Hacienda Peña Pobre

There are few cities in the world quite as overwhelming as Mexico City, but even here there are green spaces to be found, if you know where to look. Hacienda Peña Pobre lies not in the ultra-urban heart of the city but near its southern edge; more importantly, it’s set just yards from the Bosque de Tlalpan, a sizable urban forest and a popular destination for locals in need of some greenery.

Although this stately 19th-century house is a listed architectural monument, its interiors owe just as much to modern boutique-hotel design as to the era of the building’s construction. 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.

The house’s public spaces tend to be informal ones, the best of which are the capacious library and the outdoor patio, fringed with orange trees, a fine venue for a cocktail and a snack. For a proper restaurant, you’ll have to venture out, but even here on the edges of the city there are a wealth of options, and your hosts will help you make sense of it all.