The Uruguayan artist Carlos Paes Vilaro spent 36 years to manually build a Casapuello on a secluded promontory above the sea — half a castle, half a sculptural composition. Today, this building, which houses a luxury hotel, is one of the main attractions of Uruguay.
This sprawling hotel on the rocks could claim to be the most unusual in the world! It resembles the Gaudi buildings or the white houses of the Greek island of Santorini, however, unlike the above-mentioned buildings, there is not a single straight line in it.
The hotel called “Casapuella” is located near the chic Uruguayan resort of Punta del Este, where celebrities like to relax. It was invented and built by hand by the recently deceased Uruguayan artist Carlos Paes Vilaro. Only Paes Vilaro himself and local fishermen who lived in these once deserted lands took part in the construction, which lasted for almost four decades.
The hotel complex consists of 13 terraces located on top of each other. Its lower floor overlooks the beach directly. The rooms are distinguished not by numbers, as usual, but by symbols that Vilaro drew himself. According to him, he chose this place for the construction of the hotel because here you can admire the magnificent sunsets. In addition to the rooms, guests can enjoy a bar, a spa and an art museum.
The creator of the Casapueblo Hotel, Vilaro was an enthusiastic traveler. He was friends with many famous people, such as Pablo Picasso and Brigitte Bardot. He acquired the land for the construction of the hotel in 1958, and friends and investors helped him raise funds.
First, a warehouse of building materials appeared on the territory of the future hotel, then an art studio. Only after that, Vilaro began to build a building, the forms of which, as the artist himself admitted, were inspired by “Mediterranean architecture, pastry ovens and female body shapes.”
He lined the walls of the building with cement and manually gave them the most bizarre shapes. In addition, Vilaro created many niches and decorative windows in the walls, where he placed numerous art objects — mainly souvenirs brought from numerous trips. He turned the building into a repository of his memories.
The snow-white color of the building stands out vividly against the background of the sky and the sea, and the interlacing of towers, corridors, tunnels and underground passages turns the building into a fabulous maze. The building houses not only several bars, but also kitchens available to guests. In addition, niches are provided outside the building, where it is convenient for birds to nest, so that guests can admire the life of bird families up close.
Paes Vilaro said that this building “is imbued with the energy of those who lived here, and whom the architecture of the building made to experience many unforgettable moments.” The artist himself lived here for the rest of his days before his death in 2014 at the age of 90. After Vilaro left this world, his family decided to open a magnificent house to the public in his memory. The museum hotel is run by Vilaro’s second wife.
The hotel offers guests a choice of 72 apartments of different sizes on different floors. The Vilaro Museum, located in the building of the complex, can be visited by anyone, not just a guest of the hotel. The museum is open from 10 a.m. to sunset, when the “solar ceremony” takes place here — an artistic action accompanied by the voice of Vilaro: the hosts of the ceremony include a recording in which the artist reads his poems about the Sun.
Carlos Paes Vilaro lived with his second wife Annette for many years. They have six children, the eldest of whom, Carlito Paes, became a world news hero in 1972: he was one of the 16 survivors of the plane crash in the Andes, who managed to live 72 days in the mountains waiting for help.
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