The Villa was a little piece of heaven. Our group of 3 families loved the openness of the living space where we could all gather to play games, watch whales, or just see the sunset. The space takes full advantage of the ocean view and warm weather-we felt like we were outside all week, even when we were hiding in the shade. It was particularly nice to be able to eat meals together at the long and gorgeous wooden table. The house isn't quite luxury status, but was clean and beautiful. Sara cooked incredible meals for us every day, and was happy to accommodate our special requests for local favorites like mole and Tlayudas. When one of the kids was stung by a manta ray, Sara called Lupe for us and he came immediately, offering assistance and advice and connecting us to a local doctor. When we asked about a cooler for a beach trip, one appeared in minutes. (For other visitors, come prepared to speak Spanish, or bring a dictionary :) Our Spanish is awful, but we managed. We swam and surfed right from the house every day (though the waves would be too dangerous for smaller kids). Overall, we had a fantastic time at Villa Lumina and are already missing the warm weather and homemade guacamole.

The Villa was a little piece of heaven. Our group of 3 families loved the openness of the living space where we could all gather to play games, watch whales, or just see the sunset. The space takes full advantage of the ocean view and warm weather-we felt like we were outside all week, even when we were hiding in the shade. It was particularly nice to be able to eat meals together at the long and gorgeous wooden table. The house isn't quite luxury status, but was clean and beautiful. Sara cooked incredible meals for us every day, and was happy to accommodate our special requests for local favorites like mole and Tlayudas. When one of the kids was stung by a manta ray, Sara called Lupe for us and he came immediately, offering assistance and advice and connecting us to a local doctor. When we asked about a cooler for a beach trip, one appeared in minutes. (For other visitors, come prepared to speak Spanish, or bring a dictionary :) Our Spanish is awful, but we managed. We swam and surfed right from the house every day (though the waves would be too dangerous for smaller kids). Overall, we had a fantastic time at Villa Lumina and are already missing the warm weather and homemade guacamole.

Villa Lumina was everything we were looking for. A nice pool, clean rooms, a big area for cooking and dining. The beach here is amazing. I would highly recommend this property to friends.

Villa Lumina was everything we were looking for. A nice pool, clean rooms, a big area for cooking and dining. The beach here is amazing. I would highly recommend this property to friends.

Well managed and as beautiful as the pictures. Staff are very friendly and helpful. Saw whales, swam off and on all day in pool or in ocean. You will not be disappointed!

Well managed and as beautiful as the pictures. Staff are very friendly and helpful. Saw whales, swam off and on all day in pool or in ocean. You will not be disappointed!

We really enjoyed this home and property with it's open plan and up close view of the beach. We had planned to get out and do more but simply didn't want to leave.

We really enjoyed this home and property with it's open plan and up close view of the beach. We had planned to get out and do more but simply didn't want to leave.

We loved the house it was very comfortable and beautiful. We just wanted to stay in and enjoy the house . Lupe the house manager and Elena our cook were amazing and very nice . I would definitely stay again the only flaw I would say the house has is there is no A/C , the fans do help but A/C would be nice .

We loved the house it was very comfortable and beautiful. We just wanted to stay in and enjoy the house . Lupe the house manager and Elena our cook were amazing and very nice . I would definitely stay again the only flaw I would say the house has is there is no A/C , the fans do help but A/C would be nice .

Gorgeous! Vaulted palapa. Lots of lounging areas. Updated kitchen. Final and grill. Grass and hammocks. A beautiful pool on the beach. Plenty of space for guests. The master opens onto the sea. Fall asleep to the waves crashing at night. Beautiful safe location and the staff is amazing. The food from Gloria was well worth the charge and more. Lupe took us everywhere we needed to go and the house was always neat as a pin. I couldn’t recommend this property more. We even enjoyed beachside massages. We loved it and will come back again and again.

The Villa is located on a long, beautiful, beach that is used by very few people and on which we could see dolphins several times a day and even a small whale. The house is fantastically designed to take advantage of the view to the beach from all the common areas, including the kitchen, and to foster interactions among the people staying there while allowing for privacy of those who want so. Lupe and Lucy who take care of the administration and the cleaning of the house are extremely nice. Elena the cook was fantastic. Pre-arrival planning with Catherine could have been smoother and more respectful but all worked well in the end.

As every time we have come to Casa Lumina we had an amazing experience. This time I came back with all my family including toddlers and it is the perfect place to relax and have a fabulous time. The beach is amazing, the property is impecable and of course the people who took care of us (Lupe and Gloria) were always very attentive. You have to be thankful for their smiles and especially because they are proactive. We have made amazing memories in this house and are more than thankful to Catherine for opening her house to us! This is the place to come if you want a beach vacation!

Our family has a wonderful time at Villa Lumina! The setting was perfect for our family to connect, relax and enjoy the beauty of the ocean and scenery. We spent several hours swimming in the pool and playing games in the common area together. We all felt relaxed and could not have had a better experience. I recommend hiring the cook. She was so sweet and cooked us wonderful meals.

This is a knock your socks off property. From the outdoor kitchen and dining area to the infinity pool falling off almost literally to the ocean, you won't be disappointed here! With three bedrooms with their own bathrooms and two bedrooms sharing a Jack and Jill bath, this is a wonderful property for small groups or family reunions. However, there are two caveats. 1. It is not in, or near the center of Puerto Escondido. If you are going to town, or even to a store, you will need a car/driver, or will have a long walk to the main road and then about a 12 KM bus ride. 2. At night, the big outdoor room does not light up like it is in the picture. This makes group time around the table difficult once the sun goes down. That means if you are a couple, family or group that likes playing games at night, it's gonna be pretty dark. Neither of those should be deal breakers for you though. The owner is super quick to respond if need be, the staff is incredibly helpful and trust me, you're gonna love this house. Would I return? For me this is always the rubber meets the road question. The answer... Yes! Of course. Notes... the bus ride to Puerto is about 20 pesos. A taxi ride to the house is currently 300 pesos. A van, seating 10 people, is 700 pesos. the ride takes about 20 minutes. Mazunte will cost you about 30 pesos on the bus, plus 20 pesos for a local colectivo to get you near the beach and/or Turtle Museum. While the water heater is not huge, all of had mostly hot water all week. A welcome experience compared to some rentals in other parts of Mexico.

this is the fourth villa that i rent and it was wonderfull once again. the set up of the kitchen,living room and the pool is perfect with a great wiew of the dolphins and whales. the staff do a very good job.the roof fan in the bedroom are perfect to sleep.The only things that have bothered me is there was a lot of ants and somebody come during the night and stole the toaster ,blender, my telescope,my laser light,some cell cable. anyway it was a great trip we saw a turtle lay eggs in the sand. i recommend villa lumina

Fuimos por una semana a esta maraviloso lugar en familia. Ubicando en la costa de Oaxaca, cercana a Puerto escondido, se encuentra Villa Lumina, una casa a la orilla de la playa, con todo lo indispensable para pasar unas buenas vacaciones de descanso. Jardín con un par de hamacas, en el centro una piscina de muy buen tamaño, por un lado una zona de asador y todo esto con el mar de frente, caminas unos 15 pasos y ya tienes arena en tus pies, lo más impresionante es que es una zona poco turística, por lo que la playa era completamente para nosotros. Dentro de la casa una zona de estar muy amplia, eramos 12 personas y todos cabíamos perfectamente, lo mismo el comedor. Aunque estabamos lejos de la ciudad, no nos hizo falta nada, ya que Lupe el vigilante día a día se encargaba de llenar la alacena y cualquier otro pedido. Por otro lado Gloría la cocinera nos deleitó con su amplio conocimiento de la gastronomía típica de la costa Oaxaqueña. Por el traslado del Aeropuerto a la Casa (aprox 40 min) o a cualquier otro sitio, nosotros fuimos a Mazunte, Zipolite, Puerto Escondido no hay que preocuparse ya que esta disponible una camioneta de 14 pasajeros. Toda la familia quedó fascinada con el lugar y prometimos volver, muy recomendable!!

Si buscas un lugar tranquilo, bonito y frente al mar, la casa de Cath es el lugar ideal. Pasamos unos días en familia y estuvo increíble : jugando en la alberca con vista al pacifico, paseando en la playa sin nadie alrededor, cocinando rico en un espacio abierto, descansando en el hamaca. Los cuartos están limpios, amplios, todos equipados de mosquitera en las ventanas y puertas para dormir sin que te molesten los mosquitos. Una casa altamente recomendable ! regresaremos-

Wonderful beach home outside of Puerto Escondido. I spent a week celebrating my 60th birthday with family and friends. We were in paradise! So relaxing, quiet and beautiful. The caretaker was wonderful and responsive. The place incredibly clean. Lovely uncrowded beach for long walks- We hired the cook which I would recommend. Her food was beyond expectation! We shared our meal preferences- everything else taken care of, even the shopping if we wished. It made for a truly relaxing, heavenly get away with little effort on our part. Would definitely go back!

Villa Lumina is a beautiful, clean, open air home right off the beach/ocean. We arrived in the early evening, and were greeted by the very friendly caretaker, Lupe, and the cook, Gloria. We had hired Gloria to cook our arrival meal for us, which proved to be delicious. Our first impression of the house was wonderful. We are a family of ten....my husband and myself, our four grown children, and three grandchildren, and the accommodations were perfect. There was plenty of sleeping room and also, open space for us to be together as family. Lucia, the daily housekeeper, kept everything nicely cleaned. The pool was cleaned daily by Lupe, and always so inviting to just jump into. The beach is a quiet one. You can walk for hours, and not run into anyone. It is so lovely. The staff is Spanish speaking only, so it was good that we had our Spanish speaking daughter with us. She was able to communicate with them easily, and was given the house phone when we went into town, so that we had the ability to call a cab when we needed one. We ended up with a favorite, who was "on call" with us when we were traveling back and forth to the Villa Lumina. Town is about 9 miles away. The cost of a van cab ride for ten of us was $30 USD. each way. I think it would be helpful to have a house book, that gives information about the area and about the house. We had no difficulty when we arrived, getting into the locked gates, but the following nights when our driver beeped his horn, there was no one on the other side of the gate to the "secure" area. We ended up climbing out of the van, walked around the gate, and walked down the dark road back to our residence. We found out later from Lupe that there is a code to get into the gates if no one is there to greet you. It would have been beneficial to know this upon arrival, or to be able to read about it in a house book. All in all, we had a lovely family vacation....

First of all, what you see is what you get with Villa Lumina - the pictures and descriptions are very accurate and representative of what you will find upon arrival (hint:awesome). The property is part of Costa Cumana, an unspoilt stretch of beach roughly 10km south of Puerto Escondido. There are several properties stretching down the coastline, farmland on one side, beach on the other. We were 2 families of 4 (young children), and the house was a perfect fit. Breezy, open air villa, pool, beach.....what more can you ask? Gloria and Lupe are wonderful people - I highly recommend securing Gloaria's cooking services (and we like to cook)! This place is a no brainer if you are looking for some beach time away from the crowds (we saw less than 10 people on the beach, all week). Lastly, Catherine (the owner), was extremely helpful in handling all of our questions/needs. In summary, a home run vacation!

We had a fabulous, fantastic, PERFECT New Years vacation with our family! Your home is beautiful, open, relaxing...the beach, the view, the hammocks, the pool, everything was incredible!!! Carmen was wonderful as well, everyone treated us very nicely. We can't wait to go back!!!

Our group of eight adults from two families had a fantastic week at Villa Lumina in early Jan. The house can accommodate many more... up to 14 people with couples using the double beds...but was perfect for our group, with plenty of space for everyone to lounge, read, and enjoy the pool and fantastic views out across the beach. Coming from northern climes we had a hard time believing that the open air living spaces (kitchen, eating and lounging areas) would be truly comfortable, especially at night in January, but we spent the week in T-shirts and shorts and slept under sheets with no need for blankets. A perfect climate. This video shows the interior: http://youtu.be/hE94u4aeGmk. The house is in a small gated community about 30 mins from the airport and Puerto Escondido itself. Because of that distance, we cooked dinners at home rather than venture out at night. Our week sped by, mostly spent lazing around the pool, wading in the surf and swimming in the pool, planning meals, enjoying sunsets and star-watching at night, all to the relaxing soundtrack of the surf. The house has wi-fi that worked reasonably well, along with a nice little library of paperbacks for those who finished the books they brought from home. Lupe, the caretaker, speaks no English but was very helpful, and Lucia, the housekeeper, was accommodating as well. Because we all love to cook, we chose not to pay the supplement to have a cook for the week. Lupe introduced us to Gloria when we requested a cooking lesson and market guide, and she rode with us to the market for a primer on ingredients and then back at the house whipped up lunch and left us with a ready-to-cook dinner. It feels churlish to note anything short of utter praise after such a relaxing week, but in the spirit of helping others have an even better time we note the following. It would be helpful to have a house book with guidance on where to get groceries, find markets and convenience stores, etc. Visitors should plan to rent a car or book a driver, and should be aware that you will need at least some basic Spanish. This is a lovely area that is experiencing rapid growth, with more likely to come in a couple of years once the highway now under construction reduces travel time from Oaxaca City to Puerto Escondido. In the meantime, tourist services can be pretty basic. But that should not stop you from visiting Villa Lumina. Go now.

We stay for the new year 2015. Our stay were relaxing, funny in family. Gorgeous oceantfront villa, happy in the pool, happy in the ocean, the beach only for you, plenty space, with amazing views, dolphins, family of whales, flying "mantarrayas", beatufil views in late afternoon. Lupe in charge very nice, the maid efficient and Victorino the driver always in scheduled, when you need him (shopping and else you want). Of course my family and I will return Villa Lumina for family vacations.

Exquisite house. Yards from the ocean. Incredibly comfortable seating areas. Pool for after the beach. Perfect dining table for a big group. And the host was responsive, helpful and gracious. Only downside was we should've stayed for longer!