Mexico has a unique abundance of hotels made from old mansions — hauntingly beautiful houses filled with the kind of character that can only come from a lifetime of personal care and passion. These are some of the best examples.
LessA 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.
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.
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.
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.
You’d be hard pressed to find a more exemplary hospitality success story than casa9. Originally built in the early 20th century as a decadent private residence for a wealthy family, the house was left neglected for decades and slowly fell into total disrepair before a new family gave it a top-to-bottom makeover. Now, years later, it exists as casa9, one of the most exquisite B&Bs in Mexico City.
They call L’Ôtel – Casa Arca a concept house because it’s not strictly a hotel. We’ll explain. In 1930, Syrian immigrant Isaac Cohen bought this 18th-century property, expanding it to house both his family and his businesses. Today, the top floor of old Casa Cohen contains the 11 rooms of L’Ôtel, but the rest of the architecturally significant building is taken up by shops, restaurants, bars, and galleries.
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.
Right in the center of the city of Mérida a 19th-century mansion has been put to new use as a luxury boutique hotel whose design pays the maximum possible tribute to local tradition. Hotel CIGNO is not a strictly historically correct recreation of the grand Yucatecan residential style, but a contemporary interpretation, full of details inspired by both the colonial and indigenous traditions.
Originally built for the local bishop in the 18th century, this stunning six-room mansion is tucked into the heart of San Miguel de Allende. The late fashion photographer Deborah Turbeville lived in Casa No Name for more than twenty years, and made it famous in a photo book. Fortunately the photos aren’t the only way to remember Casa No Name: in its new life it’s a luxurious little boutique hotel.
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.