Where to sleep in Mexico City? For a long time Mexico City was dominated by big business hotels and international chains. As crime has plummeted and more tourists have arrived, developers have felt more confident in opening the kind of intimate, stylish hotels found in other great capitals around the world.
So if money is no obstacle for you, here are my picks for the best boutique hotel options in the Distrito Federal, or “DF” (pronounced day-effay) as it’s better known. In a refreshing break from many hotels in the U.S. and Europe, all include Wi-Fi service in their rates.
Habita
The Habita was the first designer boutique hotel to open in the city in 2000 and it launched an empire of hip hotels that now reaches to distant points such as Puebla, Playa del Carmen, and Monterrey. Located in the Polanco area—the Mexican equivalent of Beverly Hills—Habita attracts models, designers, and publishing executives who like the Scandinavian-style furnishings, the hip electronica music piped into the rooms, and the “see and be seen” roof bar and pool.
Condesa df
A room at the Condesa dfCondesa df, a sister hotel to Habita, is in the leafy Condesa neighborhood, which is the best part of town for strolling by day and partying by night. This triangular hotel with a historic façade is whimsical and fun, from the lit-up van out front to the bars occupying both the ground floor courtyard and the roof. Preloaded iPods in each room are a nice touch. Form and function combine beautifully here as every element has been designed with both flair and practicality—a rare feat in a hipster hotel like this that attracts all the beautiful people.
Las Alcobas
A snazzy room at Las AlcobasLas Alcobas, or ‘The Alcoves’, just opened in January of 2010, making a splash as having the most luxurious and tricked-out rooms in Mexico City. Remote-controlled drapes, surround-sound Bose music systems, and Sterns and Fosters mattresses are just the start in this chic designer enclave in the ritzy Polanco area.
The 35 rooms and suites start at more than US$400 a night and you can spend a couple grand for one of the penthouse suites. This elegant small hotel competes with the Four Seasons, however, and will surely become a celebrity magnet in the years to come.
Hotel Brick
Located in the artistic neighborhood of Roma, next to Condesa, Hotel Brick is another new property that combines a historic home building with a modern glass wing and outdoor dining area. All rooms and suites are stocked with Kiehl’s bath products, iPod docking stations, robes, and a pillow menu. Although there are only 17 rooms and suites, two restaurants and a fitness center are on site.
Hippodrome Hotel
Known for its Hip Kitchen restaurant more than its hotel, Hippodrome Hotel is in a converted 1930s Art Deco apartment building in the Condesa neighborhood, right next to a large park. The 16 chic rooms take ‘earth tones’ to a new level, with lots of browns and whites on stone or marble floors. Quality bedding, custom hardwood armchairs, and extensive room amenities help make up for the lack of public area space. Guests do have access to an excellent fitness club around the corner.
The bar at Condesa dfGran Hotel Ciudad de Mexico
For those who want a dose of history and a city center location, the impressively restored Gran Hotel Ciudad de Mexico is near the Zocalo main plaza and is a great choice. The Art Nouveau building dates to 1895 and has what is in most ways the grandest lobby in the city, complete with birdcage elevators and a Tiffany stained-glass ceiling. Some of the rooms have views over the famous city plaza and it’s a few minutes’ walk to many of the historic center sites. While rooms feature reproduction furniture and heavy drapes with tassels, they also have all the modern gadgets like LCD TVs and electronic safes.
