David Leventhal

Playa Viva is a regenerative eco-luxury hotel located on the southern Pacific Coast of Mexico in the state of Guerrero. Designed using permaculture principles, for nearly 100 years, the land that was to become Playa Viva had been continuously degraded due to slash-and-burn agriculture for monoculture mango, tamarind, and coconut groves, as well as cattle ranching. When developing the Playa Viva Master Plan between 2006 and 2007, developers integrated these land parcels into its permaculture design, created a private nature preserve, as well as a restoration plan for restoring key waterways and revitalizing mangrove ecosystems. Playa Viva operates under the model of regeneration, in which the hotel goes beyond green (doing less damage), beyond sustainable (net neutral), and actually regenerates the surrounding land and community by restoring what has been lost by extractive industries and simultaneously fosters educational and economic opportunities in the surrounding community(ies). Under this model, Playa Viva has established five core goals: 1) Promote biodiversity, 2) Create cleaner and more abundant water and energy, 3) Create meaningful community, 4) Promote transformational experiences, and 5) Create a living legacy for sustainable and regenerative resort development. These five core goals represent the blueprint for socially and ecologically regenerative resort development.