Travel 2 minutes 12 September 2024

Mexico's Hauntingly Beautiful Mansion Hotels

There's something special about hotels in old mansions — and in Mexico, there's no shortage of evidence.

There's something special about hotels in old mansions. Of course, with the turn to fall and Halloween around the corner, they do make you wonder about all the macabre events that occurred there — and there's no shortage of tales about haunted hotels, everywhere in the world.

But this October, we have another reason to celebrate: Mexico's unique abundance of residential-style accommodations. On September 12, 2024, the very first list of Mexican Key hotels was announced. The Keys are the most outstanding hotels in our selection, as chosen by MICHELIN Inspectors.

All eight Mexican mansion hotels below made the list, hauntingly beautiful places filled with the kind of character that can only come from a lifetime of personal care and passion. For decades these spaces were used as private family homes, and as a result, there are traces of warmth and intimacy throughout every room.

Grana B&B

Distinction: One Key
Location: Oaxaca City

A stately 18th-century residence on the west side of Oaxaca City is now Grana B&B, and it’s safe to say that it’s rather more grand than the bed-and-breakfast tag ordinarily implies. Its 15 rooms have been left largely intact — a necessity given the house’s landmark status — but they’ve been updated in an eclectic, contemporary style, mixing traditional craft and modern design in roughly equal measure.

Book Grana B&B on MICHELIN Guide →

Casa Kimberly

Distinction: One Key
Location: Puerto Vallarta

This lovely pair of adjoining villas in Puerto Vallarta was once home to Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton — and while the connection is part of its charming history, and its most lavish suite bears Ms. Taylor’s name, what’s important about Casa Kimberly is the sheer extravagant romance of the place as it stands today.

Book Casa Kimberly on MICHELIN Guide →

Pug Seal Allan Poe

Distinction: One Key
Location: Mexico City

In the hip Mexico City neighborhood of Polanco, set behind wrought-iron gates on a residential block, a 1930s mansion and mid-century annex are home to Pug Seal Allan Poe. The aesthetic in the hotel’s 21 rooms and suites is clean and modern, 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.

Book Pug Seal Allan Poe on MICHELIN Guide →

Ignacia Guest House

Distinction: One Key
Location: Mexico City

Ignacia Guest House is no ordinary guest house. Set in the upscale Colonia Roma, the mansion that’s stood on this site since 1913 was already impressive enough. Now, thanks to an ultra-modern expansion by architect Fermín Espinosa and designer Andrés Gutiérrez, it’s the kind of house that gets written about in architecture magazines — and one of the most unique hotel experiences in Mexico City.

Book Ignacia Guest House on MICHELIN Guide →

Nima Local House Hotel

Distinction: One Key
Location: Mexico City

Mexico City’s charming and stylish Roma district feels almost European, and there’s more than a little bit of that old-world elegance about the turn-of-the-century mansion where Nima makes its home. Once inside, however, you’ll find the style is contemporary, thoughtful, and subtly stylish — not a “design hotel,” per se, but a well-designed hotel all the same.

Book Nima Local House Hotel on MICHELIN Guide →

Casa de Sierra Nevada, A Belmond Hotel

Distinction: Two Key
Location: San Miguel de Allende

The quietly stylish Mexican town of San Miguel de Allende is the perfect setting for a classic refuge like the Belmond Casa de Sierra Nevada, equal parts 16th-century residence and modern luxury boutique hotel. The level of service is high, as professional as it is warm, and the hotel’s old-world charm is always allowed to shine through.

Book Casa de Sierra Nevada, A Belmond Hotel on MICHELIN Guide →

Casa Blanca 7

Hotel Casa Blanca 7

Distinction: One Key
Location: San Miguel de Allende

Casa Blanca 7 is a 300-year-old house in San Miguel de Allende’s 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 less like a hotel and more like a private house — one that’s impressively detailed and perhaps surprisingly contemporary.

Book Casa Blanca 7 on MICHELIN Guide →

Las Casas B+B Hotel

Distinction: One Key
Location: Cuernavaca

“B+B Hotel” might seem redundant, but Las Casas is truly a little bit of both — it’s more polished and more stylish than most any bed and breakfast, while it’s smaller and more intimate than most any hotel, boutique or otherwise. The rooms and suites are sharply outfitted in shades of white and gray, with the house’s colonial architecture still visible beneath the contemporary, minimalist décor.

Book Las Casas B+B Hotel on MICHELIN Guide →

Head here to see all of our Key hotels in Mexico.

Hero image: L’Ôtel Chiquitos — San Miguel de Allende, Mexico