Aman has opened Amanvari, its first resort in Mexico, an 18-casita retreat on Baja California Sur's East Cape, set along the Sea of Cortez inside the 1,500-acre Costa Palmas community near Los Cabos.

image of Casa Grande at Amanvari in Costa Palmas community, courtesy of Aman
Casa Grande, courtesy of Aman

While the Pacific side of the peninsula draws the crowds, the East Cape sits on the calmer Sea of Cortez, roughly 45 minutes from Los Cabos airport, where Costa Palmas has assembled a full resort community around a marina and three miles of swimmable shoreline. Amanvari, Sanskrit for "peace" and "water," takes the quietest corner of that community, on an estuary at its western edge. The design was conceived by Heah & Co. and realized by Elastic Architects, drawing into a setting where desert, farmland and sea meet.

image of the lobby at Amanvari Costa Palmas, courtesy of Aman Group
Lobby, courtesy of Aman
image of the resort interior, staircase, at Amanvari Costa Palmas, courtesy of Aman Group
Resort Interior, courtesy of Aman
image of resort interior, courtesy of Aman Group
Resort Interior, courtesy of Aman
image of a Casita's interior, courtesy of Aman Group
Casita Interior, courtesy of Aman
image of a Casita's interior, bathroom, courtesy of Aman Group
Casita Interior, courtesy of Aman
image of a Casita's interior, view, courtesy of Aman Group
Casita Interior, courtesy of Aman

At 18 keys, the resort runs small even by Aman standards. The casitas sit in two settings, most on elevated ground and a few along the estuary or on the sand, each roughly 833 square feet with a private heated pool, an outdoor shower and a terrace opening onto the Sea of Cortez or the Sierra de la Laguna mountains. Interiors follow a sand-toned palette of stone and timber that echoes the surrounding terrain.

image of dining venue Arva at Amanvari Costa Palmas, courtesy of Aman Group
Arva, courtesy of Aman
image of dining venue Luma at Amanvari Costa Palmas, courtesy of Aman Group
Luma, courtesy of Aman
image of The Lounge Bar at Amanvari Costa Palmas , courtesy of Aman Group
The Lounge Bar, courtesy of Aman

Dining spans three restaurants: Arva for Italian, Sesui for Japanese omakase at a 10-seat counter, and Luma for Mexican seafood and open-fire cooking, alongside a lounge bar and a pool bar. Much of the produce comes from the community's 18 acres of organic orchards and farms.

image of Amanvari's sea view, courtesy of Aman Group
Sea View, courtesy of Aman
image of the Amanvari Spa Temazcal, sweat lodge, courtesy of Aman Group
Amanvari Spa Temazcal, courtesy of Aman
image of Amanvari Pool, courtesy of Aman Group
Pool, courtesy of Aman

The Aman Spa is built around a contemporary temazcal, the traditional Mesoamerican sweat lodge, with two Hydro Houses holding a banya and a hammam, six treatment rooms, a beauty salon, outdoor relaxation areas and a yoga pavilion.

Aerial image of Costa Palmas Community, courtesy of Costa Palmas
Community Aerial, courtesy of Costa Palmas
image of Costa Palmas Golf Club, courtesy of Costa Palmas
Costa Palmas Golf Club, courtesy of Costa Palmas
image of Marina Village, courtesy of Costa Palmas
Marina Village, courtesy of Costa Palmas
image of Chiki Nightclub, courtesy of Costa Palmas
Chiki Nightclub, courtesy of Costa Palmas
image of Casena Coffee, courtesy of Costa Palmas
Casena Coffee, courtesy of Costa Palmas

Amanvari guests also have access to the wider Costa Palmas community, from the Nura beach club and three miles of swimmable sand to a Robert Trent Jones II golf course, a deep-water marina and yacht club, alongside snorkeling, diving, sailing and hiking in the Sierra de la Laguna. The nearby Cabo Pulmo National Marine Park, one of the oldest coral reef systems in North America, draws divers to its manta rays and sea turtles.

image of Amanvari Costa Palmas Residence Exterior, courtesy of Aman Group
Residence Exterior, courtesy of Aman
image of Amanvari Costa Palmas Residence Exterior, courtesy of Aman Group
Residence Exterior, courtesy of Aman
image of Amanvari Residence Interior, courtesy of Aman Group
Residence Interior, courtesy of Aman
image of Amanvari Residence Interior, courtesy of Aman Group
Residence Interior, courtesy of Aman
image of Amanvari Residence Pool, courtesy of Aman Group
Residence Pool, courtesy of Aman
image of Amanvari Residence Pool, courtesy of Aman Group
Residence Pool, courtesy of Aman

Amanvari also brings Aman-branded homes to the East Cape for private ownership, a first for the brand in the region. The opening caps a long-delayed buildout at Costa Palmas and gives Aman its first address in Mexico, joining a North American portfolio that runs from Amangiri in Utah to Aman New York.