Score: 90.89
This year, our readers chose hotels in Mexico City, San Miguel de Allende, and Oaxaca as the best in this very diverse country.
Every year for our World’s Best Awards survey, Travel + Leisure asks readers to weigh in on travel experiences around the globe — to share their opinions on the top hotels, resorts, cities, islands, cruise ships, spas, airlines, and more. Hotels were rated on their facilities, location, service, food, and overall value. Hotels were classified as City or Resort based on their locations and amenities.
The smallest property on the list is the eight-room Casa Oaxaca, set in one of Mexico’s culinary and cultural capitals. “Always a favorite place to visit while in Oaxaca,” said one reader of this charming hotel, which is set in an 18th-century former residence. Guests can open their French doors to the central garden courtyard, and the on-site restaurant, which is considered one of the city’s best, exclusively serves hotel guests.
In Mexico City, Las Alcobas, a Luxury Collection Hotel, and the St. Regis Mexico City continue to earn top marks. Both are in the leafy, upscale Polanco neighborhood and within view of Chapultepec Park. Travelers loved the prime location of both properties — but the similarities end there. At the 189-room St. Regis, crisp, contemporary rooms fill 14 floors of a high-rise, and the brand’s classic King Cole Bar has a lovely terrace where you can sip champagne. Las Alcobas, on the other hand, has just 35 earth-toned Yabu Pushelberg–designed rooms and a spiral rosewood staircase.
But it was two San Miguel de Allende hotels that rose to the very top — only fitting since the city itself was voted No. 1 in the world. T+L reader Jimmy Long called the hacienda-inspired, 67-room Rosewood San Miguel de Allende “one of the most beautiful hotels in Mexico.” Guests of the Rosewood (No. 2) can unwind by the lovely pool, or at the 1826 Tequila Bar, which offers over 120 types of tequila and 20 mezcals. And the No. 1 winner? An intimate retreat with a striking art collection. Read on for more on this unique property.
1. Hotel Matilda, San Miguel de Allende
Score: 91.85
It’s only fitting that the best city hotel in Mexico is in buzzy San Miguel de Allende, which was hailed as the No. 1 destination this year. But Hotel Matilda impresses all on its own, with one reader calling it the “hotel of choice for sophisticated art enthusiasts and cuisine.” Thanks to owner Harold Stream’s passion for the arts (his mother, Matilda Stream, once had her portrait painted by Diego Rivera), you can expect to see pieces by the likes of Bosco Sodi, Aldo Chaparro, and Spencer Tunick. In addition to an attentive, helpful staff and the decidedly hip décor, travelers also loved the property’s 4,700-square-foot spa (home to the city’s only hammam), central location, and access to chef Enrique Olvera’s Moxi: one of the hottest tables in San Miguel, if not the country.
