The History of Playa Las Tortugas

Playa Las Tortugas is as beautiful and peaceful as it was 20 years ago. Playa Las Tortugas is a history of a beachfront development done right. Or perhaps it was done wrong, and that’s what makes it oh so right.

The history of Playa Las Tortugas

Playa Las Tortugas feels as though it’s stuck in time. Like someone had a grand plan for this beautiful, empty five mile stretch of beach, crafted 16 lovely villas to get things started, and then just stopped.

Robert Hancock.

Robert originated the community of Playa Las Tortugas in 1999 with the purchase of 43 acres. His stated vision was to create an ecologically minded development that would protect the sense of place and the turtle habitat.

Robert was aware that the Mexican government prohibits building within 65 feet of the high-tide mark. But in Robert’s vision it would be better for visitors and turtles alike to implement a larger setback. So, Hancock persuaded the government to impose an additional 65-foot setback along the 11-mile beach, and to apply that setback to the neighboring property as well. Additionally, Hancock sought to space the villas on the property with open corridors to allow animals and people to travel easily from the estuary to the beach, and from the villas to the beach.

The power of nature in Playa Las Tortugas.

Hurricane Kenna.

Hurricane Kenna peaked as a category 5 hurricane and made a direct hit on Playa Las Tortugas October 25, 2002 as a category 4 hurricane with 140 MPH winds. Showing us nature is a powerful force on the Pacific coast in Mexico.

For the vast majority of the time it is beautiful and pleasant but perhaps every 25 years or so we’re reminded of the power of the tropical waters of the Pacific. Hurricane Kenna was an example of this. It hit during the early years of Playa Las Tortugas when there were only a few villas. And it wasn’t the wind that was problem but the storm surge that pushed through the entirety of Playa Las Tortugas filling swimming pools with seawater and sand and inundating the first floors of many villas. There was a heartwarming outpouring of support as locals from the surrounding villages descended on Playa Las Tortugas to help dig out. Fortunately, our original developer Robert Hancock already had an excavator on hand and began around-the-clock work of returning the sand to the beach.

Playa Las Tortugas villa ownership change.

La Villa Reyes.

In 2021 Roberta Laub-Rode and John Rode purchased Villa Reyes from Ken King and his wife Carolyn, who originally chose the name “Reyes” from the Spanish for “King”. The Rode family made only a slight name change, adding “La” at the beginning of Villa Reyes, mostly for ease in securing the website URL, and to add just a little touch of their own. John and Roberta fell in love with Playa Las Tortugas after spending two amazing vacations at neighboring Villa Tortuga.

Playa Las Tortugas has developed gradually over the past 20 years. 16 villas have been constructed and several of the undeveloped lots are held by owners of villas to serve as buffers or preserve ocean views.

Playa Las Tortugas currently has 16 villas:

Playa Las Tortugas in ancient times.

The Tecoxquin People.

Of course Playa Las Tortugas looked very different in ancient times. It is estimated that starting ~2000+ years ago a number of different groups of people inhabited the area around Playa Las Tortugas. The most apparent example of this is the Altavista petroglyph complex near Otates, the town nearest Playa Las Tortugas.

With over 56 petroglyphs Altavista is evidence of the ancient Tecoxquin people having lived in the region. It was not a static region however, so there are discussions of many different groups of people having lived here including the related Cora and Huichol people who were concentrated in the Sierra Madre to the east.

While there isn’t direct evidence of ancient people having lived in Playa Las Tortugas, it’s not a stretch of the imagination to think they may have used the estuary for fishing, just like the local people do today.