Meagan Drillinger
A spray of fine sand flecked against my face as the Polaris cruised across a 5-mile stretch of rugged, undeveloped white-sand beach. To my left was the crashing Pacific and to my right the thick mangroves framing a gentle, pale-green estuary. In every direction, the rolling foothills of the Sierra Madre mountains made me feel completely cut off from the rest of the world. Just moments before, we had the Polaris climbing up and over the rocky terrain, savoring one uninterrupted view after the next over my beloved Costalegre. Without a soul in sight, save for our guide, my husband and a very loyal herding dog named Paolo, I was very far from ordinary life.
This is Xala, and if you have not heard of it before, you likely will very soon. I was lucky enough to be given a tour of the 3,000-acre property, and I can easily say that it is one of the most spectacular slices of the coast I've ever seen. This space is on the brink of a transformation, however, into a posh playground for international luxury travelers and prospective homeowners, to the tune of $1 billion.
Xala is anchored by its luxury residences as well as the highly anticipated Six Senses Xala, which is slated to open in 2026. The residential community will feature 75 six-acre plots for developments of privately owned ranchos. There will be a clubhouse for residents, miles of hiking trails, sports facilities, a lagoon beach club and, of course, that spectacular swath of sand directly out front.
The Six Senses will be nothing short of a wellness paradise, with 51 beachfront bungalows, an expansive spa, multiple restaurants and beach clubs. It will also have waterfront pools, dining enclaves and a farm-to-table concept that will harness the on-site Xala Farms organic produce garden.
Part of the Xala property includes an expansive estuary, home to hundreds of migratory birds and other wildlife. A low-impact "lake club" concept has been dreamt up for this space, where guests and residents can use non-motorized watersports equipment like kayaks and paddleboards to cruise the mangroves and get a little closer to nature.
The whole place feels like the ultimate summer camp for high net worth adults, with every scenario that you could dream up already planned out with the most exquisite attention to detail. An epic surf break? It's got that. A skate park designed by an Olympic skateboarder? Yes, that's here too. How about a turtle sanctuary and a mangrove plantation? Yes, and yes. It even has direct access to the new Costalegre International Airport, which will begin receiving private aircraft before October.
Quite honestly, in my 15 years of covering Mexico, I have never seen anything like it; admittedly, that made me nervous. As someone who is increasingly concerned about the state of overdevelopment in Mexico, I had my eyes and ears finely tuned to how, if at all, this master-planned community was going to be different from those that have come before it.
Heart in the right place
To my delight, it is extremely different -- and in ways that actually matter. The developers of Xala -- Ricardo Santa Cruz, Jeronimo Bremer and Juan Bremer -- have not only challenged the traditional model of sustainability but raised it to the next level. Part of the ethos of Xala is to go beyond employing the local communities to be the staff. By contrast, Xala wants to help the surrounding communities become self-sufficient and rise along with it.
Xala with Heart is the company's foundation branch and is vital to the soul of the project. Based out of the nearby communities of Morelos and Higuera Blanca, two communities where the average monthly income is $300 for a family of four, Xala with Heart aims to go beyond the traditional model of tourism sustainability. Its programming includes entrepreneur certification programs for locals, inspiring them to start their own businesses and helping to give them the resources to make it happen. Xala with Heart has brought mental health counselors into the high schools for students to have access to therapy and guidance. Xala has also been able to provide year-round potable water to families and farmers in the region. These are families that are typically reliant upon the rainy season to grow crops or are otherwise used to receiving fresh water once a week. This is only the beginning, but these were the three areas that resonated with me most. It's impressive, to say the least.
More and more I find myself at a crossroads when it comes to tourism and development. I am constantly questioning the impact of tourism, how much of it is actually beneficial to local communities and how much of that is just spin. But development in Mexico shows no signs of slowing down. Demand persists and with that comes deeper development pushes into the more remote corners of the country. So when a project like Xala comes along, one that is 100 percent a luxury development but also one with tremendous heart and genuine care for the betterment locals, that's something to pay attention to.