled expression of a landscape, a people, and thousands of years of knowledge passed quietly from one generation to the next.

The half-day pairs perfectly with a morning yoga session or an afternoon at the beach, and can easily be combined with a stop in Oaxaca City for dinner on the way back.

Short in hours. Long in memory.

Day trip and natural wonder

Some places exist outside of time. This is one of them.

Hierve el Agua sits high in the mountains of the Sierra Juárez, two hours from Oaxaca City and what feels like several lifetimes from the rest of the world. The name translates literally as "the water boils" — a reference to the carbonated mineral springs that bubble up from the rock and have been doing so for thousands of years, slowly depositing minerals over the cliff edge and building, over millennia, something that looks entirely impossible: a waterfall made of stone.

These are petrified waterfalls. Frozen cascades of white and terracotta mineral rock that spill over the edge of the mountain and hang, suspended, above a vast valley that stretches to the horizon. From above, the landscape is extraordinary. From below, looking up at the formations against the sky, it is one of the most quietly awe-inspiring views in all of Mexico.

At the top, natural infinity pools fill with warm, mineral-rich water that spills gently over the cliff edge. You float in water that has been flowing through these mountains for centuries, looking out over the Oaxacan valley below — and for a few minutes, you forget that the rest of the world exists at all.

The site holds deep significance for the indigenous Zapotec communities who have revered these springs for generations. Pre-Columbian irrigation channels are still visible on the rock, carved here long before anyone thought to call this a destination. Coming here is not just a visit — it is a small act of bearing witness to something ancient and enduring.

We recommend combining Hierve el Agua with a morning in Oaxaca City or a stop at a mezcal palenque on the route — the road passes through some of the finest agave-growing country in the region, and it would be a shame to drive past without stopping.

The drive back takes you through mountain villages, weaving market towns, and the kind of scenery that makes you slow down and look out the window. Plan for a full day. You will not regret it.

Not everything that has lasted forever looks old. Some things just look exactly right.

The shop

Forgot your sunscreen? Running low on something? We have you covered.

Our charming on-site shop is stocked with everything a guest could need — from travel essentials and sun care to locally produced snacks, artisan souvenirs, and a curated selection of Oaxacan products you won't find just anywhere.

We work with local artisans and producers to bring you a selection of handcrafted goods that make for the perfect memento or gift — mezcal, chocolate, textiles, and more. Because your only job here is to relax, and little conveniences make that a whole lot easier.

The shop is open daily and accessible to all guests. Simply ask at reception if you need assistance finding something specific.

The space

Deadlines don’t always respect vacation. We get it.

Our light-filled co-working space offers high-speed Wi-Fi, comfortable ergonomic seating, a calm and focused atmosphere, and the kind of view that makes even the most mundane task feel like a privilege. It’s the perfect environment for remote workers, digital nomads, and anyone who refuses to leave paradise entirely just because there’s a deadline.

Step out to the pool between calls. Grab a coffee from La Hacienda. Come back refreshed and ready. Productivity has never looked this good.

The co-working space is available exclusively to hotel guests and is accessible throughout hotel hours. No advance booking required — just show up with your laptop and let the ocean breeze do the rest.

The treatment

Release. Restore. Reset.

Our deep tissue massage targets the deeper layers of muscle and connective tissue, using slow, deliberate strokes and firm pressure to release chronic tension and knots. Ideal for guests who carry stress in the shoulders, back, or legs — or anyone who simply wants a serious, therapeutic reset.

Particularly beneficial after a day of surfing, hiking, or long travel. Our therapists will tailor the pressure to your exact needs.

The treatment

Warmth that goes all the way in.

Smooth, heated basalt stones are placed along the spine and key energy points of the body, while the therapist uses them as an extension of their hands to melt away tension. The warmth penetrates deep into the muscles, promoting circulation and inducing a state of profound relaxation.

One of our most popular treatments. Perfect for guests looking for a deeply restorative, meditative experience.

The treatment

Ancient wisdom. Modern sanctuary.

Our signature treatment, inspired by the healing traditions of the indigenous communities of Oaxaca. This full-body ritual begins with a copal smoke cleanse, followed by a warm herbal compress massage using locally harvested plants — lavender, eucalyptus, and hierba santa — and finishes with a nourishing cacao and honey body mask.

Exclusively available at Casa Franquilo. A deeply cultural and sensory experience that connects you to the land, the plants, and the people of Oaxaca.

The treatment

Breathe in. Let the oils do the rest.

A gentle, flowing full-body massage using carefully selected essential oils blended to your mood and intention. Choose from Relax (lavender and chamomile), Energize (citrus and peppermint), or Balance (rosewood and ylang ylang). The oils are absorbed through the skin while you inhale their therapeutic scent, creating a deeply holistic effect.

Ideal for guests seeking a lighter, nurturing touch — or those new to massage therapy.

The treatment

Share the moment. Together.

Experience the magic of Casa Franquilo's spa side by side with someone special. Our couples suite accommodates two therapists working simultaneously, allowing you and your partner to enjoy the same treatment at the same time in a shared, intimate space. Choose any massage style from our menu — or let each of you choose your own.

Perfect for honeymoons, anniversaries, or any occasion worth celebrating. Champagne and flower petals available on request.

The treatment

Your skin, restored.

Our bespoke facial begins with a thorough skin analysis, followed by a deep cleanse, exfoliation, and a targeted mask chosen for your skin type. A relaxing facial massage completes the treatment, stimulating circulation and leaving the skin visibly radiant. We use natural, locally sourced botanical ingredients wherever possible.

Ideal before a special evening or as a complement to any body treatment.

The treatment

Soft skin. Renewed energy.

Begin with an invigorating full-body exfoliation using a blend of Oaxacan sea salt, coconut oil, and local botanical extracts — removing dead skin cells and revealing smoother, softer skin beneath. You are then wrapped in a warm, nourishing mineral clay mask while you rest, allowing the active ingredients to deeply hydrate and detoxify.

Best experienced before a massage for maximum skin absorption. Leave feeling lighter, glowing, and completely renewed.