I love my job. The days can be long but they are not laborious. Deficiencies in local infrastructure are frustrating but they are not new. Nine people turn up for breakfast when you’re expecting eight, but there is always a Plan B. And the more people we have at the table the merrier the meal. The sound of laughter coming from the dining room in the morning makes my day.
Yes, I love my job because I love our guests. They arrive looking for a quiet and peaceful vacation, a good breakfast and the personal service that is the hallmark of the traditional bed and breakfast. And because they are on vacation they are relaxed and in good spirits, and they make good company!
According to our guests’ reviews, their expectations are usually met. Here are a few excerpts.
• More than a hotel, it’s a guesthouse that makes you feel at home, super attentive, friendly, and the breakfast is delicious, wrote Alice from Mexico City in May.
• The best hotel in Puerto Escondido! Stayed 5 nights with my partner and loved it. They have the best breakfasts we had in Mexico, wrote Cristina, also from Mexico.
• Tony and Sol were the best, said Heather from the U.S. High-end breakfasts. Comfortable facilities. Flexible, easy going host. Great communication before and during our stay.
• And from Melissa, who also visited from the United States: The breakfasts each morning were some of the best I’ve ever had. Not only was it delicious, but the portions were large, meaning that I didn’t end up eating lunch most days. Tony and Sol are warm and welcoming, it feels like a home more than a hotel.
New faces in the kitchen, new salsas on the table
We were pleased to welcome a new member to our team last year. Soledad Noyola is a Puerto Escondido native who worked for many years in another local hotel and now, as assistant manager, plays a key role in the kitchen and managing housekeeping. Sol spent several years living in France so you can expect to see crepes, quiche and the flan-like cake called clafoutis (we use mangos instead of cherries) on the menu.
Oaxacan dishes are the specialty of another new team member, Inés Cruz, who worked at Zandoyo several years ago and has returned to prepare her delicous mole sauces and other regional specialties. Inés and I had a competition a few years ago when I had a dozen coconuts to prepare. The challenge? Who could extract coconut water faster, Inés with a machete or me with an electric drill. I won!
For a number of years we have made our own salsas but the newest is one of the best: salsa chicatana, made with the flying ants that Inés harvested at the start of this year’s rainy season. We are also making our own moles and we continue to specialize in braised pork cuts for serving in tacos and on sopes.
Now that our mango tree is producing for several months of the year we have a wide selection of mango dishes, from chia-mango pudding for the fruit course to a mango salsa to adorn your omelette.
Puerto Escondido is more accessible than ever
I can remember when the national airline Mexicana went bankrupt in 2010, taking its feeder airline Click along with it. It was the only airline flying into PXM, apart from the Aerotucán flights from Oaxaca city. So for nearly a year the airport was virtually closed.
Things are different today. Domestically we now have direct connections with Guadalajara, Jalisco (daily), Monterrey, Nuevo León (twice a week) and Tijuana, Baja California (three times a week) in addition to several flights from Mexico City.
But the bigger story is the arrival of international, direct flights from the U.S. and Canada.
American and United began flying last year from Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston with frequencies of at least once a week. From Canada, seasonal direct flights are being offered by Air Canada from Vancouver and Toronto, and by WestJet from Calgary.
(Flight information is current at the time of writing, June 2026.)
But although passenger numbers at PXM last year were five times higher than 10 years ago (up from 200,000 to over 1 million) we are seeing fewer visitors arrive by air. At least half of our guests arrive by bus from Oaxaca city thanks to the new highway, which is a huge boon to visitors who can now visit two distinct destinations in one trip to the state of Oaxaca.
On demographics, language and weather
- The demographic profile of our guests has changed a lot in 10 years. When we opened, Canada and the U.S. were the main source countries. Today, Mexico leads with 28%. In second place on the list of 37 countries is the U.S. with 16% followed by Germany at 9%, Canada at 8% and the United Kingdom at 6%. We offer service in English, Spanish and French but Spanish has become our primary language.
- Language can be a barrier at the breakfast table but it’s rare. Most guests speak English or Spanish, or both. The conversations are an attraction for many guests and many friendships are forged over a dish of huevos rancheros. The most common topic is what to see and do in Puerto and which beaches are the favorites.
- Many visitors consult smartphone weather apps to plan their trip to Puerto Escondido but these forecasts can be deceiving. According to the iPhone for example, you will rarely find any sunshine here for weeks on end during the rainy season because all you are shown is a big fluffy cloud. However, it is very rare to go for a day without seeing the sun. And when there is rain in the forecast you can be pretty sure it will stop after a couple of hours and the sun will come out (barring tropical storms or hurricanes). I have only used it for a short period but Weather Underground is an app worth trying
I shall leave you with a few breakfast photos although they are better enjoyed on a plate at Zandoyo than on your phone or your computer. Clockwise from the top left are enfrijoladas, mollete and salad, tacos with three different tppings (bacon and mushroom, chorizo and chicken) and a selection of fruit courses. Provecho! Read more about our breakfasts here.
