There’s a stretch of coast in southern Mexico where the world seems to exhale. The sun falls slower, the sea hums softer, and time itself feels like it’s decided to linger. This is Zipolite — a onetime hippie enclave turned queer utopia — and it’s where nightlife impresario Daniel Nardicio has chosen to build his next great love story.
To say Zipolite is having a moment is an understatement. Once a barefoot, clothing-optional hideaway, it’s now pulsing with new energy. Global creatives, digital nomads, and bold dreamers are transforming it into a kind of bohemian Riviera. Yet even among the swirl of mezcal bars and design hotels, no one is dreaming bigger — or building faster — than Nardicio.
For decades, Daniel has been one of queer culture’s great architects — a producer, provocateur, and visionary who knows how to make a moment unforgettable. From Fire Island’s legendary underwear parties to glittering nights with Liza Minnelli, he’s turned nightlife into theater and connection into currency. But Zipolite marks a turning point: not an escape from the world, but the creation of one.
He’s currently developing three properties — each a love letter to the land and the people who call it home.
Temple: The First Spark
Steps from the beach, his jewel-box nightclub and five-room pensione, Temple, is already rising. Crews work daily beneath the Oaxacan sun while Daniel moves between tile samples and design renderings, refining details most developers never even notice. When Temple opens in February, it will debut alongside Somos, a major queer music festival — a symbolic moment of renewal for the town and for Daniel himself.
With its rooftop pool, glowing bar, and small, sexy scale, Temple is set to become the new heartbeat of Zipolite nightlife.
Casa Oasis: A Community in the Making
A few blocks inland, the centerpiece of his vision is taking shape. Casa Oasis — a boutique guesthouse with sixteen rooms and twelve private casitas — is being built with intention woven into every beam. Solar power, rainwater capture, gray-water reuse, a bio-septic system: Nardicio insists that beauty must live in harmony with the land.
Even the furniture tells a story. Every light fixture and chair is crafted by local artisans, blending Oaxacan tradition with modern lines.
He calls Casa Oasis “a living community,” a place where guests move effortlessly from the saltwater pool to the Mango Treehouse Bar, where mornings begin with yoga and evenings sparkle with mezcal under an open sky. There’s an indoor-outdoor gym, lush conversation nooks, and a concierge team already preparing for the wave of travelers who see Zipolite as the next frontier of queer luxury.
Zip66: The Mountain Dream
And then — high above the town — lies his boldest creation.
On four acres overlooking the Pacific, Daniel is cultivating a farm where papayas, herbs, and vegetables are being grown to supply Zip66, a farm-to-table restaurant opening New Year’s Eve. But the project is more than food and views.
On the same land, he’s building Snipolite, a spay-and-neuter clinic for local dogs — a heartfelt gesture of gratitude to the community that embraced him. It’s activism wrapped in hospitality, compassion poured into concrete and soil.
A Legacy Built in Sunlight
Walk any site with him and you see it instantly: passion rendered in cement and sunlight. Walls half-finished. Air thick with plaster dust and ocean mist. Workers laughing. A stray dog asleep in the shade. And Daniel — phone buzzing with architects and artisans — scanning the horizon like he’s listening for what the land wants next.
For him, Zipolite represents something the world has been starved for: authenticity, intimacy, and freedom. In Daniel’s vision, “gay luxury” isn’t a velvet rope. It’s belonging. It’s the ability to breathe, connect, and celebrate yourself without apology.
By next year, the dream will stand complete: Temple, Casa Oasis, and Zip66 — three destinations united by one heartbeat.
But for now, it’s still becoming. Hammered, tiled, painted, planted into existence.
In the golden light of late afternoon, the construction sites look almost romantic — chaos and creation dancing side by side. And at the center of it all is Daniel Nardicio, a man who has never simply thrown a party or launched a club.
He’s building a legacy — crafted with courage, care, and a little bit of magic.
And like all great love stories, this one is still being written.
Rob Shuter is a celebrity journalist, talk-show host, and former publicist who has represented an A-list roster including Jennifer Lopez, Alicia Keys, Kate Spade, Diddy, Jon Bon Jovi, Tyra Banks, Naomi Campbell, Jessica Simpson, and HRH Princess Michael of Kent.
He is the author of The 4 Word Answer, a bestselling self-help book that blends Hollywood insight with deeply personal breakthroughs. Rob hosts Naughty But Nice with Rob, a Top-20 iTunes entertainment podcast, and previously served as the only dedicated entertainment columnist at The Huffington Post. A veteran of television, magazines, and red-carpet crisis management, he also led OK! Magazine during its most competitive era.
Rob’s latest exclusives and insider reporting can be found at robshuter.substack.com.
His forthcoming novel, It Started With A Whisper, is now available for pre-order