MICHELIN Keys, like their Star counterparts, denote the best of the best of the world’s hotels, with an eye towards architecture, service, and character. That doesn’t necessarily mean exorbitant prices. In Mexico, affordable Key properties can be found on the prized beaches of both coasts and in destinations between, from a remote otherworldly lagoon to an historic hacienda outside of the capital.
For our favorite economical options on this country’s high-end, continue reading below.
Xinalani (Three MICHELIN Keys)
Xinalani is one of just three Three MICHELIN Key hotels in all of Mexico, a favorite of our Inspectors for its secluded beachfront locale south of Puerto Vallarta and its dramatic open-air lodgings. That it’s included on this list is no typo: the minimalist ethos of this yoga resort extends to the pricing. Six yoga studios with palm-thatched roofs are set in the jungle that crawls down the property to the sea, along with a restaurant serving a healthful menu headlined by the freshest catch of the day.
Inspector Notes: The natural landscape surrounding the place is Xinalani’s main attraction: even the 33 guest rooms, situated within a series of palm-thatched cabins, are open-air. Each has just three walls and a curtain that you’ll probably leave open most of the time, the better to catch a sea breeze or gaze at the thousands of stars twinkling in the night sky.
Las Alamandas (Two MICHELIN Keys)
Set on some 2,000 acres of a protected nature reserve on one of Mexico’s most exclusive coastlines, Las Alamandas is a resort unmatched in this famously resort-loving country. There are four private Pacific beaches among the property, plus room for a tennis court and an orchard that provides produce for its seaside restaurants. But with just a handful of suites hidden among the campus, the feel is entirely intimate.
Inspector Notes: Clearly, this is the ideal sort of place for a honeymoon or other romantic getaway. The location is stunning, and secluded, halfway between Puerto Vallarta and Manzanillo, on Mexico’s Pacific coast. And as for the facilities themselves, it is no exaggeration to say that every possible luxury is accounted for, or can be arranged for on short notice.
Hotel Terrestre (One MICHELIN Key)
Hotel Terrestre, on a stretch of coast north of Puerto Escondido that’s become a haven for contemporary art, is a geometric wonder, designed by Alberto Kalach, one of the country’s leading architects. Villas, made from simple brick, wood and concrete materials, are stacked side by side, each with their own private pool and roof terrace that looks over jungle canopy to the ocean.
Inspector Notes: It’s as sustainable as can be, not just in construction but in operation as well — it’s self-sufficiently solar-powered, entirely off the grid. The low-tech approach is entirely intentional — this is a place for living slowly. Rooms are supplied with books rather than televisions, and more are available in the hotel library.
Our Habitas Bacalar (One MICHELIN Key)
Bacalar may not be on many international tourists’ radar yet, but the Edenic lagoon by Mexico’s Caribbean coast is laying the groundwork for a star turn. Our Habitas Bacalar was one of the first properties to offer a luxury stay here, building striking tented A-frames right up on the water’s edge. The hotel takes full advantage of its setting, offering a set of experiences out on the lagoon that you won’t find anywhere else in the country, like hydrofoil surfing and healing Janzu ceremonies.
Inspector Notes: The spectacularly colorful lagoon is the main natural attraction, and as luxurious as Habitas Bacalar may be, its tented A-frames are extraordinarily environmentally friendly, built using traditional low-impact methods, on raised platforms to protect the local flora and fauna.
Anticavilla Hotel (One MICHELIN Key)
Cuernavaca, the City of Eternal Spring, has long been an escape for those with means in Mexico City, dating back to the Aztecs and conquistadors. Today, Anticavilla is its crown jewel, accessible to everyone just over an hour’s drive from the capital on a steep mountain highway. The restored 17th-century manor has a stately garden and a sprawling pool, perfect for a relaxing counterpart to an urban Mexico City itinerary.
Inspector Notes: This stunning colonial-era property in Cuernavaca has been not just lovingly restored, but positively reconfigured by the efforts of architect Bernardo Gómez Pimienta, whose modernist interventions in the old house’s interiors lead to some ultra-modern external spaces, including a new spa and a dazzling open-air restaurant and lounge facing into the hotel’s gardens.
The Wild Oscar (One MICHELIN Key)
It’s not easy to find affordability in Polanco, the most upscale of Mexico City neighborhoods, but The Wild Oscar surprises, with sophisticated rooms that feel like a residence. The hotel is ideally situated for a quiet stay near the action, on one of the tree-lined street blocks from Two-MICHELIN-Star dining and the city’s finest retail.
Inspector Notes: Materials bespeak considered attention to detail: muted parquet flooring, Edison bulbs, king beds with Egyptian cotton linens, spa-like bathrooms with organic amenities. Work desks with bucket seats nod to the upscale business functionality the Oscar’s demographic will doubtless expect.
Ignacia Guest House (One MICHELIN Key)
Ignacia Guest House is everything you want from a Mexico City stay: an ideal location with stand-out design at a budget-wise price. Rooms come bedecked in a single bold color, with cool vintage furnishings and local art and ceramics. Breakfast, in the leafy garden, is included. And its cross-streets in the Roma Norte neighborhood are enviable, a short walk from some of the city’s best new restaurants.
Inspector Notes: 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
Be Tulum Beach & Spa Resort (One MICHELIN Key)
Tulum is not known for its reasonable pricing or its tranquility. Be Tulum is the exception for both, a tasteful enclave at a rate far more fair than its neighbors. Located at the tail end of the hotel zone, by the protected Sian Ka’an reserve, the hotel affords an opportunity to convene with the jungle elements often lost in the party atmosphere. Still, this is no yoga retreat: a music program includes DJ sets on the beach and a live Cuban band.
Inspector Notes: Suites are spread throughout the property’s gardens and palms, their pleasures a bit on the subtle side — they're set back slightly from the beach, and the vibe is more eco/spiritual than purely hedonistic — but there’s really not a poor seat in the house.
Nomade Holbox (One MICHELIN Key)
A couple hours up the coast from the mega resorts of Cancun, the car-free island of Holbox is growing in popularity as a boho alternative on the same famous white sands. Nomade Holbox is the stylish choice in town, with beachfront treehouses built with a stick-in-your-mind woven wood technique. Wellness is a theme here, with a daily calendar of activities like yoga and water sound healing by the pool.
Inspector Notes: Rooms and suites feel like an extension of the natural environment, housed in low-lying buildings crafted from locally sourced materials like wood and straw. Inside, canvas walls, earth tones, and natural textures evoke the island’s rustic charm, and private patios come with stone or copper tubs.
Hero image: Be Tulum Beach & Spa Resort
Thumb image: Nomade Holbox
