Casa Mauna - Boutique Hotel — Hotel in Oaxaca

Not a casa at all, these are boxy apartments. For one night, we were on the second of three levels, with people above and below us, which i suppose could be justification for asking people not to smoke even outdoors on their spacious patio...but it still seemed ridiculous to us. We weren't really able to enjoy the patio, because rain comes right through its roof, and there was a sudden downpour, soaking the clothes we had out there to dry. In the morning i went out to enjoy the nice hammock but it was still wet, and the plastic chairs all had puddles of water in them, which when dumped, fell right through the roof onto our neighbors below! The apartment is fully equipped, has nice bedding and kitchen, but soullessly decorated with black and white framed inspirational phrases and fake plants made of plastic. Ironically, the hotel restaurant only serves "plant based" food - and it was closed the night we were there, so we explored the area to find something to eat. The hosts had offered to make a reservation at Manta ray, but they neglected to tell us that if we didn't reserve, they wouldn't serve us at all (not even takeaway), nor did they tell us that it was the only other option for food in the area. Both Salchi & the neighboring town was almost deserted. Don't let all the places on Google maps fool you- none of them were open during our search, which started around 5:30pm. Finally, famished and making jokes about cannibalism, we got in the car and headed for the highway. Luckily we found a GREAT place that wasn't previously on Google maps, and was still open when we found it at 8:45pm - Comedor Alondra.

Before arrival and after checkout, i received somewhat of a barrage of messages from casa Mauna hosts - some of it useful, lots of rules & regulations, and repeated requests for my identification, which no other host has ever requested of me, and has already been supplied to Airbnb, so it was an annoying extra step that also left me wondering "why?"

We slept well and enjoyed our stay despite it being overpriced, over-regulated, uninteresting, and totally lacking in vida. But next time, we'll definitely skip...

Casa Mauna is simply wonderful! The lovely hosts Ewen and Victoria have managed to build apartments in a really cool industrial design, which are at the same time homy and welcoming. In the course of this year, we have stayed in over 70 accommodations, and Casa Mauna is among the Top 5. The design of the rooms is flawless. They have an eye for detail, such as great knives, an awesome blender, even a cool water despenser, a sink and shower (!) with great water pressure and even two different kinds of water jet options (hallelujah!). The bathroom is just a dream come true with more beautiful details like the wooden boards, the flowers and sufficient racks for towels (no, this does not happen often in Mexico), the bed is fantastic, the curtains shut out the sun very nicely, the AC works well, the sofa looks great and is comfy and the balcony and its views of the bay (we were in room no. 6) is to die for.

Now, about the adjacent restaurant. The food is absolutely fantastic (best food we have had in Mexico) and the drinks are dangerously delicious, and also the staff is incredibly friendly and helpful. If you prefer tp eat/drink on your private terrace, they will gladly serve you breakfast, dinner or cocktails to your room. We were so bummed out to leave after 4 nights that we came back a week later and stayed a few more nights.

The beach (also among our absolute favorites in Mexico) is a 2 min walk away, with super fine almost white powdery sand, turquoise waters and no-one else on the beach. Salchi is an absolute hidden gem (if you like remote places with deserted, wonderful beaches), with Casa Mauna as its absolute highlight!

Be aware that there are no shops in Salchi. You will have to bring everything from Pochutla...

We enjoyed our five nights in Salchi. Great beach and surroundings.||But it was not complete enjoyment at Casa Mauna.||We arrived after that fabulous mountain drive from Oaxaca rather tired. What we did not realise was the number of steps from the parking to the bar to collect the key and then up to the apartment. We had quite a bit of stuff to take down so I asked the man at the bar if there was help. He just said that the gardner had gone and did not offer to help. Great start.||A little later I found that I had bought a tin of ground coffee with no opener; no tin opener in the apartment so down to the bar to request one. The reaction was 'we don't use tinned food for anything'. Well that is great but not exactly helpful. He eventually agreed to open it with a knife but begrudgingly (why can't you do it in your apartment....because the knives aren't adequate)!!||Ewen appeared and promised a tin opener the next day; none appeared and we spent the stay trying to avoid the jagged edges when we made our own coffee.||We have neither compliments or complaints on the restaurant food.||One day no hot water as there was a boiler problem. OK. Next day it was that the gas ran out. All fixed through messaging, but two out of five mornings no hot water.||However the worst issue was the noise. I do not consider the apartments to be sound proofed. The downstairs one had shouting children until late, and you could hear continual footsteps from the upstairs one. Ewen did kindly let us move apartments for the last two nights.||Yes, the view from the top floor apartment is beautiful, Salchi is delightful. The cleaning staff were very good and pleasant to talk to, but some of the other staff...