Villas del Parque · San Miguel de Allende

In San Miguel de Allende, the most coveted addresses tend to offer one thing or the other. Some put you in the heart of Centro, among the galleries, restaurants, and shaded paths of Parque Juárez. Others give you a gate, a garden, and room to breathe. Villa Pirúl offers both.

The house sits within Villas del Parque, a low-density gated enclave right beside Parque Juárez. There are only a handful of residences, with landscaped grounds and a small park with a traditional kiosk directly across from the front door. Step out and you are among the old trees of the city’s most beloved park, minutes from everything the historic center has to offer. Step back through the gate and you are home, among gardens and trees, in one of the most peaceful corners of Centro.

A mature pirúl tree marks the spot. Its branches sweep across a broad stone façade, and the house takes its name from it. You enter through an ivy-covered stone passage, past a small cascading fountain. It is the first of several water features, and the first sign that this house was designed around how it feels to move through it.

Inside, the foyer rises to a soaring ceiling and a skylight that pours light onto cantera and stone. A fireplace marks the turn into the living spaces, and the ground floor is laid out with a host’s instincts. The kitchen faces the dining room, with a door straight through to the family room, so food, drinks, and conversation flow easily. The family room and the guest bedroom both open onto a quiet rear courtyard with a fountain and pond, a garden retreat tucked away from everything.

The living room is where evenings begin. It opens onto a terrace with a bar, looking out over the garden to a water feature with an infinity edge, its surface seeming to spill over the rim. Come late afternoon, the setting sun lights up the pirúl and the surrounding greenery, and it is hard to imagine a better place for a drink.

On the second floor, the principal suite has the mood of a private retreat. It has warm wood floors, a fireplace, and a sitting area. A skylit bath has a soaking tub, and a balcony terrace catches the afternoon light.

And then there is the roof. The top floor holds the third bedroom with its own bath, opening onto a terrace with nearly 360-degree views. You look out over the treetops of Parque Juárez, across the rooftops of Centro to the hills and mountains, and west into the sunset. A wood-burning grill, built-in seating, and room for a long table make it the natural place to end an evening, and guests wake up to all of it.

The bones are traditional San Miguel: exposed beams, cantera, natural stone, generous ceilings. The comforts are entirely modern, with radiant floor heating through the main living areas and whole-house water softening and UV filtration.

Villa Pirúl is a house for people who want to live in the middle of San Miguel, with a private enclave among the trees to come home to, in what may be the best location in town.