The architecture is the star. Donald G. Park didn't design a conventional box and decorate it with mid-century furniture. The geometry shapes the entire experience, creating soaring ceilings, unexpected angles, enormous windows, and rooms that continually open toward the landscape. And thank goodness nobody renovated the personality out of it. We love the sunken conversation pit, wood-paneled ceilings, tile roof, bronze sunburst entry, and all the gloriously specific period details. Even the pink-and-purple kitchen makes us smile. It is playful and slightly outrageous in exactly the way great 1970s California houses should be. Yet this isn't a time capsule. Two full kitchens, multiple lounges, a game room with billiards and ping pong, seven bedrooms, and a separate two-bedroom guest house give a large group plenty of ways to spread out. Six of the seven bedrooms even have king beds, a serious win when several couples travel together. Outside, the pool and manicured grounds open toward the hills. But for once, the view doesn't have to carry the house. Via Vallarta would be memorable even if you closed every curtain.