Inside a Dreamy Oasis in Mexico That Was Once the Sanctuary of an Italian Duchess
At the crossroads of Tulum and Playa del Carmen, where the beach meets a lush jungle, sits Hotel Esencia. Once the sanctuary of an Italian duchess, the sprawling abode was swooped up in 2014 by the producer and media entrepreneur Kevin Wendle, who transformed it into a chic, intimate Riviera Maya retreat where weary VIPs discreetly decamp to for a luxurious jolt of R&R.
Bringing another layer of elegance and seclusion to Hotel Esencia is the 12,000-square-foot Esencia Mansion. “As I looked around the region, I saw so many average villas being rented to some of the most demanding clients in the world who were simply attracted by their privacy, scale, and proximity to Tulum,” recalls Wendle, “and I thought, Let’s break the mold, let’s go all out and do something extraordinary.”
Here, extraordinary translates to intentionally dramatic amenities, including a screening room, a hammam, a speakeasy sporting a clandestine jungle entrance, and a trifecta of swimming pools. Despite the grandeur of these touches, the mansion feels decidedly grounding and anchored in its serene setting thanks to the handiwork of AD100 designer Giancarlo Valle, founder of his eponymous New York studio, who previously revamped Wendle’s Greenwich Village penthouse loft and early-20th-century summer house in Watch Hill, Rhode Island.
For Esencia Mansion, Valle joined the in-house creative team comprising architect Petter Svensson and artistic director Juan Carlos Gutierrez. “Though we already had a strong working blueprint, I knew I could count on Giancarlo to help us create what has really become a palace of light and beauty, with design surprises around every corner,” says Wendle.
Given the long relationship between Valle and Wendle, the design process was rooted in trust. “We wanted it to function as a home, that was the guiding principle,” says the designer. Cultivating a sense of comfort was important, as was keeping in mind that “the hotel has a local flavor but an international clientele and point of view, and this project had to appeal to both standards,” he adds.
Esencia Mansion marks Wendle’s first new-build residence (when he’s in town, it’s where he holes up) and the floor plan paid careful attention to the “sequence of rooms and how he wanted to use the spaces and the exterior developed from that,” Valle explains. “Developing the inside with no outside was a nice way of working. It was freeing.”
Complementing the earthy plaster and concrete that dominated the construction is a showcase of Mexican materials, including local stone, tropical wood, ceramics, and Oaxacan-made rugs that exemplify craftsmanship. These intriguing details were “put together in a considered and elevated way,” adds Valle.
Although Esencia Mansion is residential in nature, its location on the grounds of the hotel mean it also benefits from a hospitality context, allowing Valle to weave in such showstoppers as a sculptural staircase enlivened by an archway, some 20 custom furniture designs, and a bedroom suite that stretches across the entire third floor, complete with treetop views and a plunge pool.
Along with elements crafted by numerous local artisans, the compound teems with works from artists and designers plucked from Wendle’s own vast collection, including Pierre Jeanneret, Charlotte Perriand, Pablo Picasso, Andy Warhol, Fernando Botero, Betty Woodman, Jayson Musson, and Willy Guhl.
“The Mexican artist Humberto Ramirez spent three months lying flat on his back painting the mural in our hidden speakeasy,” recounts Wendle, and “each tile in the swimming pool was designed by Marcel Dzama, who was stranded with us briefly during the pandemic and inspired to draw dozens of the animals who share our property.” All of the blue-and-white tiles “have these veins painted into them, which is a traditional technique,” adds Valle.
Organic connections between rooms and objects stand out to Valle. “Every surface just seems to blend into the other,” he says. “There’s a softness to everything that you just want to touch. In this part of the world, everything comes to life with the sun.”
1/9Studio Giancarlo Valle sun beds and armchairs line the centerpiece pool, which is adorned with tiles designed by the New York–based Canadian artist Marcel Dzama and manufactured by Ceramica Suro in Guadalajara.
2/9A tranquil lair for sipping cocktails that mixes a vintage coffee table and stools with a lamp, sofa, armoire bar, and armchairs designed by Studio Giancarlo Valle.
3/9The airy kitchen brings together Mexican Crema Maya stone with a double-tiered parchment pendant and coral-hued stools by Studio Giancarlo Valle.
Art: Betty Woodman4/9To brighten a hallway, Valle placed a Pierre Jeanneret bench against jubilant artwork by the late ceramicist Betty Woodman.
Art: Benoît Maire5/9John Derian’s checkered quilt spruces up the bed, which is buoyed by a vintage bench and Studio Giancarlo Valle lamp on the nightstand. Contemporary French artist Benoît Maire’s painting juxtaposed with a Pierre Jeanneret floor lamp creates another visually alluring vignette
6/9Panoramic views are captured from a bench built into a window that is complemented by a Studio Giancarlo Valle rug and side table fashioned out of tzalam wood.
7/9The main bathroom’s imposing Crema Maya tub illuminates the same tiles used in the pool.
8/9Painted white, a gate emblazoned with a soft arch motif serves as an eye-catching portal between indoors and outdoors.
9/9Outdoor gatherings unfold on the Studio Giancarlo Valle sofa and chairs that surround the designer’s chunky Crema Maya marble table.
