Mexico has one of the world’s best boutique hotel scenes, from its beachside hamlets to its Spanish Colonial-style towns, and culture-throbbing capital. If you know us, you know we don’t do hyper-corporate mega-resorts (they just aren’t our thing) — so, in the spirit of that, we’ve rounded up our favorite Mexican boutique hotels.
Casa To (Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca)
5 Stars | Website | Puerto Escondido International Airport
9 | 1 swimming pool; Free WiFi; Breakfast | 0
Zicatela Beach; Marinero Beach; Principal Beach
Puerto Escondido is the cool Mexican beach town you need to have on your radar. It’s light years away from the influencer-ridden beaches of Tulum; an understated hamlet beckoning laid-back surfers, expats seeking somewhere warm to work, and some of Mexico’s most creative hospitality minds — the boutique hotel scene outranks many other Latin American cities. Casa To is the latest addition to the area: a brutalist intimate boutique hotel with a blueprint that draws inspiration from Mexico’s ancient pyramids and the world’s most famous reservoirs. Banana and passion fruit vines shroud the hotel’s concrete exterior, making what you encounter next when entering the hotel unseemly — guests walk into a centerpiece space with a long, cistern-style pool distinctly marked by tunnel-like, circular openings, situated before a seating-area solarium redolent of a traditional Oaxacan temple.
Casa Polanco (Mexico City)
5 Stars | Website | Benito Juarez International Airport
19 | Fitness center; Spa; Room service | 1
Estela de Luz; The Angel of Independence; Museo Casa de Carranza
Polanco is Mexico City’s chicest neighborhood: tree-lined streets, designer shops, and historical mansions populate its streets. The area’s new 19-key Casa Polanco is the poshest place to spend the night. It’s a Spanish colonial revival that feels like the meeting point between a luxe hotel and a good friend’s apartment, with its tastefully curated collection of Mexican artwork, vintage furnishings from local antique shops, Swiss-woven Egyptian cotton bedding, and walnut wood floors.
Hotel Matilda (San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato)
5 Stars | Website | Querétaro International Airport
32 | 1 swimming pool; Spa; Fitness center; Room service | 1
Benito Juarez Park; Historic Museum of San Miguel de Allende; Jardín Allende
Hotel Matilda is a 32-key contemporary jewel in the heart of San Miguel de Allende. For those unfamiliar with this magical town, it comprises a medley of cobblestone streets lined with warm-hued Spanish Colonial-style buildings, many housing a deluge of local art markets, curated galleries, artisanal restaurants from a range of lauded chefs, as well as chic concept stores. The contemporary art at the hotel is a feast for the eyes: Bosco Sodi, Aldo Chaparro, and Nacho Rodriguez Bach are just a few of the talented masterminds behind Hotel Matilda’s wealth of masterpieces. To all of our art lovers, it would be amiss not to mention the Diego Rivera-painted portrait of the hotel owner’s mother hanging in the lobby. Aside from art, gastronomes will love the hotel’s fine-dining restaurant Moxi, which boasts a menu that melds Mexican and international fare. The hotel’s spa is also a treat — make sure to book a massage following your day exploring the city.
Cuixmala (La Huerta, Jalisco)
5 Stars | Website | Manzanillo Playa de Oro International
40 | 1 swimming pool; Spa; Free WiFi | 3
Copa del Sol; Bahía de Chamela; Playas Paraiso
A beachside estate and hotel situated on Mexico’s Costalegre, Cuixmala comprises more than 30,000 acres, including three private beaches and restaurants, sea turtle rehabilitation centers, and a 5,000+ acre bio-dynamic farm. Architecture-wise, Mexican, Moorish, and European design clad the premises’ 12 suites, three private villas, and ten casitas. The closest international airport is 1.5 hours way, in Manzanillo.
Hacienda de San Antonio (Colima)
5 Stars | Website | Manzanillo Playa de Oro International
22 | 1 swimming pool; Free WiFi; Pet friendly | 1
Volcán de Colima; Parque Nacional Volcán Nevado de Colima; Laguna La Maria
Hacienda de San Antonio is a rose-hued boutique hotel that pops out amidst its verdant, tropical cloud forest and coffee plantation environs. With its colonial exterior, central courtyard, hand-painted tiles adorning walls, and manicured gardens, the grounds feel like a Mexican palace. Those looking to go off-the-grid for a few days will love the hotel’s remote location in the Mexican state of Colima — the closest international airport is Manzanillo, a two-hour drive. Total private hideaway vibes.
Baja Club Hotel (La Paz, Baja California Sur)
4 Stars | Website | La Paz Airport Manuel Marquez de Leon
32 | 1 swimming pool; Spa; Free WiFi | 1
Malecon La Paz; Balandra Beach; Playa El Coromuel
La Paz is a small town on the calmer-than-the-Pacific Sea of Cortez. About 20 minutes from the cute downtown are desolate beaches, where light blue water and endless desert meet. Mexican hospitality firm Grupo Habita’s somewhat-new boutique hotel Baja Club is the place to stay. It’s an old colonial-style hacienda-style building with a contemporary structure added to it. You’ll love the rooftop bar, Greek restaurant, and pool.
Azulik (Tulum, Quintana Roo)
4 Stars | Website | Cozumel International Airport
48 | Full service spa; Free WiFi; Bar | 3
Parque Nacional Tulum; South Tulum Beach; Las Palmas Beach
Azulik is an architectural masterpiece boasting elegant treehouse villas interwoven into the resident jungle landscape’s sturdy stems and hovering branches. Travelers can expect a treasure trove of spacious, eco-friendly structures made with natural material, which feature floating jungle-style bridges, private stairways, and in-room design touches like Mayan mosaic tubs & outdoor decks with Caribbean Sea views. Conceptualized as an escape from the digital world—there’s no Wi-Fi, TV, or electricity—the hotel aims to connect its guests with the surrounding area.
Paradero Todos Santos (Todos Santos, Baja California Sur)
4 Stars | Website | Los Cabos International Airport
35 | 1 swimming pool; Spa; Bar | 1
Palm Beach; San Pedrito Beach; Punta Lobos Beach
This brutalist fortress’ neutral-toned blocky accommodations blend into the surrounding desert. The thrums of nature accompany every space here: the vanishing-edge pool, inside-outside restaurant, private hammocks hanging in rooms’ patios, and during their ancient-Mayan-healing-ritual Temazcal treatments.
Casona Sforza (Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca)
4 Stars | Website | Puerto Escondido International Airport
10 | 1 swimming pool; Private beach; Bar | 1
Zicatela Beach; Marinero Beach; Principal Beach
Puerto Escondido is full of cool boutique hotels — one of its most iconic stays is Casona Sforza. The design-forward boutique hotel catches eyes with its standout vaulted roofs and breathtaking setting. Outside, lounge chairs outline the on-site circular pool: Looking one direction, you see the structure’s neutral-toned vaulted roofs reflecting the sun; the other, a view of the awe-inspiring Pacific Ocean.
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