A private estate, run like a home
Villa Mandarinas is a private villa estate just past Mismaloya Beach on Puerto Vallarta’s south shore. Two villas, sixteen bedrooms and a resident staff of twelve, set on the cliffs between the jungle and the Pacific.
16
Bedrooms
38
Guests
12
Staff on site
200
Event guests
Our story
It began as an architect’s own home
Villa Mandarinas was designed and built by architect Alberto Álvarez Valdivia, originally as his own home. It steps down six tiers of native vegetation, cliffs and gardens to the water’s edge. The aim, in his words, was “a Pacific Mexican house.”
“The house was built around the trees, and local materials were used on roofs, terraces and floors,” he said. The orange walls were chosen to stand out against the blue of the bay, and every bedroom was given its own color. In 2009 Architectural Digest included the villa among the designs chosen from its New York Open Audition.
A seven-bedroom house then, it has since grown into a two-villa estate of sixteen suites, on the same cliffside terraces above the bay. Today the estate is owned and hosted by Bruce Madden.
Your host
Meet Bruce Madden
Bruce Madden owns and hosts Villa Mandarinas. He looks after the estate and the resident team who run it day to day, and he’s glad to help you plan your stay, whether that’s a family week, a retreat with friends or a wedding by the sea.
Write to him at maddenvallartaproperties@gmail.com or call +1 866 686 VILLAS.
The people
Twelve people look after the house
The resident team takes care of the cooking, the bar, the housekeeping and the arrangements, from a boat day to the airport ride. The villa manager, concierge and houseman speak English, and the staff work Sundays and holidays at no extra charge.
Who you’ll meet
Breakfast is served from 9:00 am, lunch around 1:00 pm and dinner by 6:00 pm, at the palapa, in the dining room or out in the garden.
“The views and the color were most important.”
Alberto Álvarez Valdivia, architect
The setting
Where the jungle meets the bay
The villa sits on the ocean just past Mismaloya, looking over Banderas Bay toward the rocks of Los Arcos National Marine Park. It overlooks the cove where John Huston filmed The Night of the Iguana. Behind rise the jungle and the Sierra Madre.
A private pier and a man-made tidal pool put the sea at the bottom of the garden. Kayaks, snorkel and fishing gear are on hand for the marine park.
What makes it different
A villa with room for everyone
No two suites alike
Sixteen en-suite bedrooms, each with its own color. Most open onto a private ocean-view terrace.
Meals cooked here
Two chefs cook three meals a day on the property. No reservations and no drive into town.
The sea at the door
A private pier, a tidal pool on the rocks, kayaks and snorkel gear, and Los Arcos just offshore.
Space to spread out
Three pool areas, three hot tubs, indoor and outdoor game rooms, gym, sauna, yoga palapa and a garden firepit area.
Made of this coast
Built from the place it stands on
The house was built around the existing trees, with local materials on its roofs, terraces and floors. The yoga palapa is thatched with local palm fronds. Inside, the bedrooms show Mexican folk art, custom furniture and hand-crafted textiles, and the table is laid with Mexican handmade ceramics and hand-blown glass.
The kitchen is part of that. In 2018 the Puerto Vallarta chapter of the Chaîne des Rôtisseurs held its monthly lunch at the villa, where the house specialty was beef fillet in bone-marrow sauce.
