El Retoño Ecolodge - Overview
El Retoño has a main lodge with a library and movie viewing room with its cozy fireplace, a dining/game room, an outdoor deck and a sauna. Our guests have access to the kitchen facilities. Each suite has a living room and bedroom decorated with hand-woven textiles, colorful hand painted ceramic tile, locally made bamboo furniture, traditional furnishings from Puebla, original art and comfortable beds with feather pillows. Our exclusive lodge comfortably houses groups of up to 14 people. Our guests are drawn here for opportunities such as birding, hiking, rafting, photography, visits to coffee plantations and historic haciendas: in short, for people who are seeking easy access to all the flora, fauna, culture and history this area offers. Our goal is to offer a peaceful, beautiful, comfortable and totally environmentally-friendly refuge from which our guests can explore this rich area. While many activities that draw folks to this area are outdoor ones, we also offer workshops such as paper-making, weaving, cooking, lectures on local flora and fauna and relaxing massages. These activities are designed to round out your Vistas Veracruz experience.
"An eco-lodge is a low impact, nature based accommodation facility that is planned, designed and constructed to operate in an environmentally responsible and socially sensitive manner." In order to comply with the above goal we have incorporated the following: all rain water and lodge water is collected and used, low voltage lights and dual flush toilets are standard, trash is separated and recycled, compost is generated from organic trash, and sheets and towels are changed between guests or every third day. Our wooded 4-acre parcel has been left almost untouched with care taken to not disturb the environment as the cabins were being built. Our goal is to be as eco-friendly as possible: wood used has been certified for logging, septic system is non-polluting, water is recycled for garden use, rain water is collected for use, all linens and towels are 100% cotton and local bamboo has been used in the furnishings. We have bird watching platforms high up the hill, a meditation corner by the stream, a sauna and massage room and a center where we offer workshops in paper making, ceramics, yoga and where our local experts give lectures. |
El Retoño is an ecolodge whose goal is to be in harmony with nature. We are located in the town of Coatepec which nestles in the cool, mist shrouded mountains above the hot, humid coastal area of the city of Veracruz. This quaint colonial town offers a peek into the evolving life of a small Mexican town. Since the early 1800's this has been the center of the rich, shade-grown coffee for which Veracruz is famous. These days, however, tourism centers more and more on the natural treasures of the region: waterfalls, river-rafting, hiking, bird-watching, mountain-climbing and spectacular flower/orchid shows. 
The ecolodge rests in the middle of 4 secluded acres covered with old growth trees, ferns, bromeliads, orchids, coffee plants and a meandering stream. 
After a long day of activities you are invited to relax in our sauna, make an appointment for a massage or take a stroll along our nature trails.