“Is there any better place in the world to enjoy breakfast than Oaxaca? After a few days at the ‘Devil and the Watermelon’ B&B, you’ll answer ‘probably not.’”
A mother. A daughter. An old Oaxacan colonial house on Calle de Los Libres. And an ashtray with a little devil on it that ended up naming the whole thing.
Fifteen years later: two houses, twelve rooms named after La Lotería Mexicana, and a breakfast the New York Times called one of Oaxaca's finest. The devil, it turns out, has excellent taste.
This is not a hotel group. It is a life built in Oaxaca, opened to the people curious enough to find it.
Both properties are designed with the same philosophy — warm, artisan, deeply Oaxacan. One is a restored colonial house. The other was built from the ground up, stone by stone.
The original house · Since 2010
El Diablo y La Sandía
"Where the devil first sat down."
✦An old Oaxacan colonial house — thick walls, high ceilings, the soul of the city
✦Two blocks from Mercado de la Merced — the locals’ market, not the tourist one: the real, unvarnished Oaxaca, all noise, colour and life
✦Open patio breakfast cooked each morning by our Oaxacan cocinera
✦6 Lotería rooms: El Arpa, El Corazón, El Catrín, La Sirena, La Luna, La Estrella
Weddings, birthdays, a family that travels well together — take an entire house to yourselves, with breakfast cooked each morning and the whole place all your own.
Each lotería card was hand-illustrated for us by the artist Frekan · @frekan_tn
What makes us different
Three temptations you won't find at an Airbnb
01 — Breakfast
The best breakfast you'll eat in Oaxaca
A homemade Oaxacan breakfast, cooked fresh each morning by our cocinera — and it’s included, every day you stay. Not a tray, not a buffet: real homemade food.
02 — Welcome mezcal
A drink to seal the deal
Sourced from small Oaxacan producers most visitors never find. A small bottle waits in your room, ready for whenever you wish to drink it — and yes, the devil approves the list himself.
03 — Local knowledge
Fifteen years of Oaxaca, drawn on a map for you
A map we drew ourselves, with our personal recommendations. The places we actually go — updated, freely shared, entirely yours.
What our guests say
Verified stays, in their own words.
El Diablo y La Luna · Verified TripAdvisor
★★★★★
"Perched above the city where it's quiet and tranquil, but an easy walking distance to the center. We couldn't be more pleased."
"This is my second time staying here… The breakfasts are delicious (especially the enfrijoladas!) and the courtyard is beautiful. The neighborhood is fun and walkable."
"The location was very walkable and the atmosphere charming. But the staff outshined it all… Also the breakfasts were quite delicious! I would definitely go back!"
“We had the honor of being El Diablo y la Luna’s very first guests—and it’s clear, right from the start, how much love and intention María and Sten have poured into the property, which they built from the ground up.…”
La Sandía sits in the flat, walkable heart of the centro, a few blocks from the Zócalo; La Luna rests up a quiet hillside above the city. Pick a house to see exactly how to find it.
Los Libres · Historic Centre
A few blocks from the Zócalo.
La Sandía sits at Calle de los Libres 205, in the historic centre — a pale-blue colonial house behind a tall wrought-iron gate. Step in off the street and the city softens into a plant-filled courtyard.
Everything here is on foot. The Zócalo and the Cathedral are a few flat blocks away, with Mercado de la Merced right around the corner. Santo Domingo and Jalatlaco are an easy ten-minute stroll up the andador. No hills, no steps — just cobblestones and the whole centro at your door.
≈ 8 min to the ZócaloMercado de la Merced around the cornerFlat & walkable — no steps
🚪
Look for the pale-blue wall & No. 205
No big sign, no lobby. (Google's street photo is out of date, so trust the number, not the picture.) Ring the bell and someone is always there to let you in.
Closer than you think. Quieter than you'd believe.
People hear La Luna is "up on a hill" and picture a taxi ride out of town. It isn't. You're a gentle 13-minute walk from Santo Domingo — through a real Oaxacan barrio, past the panaderías and the mezcalerías, all the way to our door.
The only catch is the last stretch: 52 stone steps up to the house. About the same as a third-floor walk-up — under a minute. And at the top there's no traffic, no noise. Just rooftops, church domes, and the mountains under all of Oaxaca's sky.
≈ 13 min from Santo DomingoWalkable to the CentroCar-free & quiet
🤫
The shortcut Google doesn't show you
Just above the 52 steps there's a small passage straight to our door — it doesn't appear on regular Google Maps.
Under a minute up — and the secret passage to our door is right at step 52.
El Diablo y La Luna
Your summit. Rooftops, domes, the mountains, and all the sky.
Calle de los Libres 205 · Centro, Oaxaca
On Calle de los Libres at No. 205, a few flat blocks up from the Zócalo. Look for the pale-blue wall and the small diablito plaque by the iron gate.
Oaxaca
The city you think you know — and the one we'll show you.
This city is in our blood. We know where to eat before the queue forms, which mezcal bar is worth the walk — and every guest gets our hand-drawn map of it all.
Calm and light-filled, in the heart of the original colonial house.
About this room
Named for the harp, El Arpa is a calm, light-filled room in the original colonial house, a few steps from your morning coffee in the courtyard. The markets, Santo Domingo and the Zócalo are all a short, flat walk away. A king bed or two twins, a private bathroom, and the quiet thick walls of an old Oaxacan house.
King or two twin bedsFan · Safe · Hair dryer · Private bathroomIn every room, a few things we’ve thought of for you: a woven market bag and a hat to borrow for your days out, a sleep kit with an eye mask and earplugs, shampoo, shower gel and body lotion, and a plug-in mosquito repellent.
The warmest room in the house — deep tones, colour and craft, a bed you sink into.
About this room
El Corazón — the heart — opens off the planted courtyard, warm and unhurried, the kind of room you sink into. A king bed or two twins and a private bathroom, in the calm of the house, with all of Centro to wander the moment you step out.
King or two twin bedsFan · Safe · Hair dryer · Private bathroomIn every room, a few things we’ve thought of for you: a woven market bag and a hat to borrow for your days out, a sleep kit with an eye mask and earplugs, shampoo, shower gel and body lotion, and a plug-in mosquito repellent.
Dapper and dignified — the dandy of the deck, dressed in Oaxacan colour.
About this room
El Catrín wears the courtyard's colors with a little swagger — a comfortable room off the patio, king bed or two twins, private bathroom, and the whole of Centro waiting a few steps past the iron gate.
King or two twin bedsFan · Safe · Hair dryer · Private bathroomIn every room, a few things we’ve thought of for you: a woven market bag and a hat to borrow for your days out, a sleep kit with an eye mask and earplugs, shampoo, shower gel and body lotion, and a plug-in mosquito repellent.
Cool and calm — a queen bed and the siren to sing you to sleep.
About this room
Our smallest and coziest room, La Sirena sits right by the kitchen, so you'll likely wake to the smell of breakfast. A queen bed and a private bathroom, tucked into the heart of the house — snug, easy, and a little bit secret.
Queen bedFan · Safe · Hair dryer · Private bathroomIn every room, a few things we’ve thought of for you: a woven market bag and a hat to borrow for your days out, a sleep kit with an eye mask and earplugs, shampoo, shower gel and body lotion, and a plug-in mosquito repellent.
Quiet and moonlit, on its own upstairs beside the terrace. The devil naps here.
About this room
La Luna sits on its own on the upper floor, right beside the terrace — the most private room in the house, set a little apart from everything else. It gets wonderful light (and a little of what's happening on the street below). A king bed or two twins and a private bathroom, with the terrace just outside your door and breakfast served downstairs on the courtyard.
King or two twin bedsFan · Safe · Hair dryer · Private bathroomIn every room, a few things we’ve thought of for you: a woven market bag and a hat to borrow for your days out, a sleep kit with an eye mask and earplugs, shampoo, shower gel and body lotion, and a plug-in mosquito repellent.
Our biggest layout: a mezzanine single and a little living room with a queen bed.
About this room
Our biggest room is really two: a bedroom with a king (or two twins) and a mezzanine single above, plus a small sitting room with its own queen bed and a private bathroom. It faces the street, so it carries a little of Oaxaca's pulse — lively, roomy, and good for a small family or a group of friends.
BedsKing or two twins + a double bed + a mezzanine single
BathPrivate bathroom · living room with a queen bed
Features
King or two twins + a twin in the mezzanine + sitting room with a Queen bedFan · Safe · Hair dryer · Private bathroomIn every room, a few things we’ve thought of for you: a woven market bag and a hat to borrow for your days out, a sleep kit with an eye mask and earplugs, shampoo, shower gel and body lotion, and a plug-in mosquito repellent.
Fan & hairdryerBreakfast included
✦Faces the street — can be a touch lively at times.
Floods with afternoon sun, opening onto a private terrace of your own.
About this room
El Sol fills with afternoon light through a stained-glass window and opens onto a private terrace that's all yours. A queen bed and a private bathroom — warm, bright, and quietly romantic.
Queen bed · private terraceFan · Safe · Hair dryer · Private bathroomIn every room, a few things we’ve thought of for you: a woven market bag and a hat to borrow for your days out, a sleep kit with an eye mask and earplugs, shampoo, shower gel and body lotion, and a plug-in mosquito repellent.
Rooted and unhurried, with a bathroom overlooking the private patio.
About this room
El Nopal has a private patio of its own behind the room — a green corner thick with plants, framed by a cantera stone wall that carries on into the bathroom. A king bed or two twins, and a private bathroom that looks out over the patio and its plants. Quiet and leafy, high on the hillside above the city.
King or two twins · private patioFan · Safe · Hair dryer · Private bathroomIn every room, a few things we’ve thought of for you: a woven market bag and a hat to borrow for your days out, a sleep kit with an eye mask and earplugs, shampoo, shower gel and body lotion, and a plug-in mosquito repellent.
A small, hidden, charming room — easy to miss, worth finding.
About this room
A small, hidden room that's easy to miss and worth finding. La Rosa has a double bed and a private bathroom, tucked into a quiet corner of the house — simple, charming, and just right for one or two.
Double bedFan · Safe · Hair dryer · Private bathroomIn every room, a few things we’ve thought of for you: a woven market bag and a hat to borrow for your days out, a sleep kit with an eye mask and earplugs, shampoo, shower gel and body lotion, and a plug-in mosquito repellent.
Poised and calm, with long morning light and the first coffee of the day.
About this room
Poised and calm, La Garza takes the long morning light — the right room for the first coffee of the day. A king bed or two twins and a private bathroom, on the still side of the house above the valley.
King or two twinsFan · Safe · Hair dryer · Private bathroomIn every room, a few things we’ve thought of for you: a woven market bag and a hat to borrow for your days out, a sleep kit with an eye mask and earplugs, shampoo, shower gel and body lotion, and a plug-in mosquito repellent.
Green and leafy, opening to a private patio all its own.
About this room
El Árbol has its own private patio behind the room, full of plants and framed by a cantera stone wall that runs on into the bathroom — which looks out over the greenery. A king bed or two twins and a private bathroom, a cool, green corner of the house made for slow mornings.
King or two twins · private patioFan · Safe · Hair dryer · Private bathroomIn every room, a few things we’ve thought of for you: a woven market bag and a hat to borrow for your days out, a sleep kit with an eye mask and earplugs, shampoo, shower gel and body lotion, and a plug-in mosquito repellent.
A private two-bedroom apartment with its own kitchen and terrace.
About this room
La Casita is a house within the house: a two-bedroom apartment with its own kitchen and terrace, and a shower that opens to the valley. Each bedroom has a king (or two twins) and a private bathroom — room for a family or two couples who want their own entrance and the best views in the house.
Two-bedroom apartment (each King or two twins + private bathroom) · private kitchen and terrace · refrigeratorFan · Safe · Hair dryer · Private bathroomIn every room, a few things we’ve thought of for you: a woven market bag and a hat to borrow for your days out, a sleep kit with an eye mask and earplugs, shampoo, shower gel and body lotion, and a plug-in mosquito repellent.
