Dream Garden Villa in the Heart of Oaxaca

Five of us spent a week in this truly beautiful, comfortable house - two couples and a single adult. The house is beautifully laid out on multiple levels, with terraces, art and plantings everywhere. We didn't cook, but the kitchen is nicely designed. Easy walking distance to the main cathedral/Oaxacan culture museum, restaurants, shopping, and it overlooks the Botanic Gardens. Other enhancements include a sweet dog-like cat, daily (weekday) cleaning service, and a good sound system linked to audio streaming (thank you Alexa!). There was lots of drinking water on hand, and the lovely housekeepers kept the handblown beakers in each bedroom filled.This property is not ideal for someone with mobility challenges. Although there is a bedroom on the ground floor, it's a step down and then up to the bathroom (the owners may rectify this). There are lots of lovely/comfortable spaces to hang out in on the ground floor, but other bedrooms, vistas and terraces are up stairs. The very attractive small pool is difficult to get in and out of, though this too could be addressed fairly easily.A few small drawbacks: shower water flow is pretty minimal (a general Oaxacan City challenge) and takes time to heat up. There is a double security system, which is great, but it's a bit nervous-making to have to punch in a 4-digit code to exit (what if there were an emergency?) Extra beds in 2 rooms, make those spaces a bit tight. Small things aside though, this is a spectacular property!

Casa Almaviva was even more spectacular in person than we could have imagined. Aside from a magical layout with great amenities (a bathroom attached to every room, a soundsystem and a house cat, to name a few) the house was spotless and extremely centrally located. The rental did require aupstay

Our stay here was nothing short of perfect! Great location, gorgeous spaces, whimsical art work, stunning terraces dotted with extraordinary succulents all meticulously maintained by a gracious and unobtrusive household staff. Highly recommend this spot if you want to be close to everything while having a tranquil oasis to return to each day. Thank you!

The only thing (for me personally because I’m always warm) I wish there had been a/c. Other than that we lived our stay…perfect location overlooking the botanical gardens..great water pressure for showers..plenty of hot h2o. Warm welcome from Todd the owner. Nothing negative at all to say about our stay!

Delightful, architectural marvel filled with succulents and so close to the center.

The cactus garden house is incredible! Felt like we were staying in an issue of Architectural Digest. Everything we needed and more. Loved the rooftop views and plants. The location is superb and there is a very modern mall with shops, a grocery store, and restaurants 2 blocks away. We loved our time in this home!!!

The location was excellent and quiet. The space was beautiful though the pictures were slightly deceiving in size. There is a wonderful mother and daughter that are caretakers. They are there from 8 AM to 3 PM EVERY week day. We asked them to arrive no earlier than 10 AM, which they obliged. It did feel like we had chaperones in the house while they were there but they were very nice. Late the first night the house alarm went off multiple times, which was, as the host noted, very loud and disruptive. White towels were provided which were easily lightly soiled. We were informed that if they couldn’t be cleaned with the house laundry they would be sent out to be commercially cleaned. If they were unable to be cleaned then we would be charged for them. We were told there would be make up remover’s in the bathrooms, but our bathroom had none. Savvy lodgings we have stayed at in the past usually have a black face cloth for just this problem. The fourth evening the house ran out of water. It is on a cistern. It was not until early in the evening the next day that it was refilled and we had water again…after almost 24hrs. With the various inconveniences, we asked if the owner would consider comping a bottle of Mezcal that was provided with the house. In the end, we were told that we would not be charged for the towels that were ‘soiled’, but I still felt the inconveniences, for what we paid for the lodging, were disproportionate. We will look elsewhere next time.

Central location was walking distance to everything. House features and beauty is even better in real life. Host Todd was attentive and personable throughout our stay. This is an amazing find and comes highly recommended. Andre D.