Featured Sayulita Business: Cinética Retreats and events
Cinética is an exclusive estate located in the heart of the jungle, just moments outside of Sayulita, and a short scenic drive to the town center. With sweeping views of debatably one of the most beautiful secret beaches around Sayulita, it doesn’t get much better than waking up here.
With up to 6 spacious suites, the property can accommodate up to 12 guests for overnight stays. Cinética comes equipped with a commercial kitchen, an oversized pool terrace, a brand-new Yoga Palapa with stunning views, and a Saline Pool Heated by Solar Panels. Enjoy a quick walk to one of the area’s beautiful secluded beaches.
A getaway. A retreat. A springboard. Cinética is a base for doing anything… or absolutely nothing. It is the perfect setting to host your Sayulita retreat or event. Owners Jessica and Mathew kindly opened up about how they made their dream a reality of moving to paradise.
- Please tell me a bit about yourself?
We’re a family of four (soon to be five!) who chose Sayulita after a really nice run in Idaho. Independently and together, we’ve lived and worked in France, Australia, Spain, the UK, Nepal and a bunch of places in the US. Relentlessly curious and adventurous, we do our best to live by the maxim “Risk everything, regret nothing.” Which can definitely be a challenge, as one of us breathes change as easily as she breathes air, while the other one… well, let’s just say that he tends to be happy digging pretty deep trenches.
- How did you land in Sayulita?
We’d spent a lot of time in Costa Rica over the years, surfing, traveling and visiting friends. And we’d long pondered a way to sink roots somewhere near an ocean. We visited Sayulita for a month in April of 2020 with friends… which turned into two months, which turned into a daydreaming loop about moving here (as one tends to do when exploring a magical and unfamiliar place). The daydreams turned into a conversation with Randy and Arturo at Protierra, who steered us towards a totally sweet small hotel tucked into the jungle near Playa Patzcuaro. A few months later, we found ourselves packing our truck and trailer and heading south. Serendipity? Fate? Or just really good luck? Either way, we’re now living on a lot of stoke, operating a small business in this welcoming community.
- How long have you lived in Sayulita? What is your favorite part?
We moved to Sayulita in early October, 2021, about six months after we travelled here together for our first visit. And our favorite part of being here is simple: the intersection of culture and community. The pace of life, the emphasis on family, the willingness to jettison a “schedule” for an impromptu coffee or cerveza, the vibrancy of the town, how hard the people here work… it all speaks to us in a way that the always-on, financial-first culture in the US never did. And our “commute” through the jungle remains as magical as it was the first time we hung a right off the Punta Mita Highway.
- Can you tell me about what inspired you to start your business?
Several years ago, we were chatting about what Jessica might want to do after children (she was a teacher before our first child). She mentioned an idea she’d had to build a business oriented around travel for new moms. Wow. Super cool concept. But, like so many good ideas, we got excited and then… forgot about it. But when we were here in early 2020, Casa Nawali was right down the hill (and was for sale), her idea resurfaced and we started to daydream. While we haven’t yet figured out how to pivot our business to one that caters to new moms, that was definitely the inspiration. Now? Cinetica is the Spanish word for “Kinetic”: energy through motion. And THAT is the inspiration that gets us up in the morning.
- What services do you offer?
Ha! Honestly, it’s pretty variable. We think of Cinetica as a window into the life that WE have chosen, rather than as a high-touch hotel. We love helping people activate their own vacation, so we don’t do a lot “for” them. But we provide a platform for them to create their own experiences. Each of our suites and casitas has a full, western-style kitchen, for example, so we attract travelers who like to cook. Almost all of them have laundry facilities, so our long-stay guests can be self-sufficient. We’ll certainly help organize activities (on-site yoga or massages, or a private chef anyone?) and have a lot of recommendations, so there is a bit of a concierge feel to the experience. But we are more of a hybrid hotel/AirBnB/guesthouse concept rather than a conventional hotel competing for market share based on providing more services. I guess our feeling is that if you can hang in the jungle and appreciate a bit of unpredictability in your life, we could be your tribe.
- Tell me a bit about your background with this industry?
Absolutely zero. Seriously. Neither of us has ever worked in hospitality. To say that our first year was a steep learning curve is an understatement. It was more of a “learning wall”. But Jessica is blue-printed for helping people feel tended to and loved, so we at least have that on our team. And, really, hospitality is all about that: doing what you can to ensure that your guests have an awesome experience! And, fortunately, we are a tiny property (only 5 casitas and suites), so we really can do a lot to influence how our guests curate and create their experience.
- How long has your business been in operation?
The previous owners started construction about 20 years ago, and they had earned the coveted #1 position in Trip Advisor several years running. It has been an incredible gift to step into an operation which, while it had been closed for nearly two years and as a result was a bit tired, enjoyed a solid reputation with a built in client base. Everything that we’ve done since we stepped into their shoes – from making the commitment to become grid-optional, to building a sweet yoga palapa at the top of our property, to converting the pool to salt, to a significant upgrade to the rooms – has been oriented around a ground-up refresh of the entire business. We’re pretty stoked at how things are shaping up!
- What does your business offer that separates it from the rest?
There are two aspects of Cinetica that we think are really special:
First is our location; tucked between two of Nayarit’s most beautiful beaches (Patzcuaro and Patzcuarito) in a pristine stretch of jungle just south of town. So the buzz of restaurants and shops and bars is an easy golf cart ride away… but when you return, all you hear are the sounds of jungle birds, the wind rattling palm fronds and the gentle rumble of waves. And the drive itself? Guests have described it as a cross between a Disney ride, a scene from Indiana Jones and a jungle exploration.
And second is our unconventional service model: we just aren’t a typical anything! Not as “service heavy” as a hotel. Not as “you’re on your own” as an AirBnB. Absolutely nothing like an all-inclusive resort. Spending time at Cinetica is sort of like visiting old friends who you haven’t seen in a long time: we live on site, so we’re around a lot, but our rooms are entirely private so a “retreat experience” is super easy to create.
- What are your future plans for your business? Any new goals?
We are contemplating building three new jungle casitas. In part, we’d do this to support the interest we are receiving from retreat organizers who love our location and setting, but need a bit more room. And in part, because we just love designing and building stuff. If we go forward with the project, they are going to be soooo cool! Think “Dwell” meets the Mexican jungle in a tiny home package. Longer term, we are also iterating on a retreat concept that we’ve never encountered before, and which we think would suit Cinetica perfectly. But we’re in stealth mode, so have to wait for that announcement!
- Can you share a happy memory with a client?
Our happiest memory? Easy. Two of our guests got engaged while staying here. And, yes, they arrived together! But on a more consistent basis, the joy of spending time with repeat guests (some of whom visited more than once last season) is surprisingly profound. It’s an unexpected form of deep confirmation: that we are on the right track, that we’ve made the right decision for our family to move here and buy this business, and that everything will work out. Really, it is more than simply “repeat revenue”. It is a positive feedback loop that operates on a psycho-emotional scale.
- Is there anything special that you want to share?
This may be a small thing, but we are fortunate enough to have a dedicated fiber optic cable that connects us to the main tower south of town. Basically, this means that we have a pretty big data pipe for our guests. Sayulita WiFi has told us that we enjoy some of the fastest download rates in the entire area… perfect for remote workers. Which is a small clue for our new business concept.
