World's Best

The Top 5 City Hotels in Mexico in 2020

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Published on July 8, 2020

Hotel Amparo, guest room, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico — Photo: Courtesy of Hotel Amparo

This year’s World’s Best Awards survey closed on Mar. 2, just before widespread stay-at-home orders were implemented as a result of COVID-19. The results reflect our readers’ experiences before the pandemic, but we hope that this year’s honorees will inspire your trips to come—whenever they may be.

Travelers to Mexico’s cities are spoiled for choice on every front. Want a good meal in CDMX? Take your pick — there are killer tacos to be had at street carts and world-class fine dining at places like Contramar. Craving an art experience in San Miguel de Allende? You can head to Centro Cultural Ignacio Ramírez El Nigromante and see murals by major Mexican artists, or swing by Fábrica Aurora to catch working painters and sculptors in their studios. Itching to get up-close to history in Oaxaca? Visit the 18th-century Oaxaca Cathedral, or dive a little deeper at Monté Alban, the ruins of a 2,300-year-old Zapotec city just outside of town. Naturally, the hotel landscapes of Mexico’s major cities are just as rich and varied — and the best city hotels in Mexico capture that sense of variety.

Every year for our World’s Best Awards survey, T+L 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. Properties were classified as city or resort based on their locations and amenities.

Related: The World's Best Awards 2020

The readers of T+L are nothing if not consistent when it comes to terrific hotels, which is perhaps why four of this year’s top five have made frequent appearances on the World’s Best Awards. Take Mexico City’s Four Seasons and the St. Regis — coming in at No. 5 and No. 2, respectively — which are situated a mere two blocks apart on busy Paseo de la Reforma. The “classic, refined” St. Regis, as one reader described, overlooks Chapultepec Castle and the Diana the Huntress Fountain and has butler service. (Check out the killer city views from its high-rise perch.) A short jaunt away, the 240 rooms of the Four Seasons wrap around a verdant central courtyard; and you’ll definitely want to grab a nightcap downstairs at Fifty Mils, recently named to the World’s 50 Best Bars list.

Over in San Miguel de Allende, two excellent properties occupy the middle spots on the list. Rosewood (No. 4), which captures the easygoing grandeur of an old hacienda, serves what one reader called “some of the best food we’ve had in town.” The boutique Hotel Matilda (No. 3), with its design-forward, contemporary style, impressed with its collection of artwork. “Truly a feast for the eyes and senses,” enthused one guest.

This year, the top spot goes to Hotel Amparo, a game-changing boutique hotel in San Miguel de Allende. Read on to find out more.

1. Hotel Amparo, San Miguel de Allende

Hotel Amparo, bath, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico — Courtesy of Hotel Amparo

Score: 99.23

More information: hotelamparo.com

This petite property, situated in the former mayoral residence of San Miguel, has only been open a year and a half and yet has already made an impression with travelers thanks to its “attention to details,” as one reader noted. The design marries traditional elements (marble, dark wood paneling) with fresh and youthful touches (bright colors, sculptural lamps, bold geometric murals). Each of the five rooms has a unique look and feel, with chic comforts like Le Labo amenities and custom linens, creating an atmosphere that’s more residential-cool than fussy and formal. That’s not to say the service is overly casual. Raved one reader, “I have stayed at many hotels around the world, and the level of service for this tiny hotel is outstanding.” Should you go to San Miguel and miss out on a stay here, you may well find yourself stopping by regardless — for the best lattes in town in the morning, for natural wines and big-city craft cocktails at night, and round-the-clock for meals at the destination-worthy restaurant, where chef Kenten Merin showcases his American-Peruvian roots. Is this the Platonic ideal of a boutique hotel? Our readers seem to think so — if nothing else, it’s hands-down the best addition to San Miguel in recent memory.