Baja Club

From the very start, Grupo Habita has been synonymous with boutique hospitality in Mexico, setting the agenda with the original Habita in Mexico City and expanding into many of the country’s most inspiring destinations. La Paz, the capital city of Baja California Sur, two hours to the north of Los Cabos, is the setting for Baja Club, a 1910-vintage colonial-style villa that’s been renovated and expanded by architects Max von Werz Arquitectos and Jaune Architecture into a one-of-a-kind marriage of classic luxury and contemporary design.

The inward-facing hacienda-style construction is perfectly suited for the privacy demanded by a hotel; inside its courtyard, weathered brick walls contrast with the brand-new modern structure lined with the guest rooms’ balconies and patios. The ground-floor Garden rooms are the coziest, while the suites on the upper floors verge on the palatial — but, luxurious as Baja Club is, it never loses its cool and lapses into ostentation.

La Paz, which too many travelers skip over on the way to Los Cabos, has plenty to recommend it, and its surrounding landscapes and seascapes are memorable ones. The hotel is set right on the Malecón, the old city center’s coastal boardwalk, which means the best of the city is at your feet — including the hotel’s own venues, from the dining room to the gardens to the rooftop.