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.

The Papaya Playa Project

Along the beaches of Tulum in Quintana Roo, Mexico, surrounded by Mayan ruins and the coastline of the Yucatan Peninsula, you’ll find The Papaya Play Project in all its bohemian glory. The Papaya Playa Project is exactly that–a project to establish temporary living environments for creative types and those free spirited vacationers looking to connect with the surrounding environment.

This small hostel-like hotel is one of many trending “pop-up” organizations and events, including restaurants, hotels, and weddings (which took place here at Casa Artelexia–stay tuned for the full story!). The goal of The Papaya Playa Project has been to foster sustainability in the already eco-minded Tulum through a vacation experience that brings you closer to the culture and natural landscape of the town (definitely the hippie mentality here). How does the hotel do it? Take a look at the awesome, sustainable experience Papaya Playa has to offer its guests:

Papaya Playa is dotted with 80+ palapa roofed cabanas, sustainably built with "natural and local materials", including wood and bamboo. The cabanas are equipped with comfy beds, towels and small toiletries, and more candles than actual lighting and electricity. There are private bathrooms in some of the cabanas, but many have shared bathroom and shower areas for that "communal" feeling (no you do not have to shower with strangers, shower stalls are enclosed!)

Electrical outlets and the hotel's wifi can be found at the front desk, where you can charge and use your computer or phone–which may sound like a hassle, but with most cabanas sitting on or just a few steps away from the beautiful beach, who needs a laptop?

Papaya Playa's simple, eco-concious cabanas may sound a bit out of the ordinary, but again, sustainable is the goal here. However, the resort does offer certain luxuries, like yoga, spa services, and a restaurant and bar for its guests. Tulum itself is full of cool, outdoorsy things to do like snorkeling, diving, fishing, and exploring the landscape and Mayan ruins of the area.

Images found here, here, and here.