Todos Santos

Taller 17 is the last thing you’d expect in an artsy Mexican town but the first thing you’ll want. This delightful spot, which is reminiscent of a West Village cafe, serves strong cold brew and pour-overs. The pastries—buttery scones, flaky fruit pies, chewy-crispy cookies—are as fresh as can be, and the housemade kombucha is the most refreshing (and healthy) way to offset last night’s mezcal.

A resident recommended this all-day spot to us for breakfast. A few moments down the Topete road outside town, La Esquina spreads its shady seating (and reliable Wi-Fi) across a plant-packed courtyard. The fresh OJ surpassed any we have ever had, and the breakfast burritos, spicy chilaquiles, and omelets were the perfect start to our day. They also have sandwiches on whole-grain toast, oatmeal, and smoothies packed with organic fruit and veggies grown on the property. Spend a slow morning working through the breakfast menu and people-watching from a cool corner before stopping by the farm stand next door.

It’s a boutique hotel, but La Bohemia feels more like you’re staying in someone’s home. (And technically you are: The lovely owners live here.) This eclectic, leafy hideaway attracts people from all over the world who come to Todos Santos to walk the nearby art markets, explore the beaches, and just be here. The vibe at La Bohemia fits with the town and the name—it’s incredibly relaxed and communal. A small yard with colorful swing chaises is situated next to a bar and pool. The rooms are small and simple but thoughtfully decorated with local art. And the staff here could easily become your second family. They are so helpful, so friendly, and so very good at that fresh homemade breakfast every morning.

Cafelix is the spot for an iced coffee. They use their own Mexican beans, which are beautifully packaged and available to buy, and are somehow both smooth and complex. The space is small (and easy to miss, despite being on Todos Santos’s main drag, Calle Benito Juarez), but thanks to reliable Wi-Fi, posting up for a morning with your laptop and working through a few cups of their velvety brew is entirely acceptable.

Built for a sugar baron in the late 1800s, the Todos Santos Boutique Hotel is styled like a hacienda and has atmosphere in spades. Flagstone floors, mahogany furniture, delicate Mexican tiling, and frescoed walls surround an internal two-story courtyard. This is where the action happens. The lower level has a small pool and fairytale restaurant La Copa Bar, with its twinkling lights and wrought iron seating. The upper level—punctuated with palm trees and a very welcome breeze—holds eight guest rooms. Each one has a sturdy sleigh bed, antique wardrobes, and dressing tables plus pretty and functional Mexican tiled bathrooms. The mixologist at the bar is (in our humble opinion) the best in town. While you wait for your spicy mezcal concoction, take in the display of glass bottles of homemade distillations, like pear, orange, and nutmeg liqueur, plus the incredible array of dried chiles for garnish stacked on the bar.

La Copa Bar has stellar fish tacos, citrusy guacamole, and for the more adventurous, crispy fried grasshoppers (actually, they're not half bad). Located in the pretty garden basement terrace of the Todos Santos Inn—ambiance is not a problem here—the restaurant charms. Lights flicker overhead while you tuck into dinner, and the Todos Santos air is naturally perfumed with surrounding flowers. Better yet, the bar upstairs mixes a mean margarita, and the elegance of the open-plan 1870s building will have you checking room availability for your next stay.

A mile or so down a serpentine dirt road, past a mix of local and expat homes, and out-of-nowhere panoramic views of the Pacific, is Casa Mila. A wall of smooth concrete surrounds a checkerboard tiled courtyard, replete with a fireplace and cozy seating draped in Mexican blankets. A spiral staircase leads to the rooftop palapa—the kind of place that will have you dreaming of a glass of wine by sunset. The kitchen is modern and functional, with every coffee maker imaginable alongside beautiful stemware and terracotta pots for dining in when the mood strikes. Beds are sumptuously comfortable, and the outdoor shower transformed daily grooming into a treat. But few details beat falling asleep to the sound of the waves crashing on the beach outside. Leaving Casa Mila is hard. The whole place—Joshua Tree meets minimalist casita—is so special you’ll want to take it in over and over, and it still won’t be enough.

Sylvie Sabatier is a Los Angeles–based Frenchwoman who, after designing her own eclectic Todos Santos retreat, had a roster of expats wanting a Sabatier flourish in their homes. More of a hacienda than a house, the property—hidden down a bumpy track—sits in an idyllic mango grove. Hacienda los Olivos is divided into a large straw-topped lounge room and kitchen, a master suite, and three smaller colorfully tiled, sumptuously comfortable casitas. Simmering a pot of beans for dinner, peeling a mango you picked yourself, lounging on the Mexican textile sofas—it’s all as transporting as it sounds. There are no bad angles at Sabatier’s hacienda. And while you could spend an entire vacation on one of the daybeds, we suggest exploring this vast and gorgeous property. Wander the gardens and catch all the details: the green and blue pool tiles that match the surrounding jungle, the outdoor showers, the Moroccan mirrors, the sculptural light fixtures. You’ll want to bring home your own Sabatier flourish before you leave.

About five miles outside town, down a rocky track, the Green Room is one of those whispered spots the folks in town don't want the tourists to find. It’s perched on the edge of an empty beach. One of our favorite things to do is sit with our legs propped up on a stool with an icy Pacifico in hand. At night, the place fills up with a lively crowd so get there early, snag a table, and get your tuna tostito order in before the sun starts to dip.

Todos Santos has long had a quiet appeal for both artists and surfers who have appreciated the town’s understated, laid-back vibe. So it’s no surprise that finger-on-the-pulse hotelier Liz Lambert (of Austin’s Hotel San José and Hotel St. Cecilia) would head south of the border before everyone else caught on. About fifty miles north of Cabo San Lucas, this thirty-two-room beachfront property is a thoughtful reflection of its surroundings: Stamped concrete tiles, locally made furnishings, and colorful Guatemalan fabrics anchor much of the inside-meets-out design. (A tip: The ocean king has a beautifully tiled, generously sized soaking tub that looks out onto the ocean.) The infinity swimming pool has an unobstructed view of Playa Punta Lobos, and there are plenty of indoor-outdoor spaces and hammocks meant for whiling away the afternoon, plus fire pits for gathering when the sun goes down. Benno, the restaurant on the property, expertly melds Mediterranean and Mexican flavors, while relying heavily on the freshly caught fish of the day that comes in by the truckload. Also standouts: The cocktail list, which centers around small-batch mezcal and tequila, and the wine list, with some…