Villa Amistad

Villa Amistad takes its name from the word for friendship, and the house was clearly planned with that in mind. It sits in Porta Fortuna, one of the communities inside the gates of Punta Mita, the peninsula that runs out into the Pacific on the Riviera Nayarit. The arrangement suits people who came here together and intend to stay together.

Four bedrooms and five bathrooms accommodate eight guests, a ratio that means nobody waits for anything. The interiors are generous without being formal. The gourmet kitchen is built for real cooking, whether that is one person making coffee at six in the morning or four people getting in each other's way before dinner.

The outdoor living is the point of the house. It is expansive and shaded, set up for long stretches of sitting, with a table for meals and the private pool beside it. Days follow the water and the shade. Someone swims, someone reads, lunch arrives at the outdoor table and stays there through the afternoon. The six-passenger golf cart takes the whole group at once, which is how a house like this prefers to move: out to the courses or the beach clubs together, back together, everyone accounted for.

Premier Golf membership comes with the villa. It opens both Jack Nicklaus Signature courses, including hole 3B on the Pacifico, the only natural island green in the world, reached by boat when the tide allows. The membership also covers the practice facilities, the clubhouse, and Punta Mita's private beach clubs.

Air conditioning and high-speed WiFi are here for the hours that need them. The rest of the day happens outside.