The hotels of Mexico City reveal a centuries-long saga of conquest and revolution, industry and arts. There’s the hacienda in the south that once milled much of the country’s paper, and the gleaming tower hotel that shares an elevator with BlackRock. Wrought iron detailing shows a fascination with France, while Art Deco elements speak to a movement that Mexico made its own.
Choose your next hotel here wisely: there are so many different incarnations of Mexico City to visit.
When the wildly wealthy Counts of Miravalle built the Palacio de la Condesa de Miravalle in the 17th century, the handsome volcanic stone and spire building stood at the center of New Spain, the colonial prize of the conquistadors, just a century removed from their defeat of the Aztecs. Today, the icon of the viceregal era flies the banner of Grupo Habita, Mexico’s premier boutique hotel group, as the Downtown Mexico hotel, in what’s now known as Mexico City’s historic center.
The palace has seen several restorations and redesigns over its history, from the addition of a monumental mural by Mexican painter Manuel Rodríguez Lozano in the 1940s, to the 2012 work of Mexico City firm Cherem Arquitectos, which incorporated modern minimalist furnishings and a signature brick lattice motif.
Inspector Notes: The original high ceilings remain intact, among other charmingly weathered period details, but the prevailing atmosphere is that of a very clean, very contemporary modern boutique style.
One MICHELIN Key
There’s a stateliness to the Hacienda Peña Pobre hotel that belies its origins as an engine of the Mexican industrial age. Built in the 19th century, the property was once the Fábrica de Papel Loreto y Peña Pobre, Mexico’s most important paper mill.
Reopened in 2010 as a luxury hotel, the space today still feels like a distinguished compound, with lush landscaping and a library complete with historical reads. It’s located in the south of the city, away from the bustling core, where a factory, and a visitor in need of more solitude, could thrive.
Inspector Notes: Unique, period-correct architectural details are set against crisp, contemporary decoration, tied together by works by local artists. Standard rooms are subtly luxe, while the suites add kitchens and living rooms, and the Duplex orientation combines one of each.
Maison Celeste stands imposing on a street corner in the Roma Norte neighborhood, a tan stone and stained glass exemplar of the grand French styling that dominated the Porfiriato, the late 19th- and early 20th-century period that the boutique hotel belongs to. Named for the dictator who ruled for those three decades, the era was one of modernization for Mexico, reflected most in an architectural aesthetic borrowed from across the Atlantic.
Maison Celeste, opened in 2023, has been attractively refurbished by Mexican Rokha Studio, with five rooms bedecked in color-block designs. But a majestic staircase and antique wooden floors are a reminder of the history underfoot here.
Inspector Notes: Colonial charm meets retro chic at Maison Celeste, an art-focused boutique hotel and gallery in Mexico City’s hip Roma Norte neighborhood. There’s a lot of action here, especially during festivals like Mexico City Art Week, and the rooms upstairs are often booked well in advance.
Two MICHELIN Keys
The neocolonial mansion found all over Polanco, with its Spanish stuccoing and ornate rust red plasterwork, is as much responsible for this neighborhood’s moneyed reputation as the luxury retail along its broad avenues and the peak selection of upscale dining (Pujol and Quintonil, each with Two MICHELIN Stars, are here). Casa Polanco, opened in 2022, is your chance to live like a local.
Formerly a private home built in the 1940s, the property (which also includes an adjoining contemporary building) was outfitted in lavish whites and marble by Mexico City design firm Casa M+M, making it the finest option in town for the high-end traveler.
Inspector Notes: Together the buildings contain just 19 rooms and suites, all unique and all decorated in a style that’s unmistakably luxe but maximally tasteful: soothing neutrals, sleek design furniture, richly figured marble bathrooms, and a curated collection of objects and décor from a multitude of eras.
One MICHELIN Key
The tall, geometric lettering above the Hotel San Fernando’s front door announces to all who pass by it where this building’s provenance lies. Art Deco is the rule in the 1947 Condesa structure, built originally as an apartment, the Edificio San Fernando – the name still emblazoned on the mint green façade in that Gatsby font.
Opened in 2023 by the Austin-based Bunkhouse group, the Hotel San Fernando blends elegant period details, like casement windows and ceramic inlaid floor tiles, with modern boutique touches: the 19 rooms are homestyle with plush local furnishings and plants that match the emblematic greenery of the neighborhood.
Inspector Notes: The rooms are chic in hues of coral and white, with living plants for atmosphere, and their low-key comforts include subtle luxuries like Kassatex linens and custom Bunkhouse robes. Some have kitchenettes, others balconies, and the top-floor Terraza suites open onto an outdoor terrace.
Completed in 2014, the Torre Virreyes is a gleaming star of the Mexico City skyline, jutting over the edge of the city’s main greenspace, Chapultepec Park. The tower, and the sleek Alexander hotel that spans three of its levels, is the face of a side of the city that not many visitors get to see: the cosmopolitan center of business powering the Latin world’s GDP.
Inside, the hotel embodies masculine luxury, with leather furniture made by Poltrona Frau, the Italian Ferrari partner, and striking white Brazilian marble along the walls and floors.
Inspector Notes: Alexander offers spectacular views over the park and the city skyline, not least of all because the design is airy and modern, all high ceilings and massive glass panes that stay miraculously pristine and smudge-free.
Hero image: Maison Celeste
