There’s a moment just after dawn in Todos Santos, when the sun stretches its rays across the Baja peninsula, transforming the landscape with hues of gold and amber. It’s a quiet magic—one that lingers in the air, caught between the rustle of palms and the whisper of the sea. It’s in this interplay of nature and stillness, of rugged landscapes and hushed sophistication, that Paradero lives. And it’s no accident.

At its heart, Paradero, the 41-suite hotel, reinterprets the land and traditional Mexican architecture with a modern lens. Walls of raw concrete and earthen hues pay homage to ancient adobe structures, while courtyards and open-air walkways nod to haciendas of old. Yet here, these elements are distilled to their essence, shaped into forms that feel at once timeless and unmistakably contemporary.

Step onto its grounds, and you’re enveloped by the scent of native plants—palo de arco, torote, and agave—carefully cultivated to blend the lines between wild and landscaped. The dance of light and shadow, courtesy of latticed screens and textured walls, creates a rhythm that shifts as the day unfolds. The serene infinity pool offers panoramic views of the desert and mountains, while the spa highlights traditional healing practices in a lush oasis. The rooms, minimalist yet inviting, feature private terraces that frame the landscape.

The architects behind Paradero approached the project with an almost reverent curiosity, digging deep into the region’s history and ecology to craft a space that feels utterly singular. The materials they chose are rooted in the land, from the textured plaster that mirrors the arid terrain to the handcrafted furnishings that echo local traditions. In this conversation, we go behind the scenes with Yashar Yektajo, the architect who brought one of Mexico’s most coveted hotels to life.

The Mexican Hacienda, as a courtyard typology, is clearly reflected in Paradero's architecture. It’s elevated further by not being able to fully grasp what’s behind our walls upon first sight—one of the hotel’s strongest features. Craftsmanship is also deeply embedded in the formwork that enabled the concrete to be poured. It always amazed me how Mexican construction workers—more artisans than laborers—could rapidly create incredibly rigid structures from simple wood, continually repurposing it throughout the site. This same formwork permeates the walls, leaving behind a patina, a unique wood pattern made possible only through the exceptional craftsmanship of these workers.

NS: What’s your favorite time of day and place at Paradero?

YY: The pool at sunset. When the water mirrors the sky, it makes you feel like you’re at the highest point in the surrounding landscape. It makes people contemplate and praise silence.

NS: How do the materials you selected contribute to the dialogue between the hotel and its natural surroundings?

YY: The hotel is basically an extrusion of the existing soil. We tested many different construction materials, proportions, and colors until finding concrete that mimics the surroundings the most. In this way Paradero becomes a canvas for the existing landscape, not the other way around. I always find it beautiful when people tell me that they have a hard time finding the hotel.

NS: What’s one feature of Paradero that couldn’t exist anywhere else in the world?

YY: The hotel has an incredible ability to capture and reflect the diverse ecosystems that surround it. At different times of the day and in various areas, it absorbs the lush vibrancy of an oasis, the rugged beauty of the xerophytic desert, the culture and hard work of Mexican farmlands, and the vastness of the Sierra de la Laguna. Thanks to thoughtful landscaping, the gardens now attract an increasing variety of local fauna, including birds and roadrunners, adding even more life to the experience.

NS: What’s a design element in Paradero that makes you think, “I can’t believe we pulled this off?

YY: The structure of our two-story bedrooms stands out. The walls are just 10 cm thick, using minimal steel and cement to accommodate 42 rooms and numerous amenities. It’s amazing to think that our climate, combined with the ingenuity of our engineers and construction workers, made such a slim yet solid structure possible. In an era where contemporary architecture often relies on cladding and heavy ornamentation, Paradero celebrates simplicity.

NS: If Paradero were a playlist, what songs would best capture its architectural vibe?

YY: This is a tricky question, but when I was supervising the construction site, I had Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto in D Major major on repeat.

NS: What drove the decision to embrace such minimalism in the design? How does it reflect the ethos of the Baja region?

YY: For guests to truly immerse themselves in the surrounding landscape, we needed architecture that didn’t dominate but instead revealed the region. That’s why minimalism felt appropriate here—it created space for something else to be magnified.

NS: Do you see this kind of minimalism and environmental focus as a broader trend in hospitality design?

YY: Absolutely. Hospitality companies should prioritize creating structures that dwell and age well within their environments. Projects should evaluate even the fundamental decisions, like selecting a location. At Paradero, we understood early on that being beachfront isn’t the definitive path to “luxury.” Instead, we challenged the concept of luxury itself by asking: What do guests truly need during a brief stay in an unfamiliar place they’re eager to explore?

NS: If Paradero tells a story through its architecture, what is that story, and how do you think guests interpret it?

YY: It tells the story of an everlasting hotel, a structure that will age well and will embrace the constant changes of the very context from which it was created. Guests will return every year or so, noticing how new elements are woven into their journey, whether it's the taller, more mature plants, the seasoned ingredients from local farms, the work of emerging artists, or the new musicians. They’ll experience all of this, within the same hotel.