It has been simmering for years, but these days Mexico City as a destination is boiling hot. Recent fans have discovered what those who have long loved it have always known—it has everything. Food, nightlife, art, history, architecture, design, cool neighborhoods, and nature. It also has its array of hotels from major players like Four Seasons, Marriott, Intercontinental, etc as well as a dizzying array of boutique hotels and design-forward Airbnbs. What has been scarce, though, were truly luxury-focused boutique hotels—until now with the opening of Casa Polanco. It’s a former mansion on the park turned into a chic hotel and is the latest selection for our column on exciting new properties, Room Key.
If the phrase “money talks, wealth whispers” could be turned into a place, this would be it. Everything about Casa Polanco, part of the HAMAK Collection, is discreet. Polanco, the neighborhood the hotel calls home and from which it gets its name, is still dotted with a number of Spanish Revival mansions like the main house of Casa Polanco, which was built in 1943. Even the modern addition of textured brown concrete and glass is classic Polanco and fits right in. Pulling up, ringing the bell, and being ushered past the front terrace gardens into the hall you really could be arriving at the mansion of a rich friend.
That doesn’t mean the property, designed by architect Claudio Gantuz, is without flair. The entrance hall is decked out in an unforgettable algae-green marble from Ireland. It’s a blast of color to complement the white-drenched historic plasterwork ornamental ceilings and clay-colored twisting columns. The mansion’s back patio has been topped with a glass roof and turned into the hotel’s restaurant where guests gather for breakfasts and the afternoon tea of drinks and small plates. (Both breakfast and the tea are included, as are the minibar, two pieces of pressing, bicycles, and the fully stocked honor bar in the library.) Speaking of the library, it’s a delightful little corner of the hotel with an even more delightful selection of monographs where you can while away the hours and even smoke a cigar.
On the morning after our first night stay we heard a slight rustling outside the room. I looked at my phone and saw the clock turn from 7:29 to 7:30. Every morning the hotel drops off a tray of fresh tea, coffee, juice and snacks for guests at a requested time. In an era where labor shortages have led to staffing and quality issues at hotels of all levels, it stood out that here was service happening right on the dot.
There are just 19 suites spread out between the original mansion and the modern addition. While all were decorated in a restrained but refined contemporary aesthetic by Casa M+M, the ones in the historic house have some of the historic elements intact like intricate wrought-iron doors and moldings. All the suites are given a warmth from the walnut flooring.
Our terrace looked out over the leafy confines of Parque Lincoln, and while the city beyond has enough to keep a visitor occupied for weeks, it was perfectly lovely to just relax in that private verdant corner. While the hotel has a full gym and a massage room on the roof, one of its most underrated amenities is the plethora of terraces spread out across the property that all guests can use. The rooms also come equipped with bath products from uber-chic Xinú.
A lot of places like to market themselves as a home away from home, but don’t be surprised if you just end up wishing this was your home.
