Grupo Habita Hotels: Downtown Mexico

Hotel Downtown Mexico is like many of Grupo Habita’s hotels in Mexico: a beautiful colonial building given a new life as a contemporary hotel. But Downtown Mexico is smack dab in the middle of Mexico City’s Centro Historico, a neighborhood surrounded by colonial buildings originally built atop the Aztec remains of Tenochtitlan.

Hotel Downtown Mexico is located inside the Palacio de Los Condes de Miravalle, one of these historic buildings. A vacation here gives you a front row seat to a World Heritage Site, and the enchanting center of Mexico City.

Hotel Downtown Mexico offers several different rooms and suites, with views of either the street or the hotel courtyard. Rooms are relaxing, and designed for simplicity, however the high ceilings and brick walls remain as a nod to the colonial Palacio.

Each of the hotel’s courtyards are unique, some offering views of the city and other colonial buildings. One in particular actually has an entire wall covered in vines and plants manicured to look like a bike path, and they’ve even stuck a real bicycle on the wall! You’ll get a 360 degree view of Centro Historico as you lounge by the pool and bar on the rooftop too.

The hotel is filled with remnants of the former Palacio, including a mural from the early 1900s in front of the staircase by Mexican artist Manuel Rodriguez Lozano, and a very cool old elevator that appears as though it still works.

Images found here and here.

Grupo Habita Hotels: Endemico

Endemico is a traveler’s chance to immerse themselves in the beauty of Ensenada’s desert landscape and experience it in modern luxury. The hotel and its 19 different cabin-like rooms are scattered on a hill overlooking Ensenada’s Valle de Guadalupe–Baja’s very own wine country. What’s more is that Endemico has its own winery, so winos and desert lovers alike can get a real taste of the beautiful valley before them.

Hotel rooms at Endemico are situated in their own “cabins” with clear views of Valle de Guadalupe. Cabin decks offer a seating area and terra cotta-style fireplace to relax around and enjoy the view–perfect for an evening watching the sunset in the valley!

Each area of Endemico is filled with natural light and offers more stunning views of the valley, so no matter where you choose to enjoy yourself, you’ll feel as though you’re truly a part of the landscape. The hotel as a whole is furnished with contemporary rustic furniture and lighting, and the architecture of the place reflects the simplicity of the surrounding desert hills and valley.

Endemico is translated as “Endemic”, or native to the area, and this is part of Endemico’s design. The hotel offers romantic views of Valle de Guadalupe and the surrounding hills even from the pool and spa areas, so you'll feel as though you're roughing it in the desert even if you're relaxing in the pool or spa, or walking back and forth from the poolside bar.

Images found here and here.

Grupo Habita Hotels: Boca Chica

If Mad Men’s Don Draper were to vacation in Mexico, the resort would probably look something like Boca Chica in Acapulco. Boca Chica is a midcentury meets contemporary resort located across from Acapulco’s Isla de La Roqueta island, a favorite destination for tourists and locals alike. It is a unique hotel that will leave you feeling nostalgic for 50s/60s era Acapulco vacationing and loving its relaxing, modern simplicity. And needless to say it’s Acapulco, so there’s TONS to do!

Boca Chica’s thirty six rooms and suites offer different views of the surrounding area, very cool modern and retro furnishings, private balconies and gardens with hammocks to lounge on, and the usual hotel amenities.

You don’t have to venture away from Boca Chica to experience Acapulco’s beaches and nightlife. The resort has its own pool with an oceanfront view, and if that doesn’t sound appealing, you can walk down the staircase behind the restaurant to enjoy the hotel’s private beach. Boca Chica also has its own restaurant and nightclub, Cocowash, that stay true to the rest of the hotel’s retro 50s/60s vibe.

Top two images by Jim Franco, All other images can be found here 

Grupo Habita Hotels: Maison Couturier

Within a tranquil, tropical oasis in the town of San Rafael, Veracruz, is a French colonial fruit plantation turned resort that may not resonate with your typical image of historic Mexico.

Originally a French colony founded in the 1800s, the town of San Rafael is still filled with colonial French architecture and cultural influence, and Maison Couturier resort keeps the spirit of that influence by meshing the existing French architecture of the plantation with contemporary design. Basically, you’ll be sitting in a French armchair on the veranda one moment, and relaxing underneath a banana tree near the pool the next: the perfect modern meets colonial vacation escape!

Maison Couturier is translated as “home designer”, so there’s no surprise that the resort’s nine rooms are beaming with sophisticated minimalism and touches of French design. These suites are filled with natural light and designed with stone flooring, clean, crisp bedding, and planked ceilings to create a relaxing space.

Traces of French antiquity are found all over the resort, in the dining areas, event spaces, and gardens. French furniture and signage do well for Maison Couturier’s vintage atmosphere, and the overall nostalgic feeling of the place.

The gardens of Maison Couturier are part of San Rafael’s typical agricultural landscape and are filled with banana and palm trees and other tropical foliage. After all, the resort was once an agricultural hub–not a bad place to relax!

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Grupo Habita Hotels: La Purificadora

If you’re looking for a unique, in vogue summer escape, look into booking one of Grupo Habita’s hotels for a few nights. Located all over Mexico, Grupo Habita hotels blend contemporary design with the colonial architecture found in Mexico. So whether you’re looking for an experience that is purely modern, or a mix of the new and the traditional, Grupo Habita has a hotel that fits.

To give you a better idea of what we’re talking about we’ll be reviewing a different Grupo Habita hotel every week. Grupo Habita isn’t your average Mexican hotel chain, and even if you’re not looking for a cool getaway, these hotels provide some serious architectural eye candy for the design junkie.

La Purificadora Hotel

La Purificadora Hotel is a wonderful example of Grupo Habita design thinking. The façade of La Purificadora blends well with the colonial buildings and cobblestone streets of Puebla because the hotel is located within an actual colonial building. When you walk inside, however, you’ll find a contemporary/traditional mix of texture, color, and remnants of the original building.

Purple is definitely the color of choice at La Purificadora, and you can find it in several parts of the hotel including the courtyard seating areas, drapes, and rooms, juxtaposed against the more rustic, natural textures of the hotel–yet another example of the old mixed with the new. And even if the hotel is a modern paradise, there's still a romantic vibe you get from the fact that you're surrounded by hundreds of years of architectural history everywhere you look!

Speaking of romantic, the bedrooms are equally as enchanting as the rest of the hotel, with hardwood flooring, sleek, wooden furniture, a comfy bed and flat screen tv, and of course, those rustic details that are responsible for the charm of this hotel. But besides the atmosphere and unique design details, you can also enjoy typical leisurely activities like swimming in the hotel's above ground pool, fine dining, and exercising at the gym.


Images: LaPurificadora.com