The short answer
Two of our three houses come with a pool you don't share with anyone outside your booking. Casita Laguna has its own. Villa Pinto has one that serves its three bedrooms. The two rooms in Casita Veranera share a pool between them.
We're a small place and we'd rather be precise about this than let the phrase "private pool" do work it can't do. Six rooms across three houses is the whole property. Here's how the water is divided.
Casita Laguna: a house to yourselves
Casita Laguna is the one most people mean when they search for a private pool villa on Barú. It's a separate house with its own private pool, an outdoor bathroom, and an exclusive gazebo with a panoramic view over the water. Nobody passes through it to get anywhere else.
It suits couples, and it suits one half of a larger group who want distance from the others at the end of the day. If you're travelling as two and the pool is the point of the trip, book this one.
Villa Pinto: a pool for up to eight
Villa Pinto is our main villa, a bungalow across two levels designed by Gustavo Pinto and Simón Vélez. Three bedrooms, up to eight guests. One bedroom sits on the ground floor with easy access to the pool and patio, and two master suites occupy the second floor, joined by a living room where the light comes through bamboo and timber.
All three bedrooms open directly onto the pool terrace, which is the detail worth knowing: the pool isn't off in a courtyard somewhere, it's the space the house is arranged around. Each bedroom has a king bed, and the third also has three single beds, which is why families tend to land here. Three private attached bathrooms serve the three bedrooms.
These are the Orquídea rooms, Estrella, Cuerno and Fuego. Booked individually you're sharing the pool with whoever has the other two bedrooms. Booked together, the house and the pool are yours.
Casita Veranera: a shared pool, and a better balcony
We'll be straight about this one. The Rhizo and Avi rooms in Casita Veranera share a swimming pool and a rest area rather than having private pools of their own.
What they have instead is the balcony. Each room has a large one with a panoramic view over the Ciénaga de Cholón, which is the lagoon side rather than the open sea side, and at dawn it's where the birdlife is. If you're choosing between a private pool and that view, some guests genuinely pick the view.
The Full House: all of it
Book the Full House and the whole property is yours: all six bedrooms, the private pool, the rooftop terrace with sea views, the shared living room, the dining room and the rest area, with no other guests on site. Up to fourteen people, five king rooms plus one king with two singles, every bedroom ensuite.
This is the version where the pool question stops mattering, because there's nobody to share anything with.
What comes with every room
Air conditioning, fast wifi, a Nespresso machine, a safe, a hair dryer, and turn-down service in the evening. Concierge service is available to arrange kayaking, snorkelling or birdwatching. Beach access is steps away, and kayaks are there for guests to take out into the mangroves.
Chef Pedro Mosqueda runs the kitchen at our Ancalá Waterfront restaurant, premium BBQ on the mangroves with sea views. Tell us about dietary requirements when you reserve; we cook for vegetarians and vegans regularly, and for lactose and gluten intolerance.
Choosing between them
A rough guide, based on what people actually book:
| You are | Book | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Two people, want seclusion | Casita Laguna | Its own pool, outdoor bathroom and gazebo, in a house nobody walks through |
| A family of up to eight | Villa Pinto | Three bedrooms all opening onto one pool, with singles in the third room |
| Two people, lagoon over pool | Rhizo or Avi | Large balcony over the Ciénaga de Cholón, shared pool below |
| A group of up to fourteen | Full House | The entire property, nobody else on it |
A practical note on all of them: the sea access is direct but unguarded, so swimming in open water is at your own risk. The pools are a different proposition, and on a hot Barú afternoon they're where most of the day goes.
Getting here
We're on Bahía de Cholón on Barú Island, about 30 minutes to an hour from Cartagena on our boat, and roughly an hour door to door from Rafael Núñez International Airport. Reserve the boat when you reserve the room. Capacity is limited, and there's a long wait for the next crossing if there's no space.