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When a place’s name is The Hummingbirds in Spanish and is filled with flowers, you know you’re going to see some birds around. But they could just as easily have named it Buena Vista because Los Colibris Casitas have some of the best views in Todos Santos.
The Mexican town of Todos Santos is just an hour and a half north of Cabo San Lucas in Baja California, but it’s worlds away in terms of vibe. It’s an oasis–literally–where people first settled to grow food and sugar cane to trade. Now the oasis is filled with pepper plants, mango trees, and palm trees, while a lagoon you can see from this property is a favorite for water birds. While the town center of Todos Santos is paved, you’ll hit dirt roads to get almost everywhere else, including to this hotel.
Los Colibris Casistas is a cross between a boutique hotel and a vacation rental, with 5-7 guest rooms depending on whether the largest is rented out as separate rooms or a family villa. That one, Babisuri House, can sleep six and gives plenty of room to spread out, or the separate entrances can be used to make them individual units. See all the casita options here.
We were in La Chuca Casita, with that view you see at the top from a private terrace over the room itself. It also has a table and two chair right outside the sliding glass doors of the room, which have the same great view of the lagoon and ocean. The decor is cheerful and artistic, with some cactus-related materials from the area, silk flowers in one-meter glass vases mounted on the wall, and a Mexican bedspread. This unit has a microwave, coffee maker, and fridge, plus two armchairs, a table, and an ample closet.
All units have nice tile baths with soap and shampoo, an alarm clock music system with USB recharging inputs, and complimentary WiFi. Parking is free on site and there’s aircon if you need it. (Many months, like we we were there in March, you don’t). There are plenty of thoughtful touches from the owners, like good coffee available in the room, beach umbrellas, and big beach towels to use for heading to the pool or the sea.
Breakfast is optional, but most guests elect to have at least one meal here. Most of the time it’s on an outdoor patio surrounding by blooming flowers and the occasional flitting hummingbird. If it gets too hot or there’s rain, there’s a long communal table inside where the kitchen is instead. The chef also offers Mexican cooking classes for guests who are interested.
Eventually everyone gravitates to the lovely pool complex here, which has a great view of the ocean and terrific sunset experiences most of the time. There’s also a bubbly whirlpool tub that is attractive in the cool desert evenings. A few tables and lounge chairs scattered around make this a great spot to relax for hours.
Los Colibris Casitas are owned by the same couple that runs the successful local tour company Todos Santos Eco Adventures. The eco part starts with the hotel, where all water is fine to drink and you won’t find a plastic bottle or straw anywhere. Amenities in the bathroom are from refillible bottles, not throwaway ones.
The tour company offers a variety of trips, from multi-day glamping and kayaking trips around Espiritu Santo Island near La Paz to hiking trips across the Baja Peninsula through the Sierra la Laguna mountains. There are plenty of adventures in Todos Santos itself, however. Some guests chose to take surfing lessons after we were on a long hike together along the coast, with dramatic cliff views and hidden beaches. We also went horseback riding around the area, on a great route that went through the oasis, around the lagoon, down a beach, and through cacti-studded desert—all on one trip.
The owners and staff here can take care of booking almost any Baja vacation excursion with a little advance notice as they’re very well-connected to others in the adventure travel industry. So if you want to go whale watching, whale shark snorkeling, or visiting colonial era mission churches and cave paintings, they can set you up.
You can find Los Colibris Casitas on several online booking sites, but it’s best to make arrangements directly at LosColibris.com. This way you can set up your ideal trip. As lovely as the views are from this magical spot, you’ll want to take advantage of all there is to do in the area.
Editor Tim Leffel was a guest of Los Colibris and Todos Santos Adventures while doing a two-week tour of Baja to research several articles for different publications. As always, all opinions are his own.
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