Pug Seal Allan Poe

Mexico City’s Pug Seal Allan Poe is a strange animal — not exactly a boutique hotel or a B&B, but something in between, centrally located in D.F., in the hip neighborhood of Polanco. Size-wise and design-wise, it’s more like a small design hotel. But the building itself, set behind wrought-iron gates on a residential block, feels more like a large house. The fabulous breakfast and complimentary happy hour every evening add to the B&B vibe.

The aesthetic in the 21 rooms and suites is clean and modern: think marble and glass, parquet flooring, modular sofas, sixties-style side tables, individual walls painted in bold colors like turquoise and fuchsia, bathrooms lined with gorgeous tile (and featuring free-standing tubs, if you’re in a suite.) But there’s a whimsical edge to these interiors, one that’s inspired by nature — fitting, given the Pug Seal Allan Poe’s proximity to the urban oasis of Chapultepec Park. Butterflies and insects dot the patterned wallpaper, tree branch sculptures and stag head busts are mounted above beds, even the color palette of beige, aquamarine, and slate calls to mind natural elements from sand and stone to sea and sky.

Downstairs, throughout the Pug Seal Allan Poe’s various common areas, the theme — contemporary cool meets the romance of the natural world, you might say — continues. Have that B&B-style Mexican breakfast beside a wall-sized installation of Japanese earth balls, or enjoy your café con leche on the terrace, up at the level of nearby palm trees. Especially considering its location in the heart of one of the largest cities in the Americas, the Pug Seal feels like a breath of fresh air.