A trio of design-savvy boutique hotels is breathing life and color into the Mexican capital, discovers Nick Walton.
Condesa df Hotel
Tucked away on a tree-lined avenue in Mexico City’s trendy Condesa neighborhood, this eponymously named boutique hotel is the brainchild of architect Javier Sánchez and interior design guru India Mahdavi, who have converted and decorated a local 1928 French neoclassical icon into the capital’s latest address du jour.
A showcase of Mahdavi’s design simplicity, Condesa (above) is elegant and refined and combines both European and Mexican influences. Mirroring the peaceful yet vibrant surrounds of emerging Condesa, with its restaurants, cafes, and jacarandá-lined streets, each of the 40 guest rooms – our favorites are the six Terrace Suites – feature bespoke furnishings, including chairs by Cherner and lamps by Moooi. Dressed in moss green, cream, and chocolate tones, guest rooms feature indigenous touches like hand-woven rugs from Oaxaca, as well as modern touches like iPod docks.
After a busy day exploring the nearby galleries or the leafy Bosque de Chapultepec gardens, steam away your stress in the hotel’s hammam before treating to yourself to an aged tequila in the La Terrazza bar, with its views over the adjacent Parque de España.
Downtown Mexico
Blending colonial 17th-century grandeur with a raw industrial edge, Downtown Mexico is hidden away in the Centro Histórico borough of Mexico City and offers guests a new perspective on the city’s indigenous culture. Leave the Unesco-listed colonial landmarks of this historic quarter behind and step through towering copper-studded timber doors into Downtown’s stone-lined vestibule and an intimate sun-kissed inner courtyard.
Created by owner Carlos Couturier and a team of local artisans lead by interior specialists Cherem Serrano Arquitectos, Downtown features just 17 rooms and suites, each of which boasts a stripped-back, bohemian-chic elegance. Make your way up the spectacular stone-forged staircase and past walls of red volcanic rock to discover rooms that are simple and unadorned, yet elegant and welcoming – we love the spacious balcony of the Independence Suite. Street-side rooms also have balconies to take in the views, while the others look over the lush and perfectly manicured patio.
Kick each day off with breakfast on the Breakfast Patio, once the central balcony of the Palace of the Countess Miravalle, and welcome witching hour over cocktails on the rooftop pool terrace, with its views across the colonial-era churches of the city’s historic center.
Distrito Capital
Far from a hidden and unassuming boutique hotel Distrito Capital is chic and modern and bodacious, boasting stunning cityscape vistas across the skyscraper district of Santa Fe through double-height windows. Unashamedly minimalist, the 30 beautifully-appointed guest rooms and suites – we opt for one of the Corner Suites, with their spacious living rooms and soak tubs – are a symphony of space and light that are fashionable without being pretentious.
Each features impeccable design touches, from vintage furnishings by Charlotte Perriand to designs by Parisian interiors guru Joseph Dirand. Rooms feature high-speed internet, luxurious linens, and Acqua di Parma amenities, as well as those stunning vertiginous views. Be sure to pop your head in at the innovative Mexican restaurant by Rodrigo Moreno on the fifth floor, a culinary hotspot, or cool off on the spacious outdoor pool terrace.
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