Villas Espavel- the first month of guests

Welcoming Guests

Our first month of welcoming guests to Villas Espavel was frenetic and fabulous. Construction is done and Villas Espavel is a slice of tropical heaven, surrounded by beautiful nature and tranquility. During this first month, we hosted 72 guests from 9 countries and 3 continents. We tested, broke, fixed and improved our systems. It is joyful to see our vision in action as guests play in the sand, surf and jungle then return to their basecamp at Villas Espavel to swim, swing in their hammocks, relax on their patios, and stretch in the yoga rancho.  The reality of Villas Espavel is even better than we had visualized.

Here are four of our favorite memories of the first month:

Creating Community -

At many points in the first month we had three or four family groups with kids. One particular trio of families after initial shyness, hit it off creating a seven-kid tribe from different countries. They spent hours diving for treasures in the pool, playing tag around the property and doing art on each other’s patios. 

Sharing Intel -

One family’s discovery became a once-in-a-lifetime experience for three other families. A family that roamed far and wide in their rental car each day found the black sands of Playa Ostional teaming with baby sea turtles emerging from their nests. The family  watched the tender turtles cross the hot black sands while they helped by shooing away the vultures. Upon their return to Villas Espavel they shared the story of the turtles and the next day three families left Villas Espavel headed for Playa Ostional to see the baby turtles for their own once-in-a-lifetime experience. 

Adults know how to chill -

Two sisters and their husbands came to Villas Espavel to celebrate some landmark birthdays. We loved seeing their approach to pool-time. Each morning they brewed a couple French presses of coffee and met poolside to sip, float, laugh and catch-up. 

Vision in Action -

One of my favorite memories of the month was leaving VE for an evening walk and seeing guests from each of the five villas out on their patios enjoying dinner. The warmth of the scene was exactly what we had envisioned as we designed Villas Espavel; families gathered together talking and laughing, candles glowing on each table and the palm fronds gently swaying in the breeze. The howler monkeys keeping an eye on things from their viney perch above it all. 

- Mercy