HOTEL CASA BLANCA 7

On the San Miguel de Allende hospitality scene, low-key and residential is the name of the game. The modest size of its finest hotels means there’s always room for one more exquisite example, and Casa Blanca 7 fits the bill. It’s a 300-year-old house in the city’s Spanish Colonial historic center, and as its name might suggest, it’s got a touch of Moroccan atmosphere, recalling in a subtle way the ultra-private riad hotels of cities like Casablanca and Marrakech.

With just ten suites it can’t help but feel more like a private house than a hotel, and the suites themselves, designed by Fisher Weisman Collection, are impressively detailed and perhaps surprisingly contemporary. The details are luxurious, from the Portuguese cotton linens and goose-down pillows to the bath products, labeled Hecho SMA — meaning “made in San Miguel de Allende.”

The courtyard, more than anything else, is a reminder of the finest small Moroccan hotels. And it’s fitting that chef Mike Garcia, born in Mexico, spent time in France, Spain, and North Africa; to Casa Blanca 7 he brings an appreciation for traditional Mexican flavors as well as influences from both sides of the western Mediterranean.