Located in a beautiful little town known as Rosarito, is a vacation “home” that’ll leave you feeling refreshed and well-rested. I say “home” because Native Residence is not exactly your average hotel or vacation rental. There are 5 casas on-site (with one more being added right now), each with a unique layout, a common kitchen area, and the sweetest dog you’ll ever meet — Poncho.

Whenever I decided upon a place to stay on my trips, the first thing I look at is Instagram. I like to see what the property offers and who's stayed that (that I either follow or know). I also want to make sure the accommodation is picture worthy.

However, with my trip to Cook Islands, I took another route and went off a list of suggestions from the tourism board. I went through the list, went through the websites of the accommodations and chose Ikurangi Eco Retreat for two reasons.