Inn Love in Mexico

Just the mention of Mexico stirs some reflexive responses, varying from visions of mariachis strumming softly in the moonlight to memories of intense stomach pains undiminished even by carloads of Lomotil. But enchanting music and gastrointestinal ills aside, I suspect that the most pervasive tourist image of Mexico nowadays includes a high-rise hotel set beside a newly constructed seaside town. That is understandable, since Mexico seems coveted most for the constancy of its fine weather and few travelers heading south of the border realize there's much more to the country than a first-class tan.

It's really too bad that so many tourists' trails follow the sorely constricted route from Mexico City straight to a beachfront skyscraper, for Mexico is a land rich in history and cultural heritage, with as many engrossing faces and facets as any European destination. The Mexican landscape is full of historic houses and former federal buildings whose history goes back as far as 1519 (when Hernando Cortes first set foot in Mexico) and that project the very best of the country. The coming of Cortes changed the course of Mexican history forever, and while his impact on the indigenous population was devastating, the legacy for adventurous travelers is considerably more pleasant. For Cortes and his successors built Mexico's most lavish haciendas and ornate official buildings. It is a particular bounty for travelers that so many of those unique structures have been preserved and transformed into evocative and appealing inns.

The very best Mexican inns and small hotels--usually called posadas--are frequently a happy blend of Old World charm and New World plumbing. Generally far removed from the most traveled tourist routes, they are found in greatest numbers along Mexico's vast interior plateau, where the hotel pickings are otherwise pretty slim (especially if you're looking for even marginally first-class accommodations). The old official function of many of these structures explains why several of them flourish near the center of the town in which they are located--rather than being tucked along some secluded country lane, as is common with other comparable North American or European inns.

These inns have been selected specifically because they bear little relation to the anonymous modern conveniences of better-known Mexican tourist hotels. So if your tastes tend to chrome-lined coffee shops, beauty parlors or souvenir-filled gift shops, the hostelries that follow are not likely to send you into paroxysms of delight. These are places for travelers interested in feeling the real pulse of the country, where ambience is at least as important as creature comforts. Furthermore, these are often difficult places to get to, and several are located along the so-called colonial route, the mountainous corridor between Mexico City and Guadalajara. The altitude of some of these small hotels (ranging from approximately 5000 to over 7000 feet above sea level) also puts a premium on carrying appropriate clothing. During the dry winter season, it's desirable to carry gear capable of insulating you against the cool night air, since it's not unknown for wood-burning fireplaces to provide the only heat in your bedroom.

Arranging accommodations at these inns requires a fair amount of advance planning. Because of the often erratic communications between these small establishments and modern civilization, assume you'll have to endure some frustrations before your itinerary is completely confirmed. The resultant experience, however, will be well worth the effort.

Ideally, a lover of such unique stopping places will want to sample several of the inns noted, and hiring a driver is by far the best means to get from town to town. Since that is a relatively inexpensive luxury in Mexico, it's wise to avoid driving yourself through these areas--unless you are both fluent in Spanish and undaunted by the frightening confrontation attitude that is common among most Mexican drivers. There's a strong feeling among many who have innocently taken the wheel in Mexico that the majority of the country's drivers are direct descendants of kamikaze pilots who moved to Mexico at the conclusion of World War Two.

One last practical suggestion: That oft-heard admonition about not drinking the water is especially apt when you venture beyond the most traveled tourist paths. Don't get me wrong: The cities in which Mexico's most romantic small hotels exist are hardly rural backwaters, but many posadas do not routinely provide bottled water in guest rooms. So having your own supply of potables--to brush your teeth and to use as mixers with various spiritous libations--is just a basic precaution to ensure intestinal integrity. That way, you can concentrate on the mariachis and leave the Lomotil at home.

Hotel De Cortes

(Mexico City)

The first surprise is that this small, tranquil inn is located smack in the middle of one of the world's most populous cities. Yet there it is, just across the street from Alameda Park, a block from the Palace of Fine Arts and only a short walk from the bustling Zócalo--Mexico City's main square.

For all its charm, the Hotel de Cortés presents a rather forbidding façade, appropriate enough for a former Augustine monastery. It is constructed in the Spanish tradition whereby a building's exterior walls suggest little of what exists within, serving rather as barriers to unwelcome eyes. Inside, guests enjoy the lush plant-filled interior courtyard, and this is one of those instances where interior rooms are most prized.

Although the Cortés has functioned as a hotel only since 1943, it is located in one of the oldest buildings in the city. Two stories of guest rooms, each boasting high ceilings and massive wood beams, surround a spacious courtyard with a small stone fountain at its center. The furnishings are simple but tasteful, and the touches that most often captivate guests include vases filled with fresh flowers. This former monastery provides meaningful shelter from the din of the surrounding city, for its walls are a full meter thick and serve as a very effective buffer against Mexico City's otherwise incessant traffic noise.

Meals are a special treat and the kitchen is good enough to attract even Mexico City's fussy businessmen to lunch in the courtyard. Umbrella-shaded tables are set all around, and when the weather is bad, one can retreat to a small, cheerful dining room. In the evening, candlelight provides most of the illumination, and a nearly irresistible atmosphere is further enhanced by musicians who play soft music in the background. If you close your eyes, you might think you had been transported back about three centuries.

For information: Hotel de Cortés; Avenida Hidalgo 85; Mexico 1, D.F. Telephone 905-585-0322 or Best Western International's toll-free number, 800-528-1234.

La Posada De Xochiquetzal

(Cuernavaca)

Anyone with even a passing familiarity with Aztec mythology will make a beeline for this lovely inn, since Xochiquetzal (pronounced Soch-e-ket-sal) was the resident god responsible for beauty, flowers, love, music, food, drink and just about everything else worth while in the Aztec world. It must have been a hell of a job in those good old pagan days.

If you're checking the name of this inn in an older guidebook, you'll find it under Posada Arcadia; the name was changed at the time of the recent remodeling and refurbishing. The downtown location (only a block from Cortes' palace) is convenient, though occasionally noisy; its extensive surrounding gardens usually provide adequate insulation from the modern-day din.

The hotel is a rambling, rustic, pleasantly ramshackle old hacienda structure that's a perfect little oasis within the gentle, flower-filled city of Cuernavaca, which conquistador Cortes himself chose for his prospective retirement. The single-story inn sits on vast wooded grounds, a remnant of an even vaster colonial estate. There are now 11 guest rooms and two suites, which American John White, the present owner, says date mostly from the 16th Century. The bar area is dominated by a large fireplace; together with the lovely dining room, it occupies the area between the two guest-room wings. The hotel also offers a lovely swimming pool, set amid its stunning gardens.

The guest rooms are all of ample size, (continued on page 190)Inn love in mexico(continued from page 188) are well furnished and, best of all, boast working fireplaces. The food is good (if not exceptional) and the spareribs are a favorite specialty.

Atypically, this posada provides relatively efficient room service all day and most of the early evening. The winter months (from early December right through Easter) are particularly busy, and most of your fellow guests during this period will be Americans.

For information: La Posada de Xochiquetzal; Apartado Postal 203; Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico. Telephone 2-02-20 or 2-50-22.

Hotel Casa De Piedra

(Cuernavaca)

Here is literally a "house of stone," constructed in the style of the 16th Century palaces of Cortes. Built 35 years ago by Mr. and Mrs. Allen Haden (she was the Marquesa de Castellar, who is said to have ordered the building's construction when she became homesick for Spain), this small hotel has more recently served as a vacation site for Frank Sinatra, Elizabeth Taylor and Carole King. Once a private home, there are now 25 rooms (nine in the "castle" and 16 more built more recently in small, single-story buildings scattered around the grounds).

If it's authenticity you covet, focus on the rooms in the main building, for they are clearly the most intriguing accommodations. Each room is distinctively different and each is furnished in an original style. The guest rooms are all on the upper level and many medieval items--most notably, old weapons--serve as decoration. The vaulted arches and the wide staircase leading upstairs are all constructed of heavy stone.

The public rooms downstairs are filled with colonial furniture and artifacts, all perfectly preserved and usually highly polished. There's a very tangible sense of exploring an old castle as you poke around the warren of rooms downstairs, and there's more than a little anticipation about half expecting to stumble across an armor-clad chap with raised mace and chain.

The rooms outside the main building are not bad, merely undistinguished. They're clean and comfortable but hardly qualify for the unique experience that's possible in the main building.

For information: Hotel Casa de Piedra; Apartado Postal 107; Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico. Telephone 5-61-00 or 5-61-22.

Casa Sierra Nevada

(San Miguel de Allende)

Once again, you've got to be careful to get in the right building, and here the most romantic choice is the old, antique-filled mansion with the small garden to one side. This suggestion may be a little difficult to implement, however; the main building contains only three rooms.

Because of its small size--there are only 12 rooms and suites in all, the nine others of which are across the street--the Sierra Nevada long has been best known as an eating place. Admittedly, the designation "best restaurant in town" is a slightly limited encomium in a town the size of San Miguel, but it is surely apt.

Manager Jeanette Reynolds was once an efficiency engineer, and she has turned a building that dates from 1735 (it's had many incarnations, including an extended period as an orphanage) into the best stopping place in the city. The city itself is quite an attraction, too, for it is a town of artistic bent, set in cool, fresh surroundings about 6000 feet above sea level. Not only was it one of Mexico's most important colonial cities (its records date from 1542) but it also served as a major center during the early 19th Century when the Mexicans fought so fiercely for their independence from Spain.

Each of the spacious, high-ceilinged rooms in the main house is decorated in a slightly different style, and each contains its quota of antiques. All but one boasts its own fireplace.

Although I've made much about staying on the right side of the street here, my tastes run to historic surroundings. The truth is that the nine suites across the cobblestoned road are more posh--if less evocative--accommodations. Each boasts a large terrace and there's even a live-in staff member ever present to take special care of guests. If creature comforts are your prime concern, you'll be happier here.

Activities at the Sierra Nevada revolve around the dining room. A huge, imposing embroidery (more than a century old) dominates the long, narrow room, which is charming, though a bit formal. The menu contains mostly Continental favorites that are well prepared without being overly fussy, and there are even some surprises like homemade pasta.

For information: Casa Sierra Nevada; Apartado Postal 226; San Miguel de Allende, Gto., Mexico. Telephone 2-04-15.

Hacienda De Cobos Hotel

(Guanajuato)

Guanajuato is another of the appealing colonial cities set on Mexico's central plateau. At nearly 7000 feet above sea level, it is noted for its pleasant climate, fresh air, former revolutionary fervor--and for having been the birthplace of the famed muralist Diego Rivera.

More important to its current condition is the fact that Guanajuato was once the largest city in all Mexico, a center of extraordinary wealth that was the by-product of a crowd of silver and gold mines that once surrounded the town. Reports dating from the colonial period suggest that as much as a third of the world's output of silver once came from these mines, so it is not surprising that the hotel building was once a molina (a mill where ore was crushed and washed) for gold and silver. It was part of an estate that dates from 1765, restored and converted into an inn in 1972.

This is not a place for the claustrophobic, for the city is wedged into a mountainside--many of its main streets are actually subterranean--and everything in the oldest areas of the town seems cramped for space. Still, those attracted to snug, secure surroundings will find it a pleasure that walls and gates shut the De Cobos off from the outside bustle.

Access to the hotel compound is gained either by traversing Padre Hidalgo, the street that locals call "the most romantic street in the Americas," or by passing through a gate and down a cobblestoned drive that leads to the hotel from Avenida Juárez, Guanajuato's main street. But however you get there, you soon reach a large stone courtyard that's surrounded by walls and guest rooms. There are 43 rooms in all (including six suites), all of which are austere and can even get a bit chilly when the nights grow cold (there are no fireplaces). At those times, it's wise to ask for lots of blankets or to take along an especially warm friend.

Simple, good food is served in the dining room, which utilizes one of the original old walls of the estate. The old stables have been turned into sitting rooms and a television lounge, and there is also a pleasant sitting area in the courtyard. Here it's possible to enjoy a leisurely margarita under the huge trees beside the old well that once drew the water used to wash the precious ore.While not as luxuriously appointed as (continued on page 286)Inn Love in Mexico(continued from page 190) some of the other inns on this list, De Cobos has an authentic atmosphere that is something 10 treasure.

For information: Hacienda de Cobos Hotel; Padre Hidalgo 3 or Avenida Juárez 153; Guanajuato, Guanajuato, Mexico. Telephone 2-03-50 or 2-01-43.

Posada De San Francisco

(San Miguel de Allende)

The city of San Miguel exudes a very special flavor, one so special that the town has been designated a national monument. This atmosphere is so pleasantly captivating that it's difficult not to conjure up romantic stories about the buildings in the town, and this is especially so of the Posada, a massive three-story colonial-style structure that anchors one of the corners of the city's main square. But don't get too involved in creating mystical incarnations lost in the mists of time, for this is one of Mexico's best-done imitations, just built in 1940.

The building was constructed on land that once housed the stables and corrals of the next-door mansion (which is now. among other things, the local lockup). Still, this colonial replica contains so much furniture and so many artifacts appropriated from far older, entirely authentic colonial edifices that it seems silly to harp on the fact that it was only designed to look like an old monastery.

Despite only four decades of operation, the San Francisco is still said to be the oldest tourist hotel in the state of Guanajuato. There are 50 unprepossessing, comfortably functional rooms ranging from the truly tiny (the feeling is eerily monklike) to large, airy accommodations that include individual fireplaces. The best room in the house is probably number 206, a huge corner room that not only has a large, open fireplace but also offers a superb view of the plaza below and the pink façade of the Church of the Conception. The public rooms on the ground floor are equally impressive and there are three beautiful courtyards--one is large, cobblestoned, with a fountain in the middle, another holds an appealing garden, while the third is left cluttered and largely unused.

There is a large split-level dining room with a fountain of carved stone (it works) and a bar/lounge area that's more like a series of private drawing rooms. The last room of the group has a wonderful stone fireplace.

For information: Posada de San Francisco; Apartado Postal 40; San Miguel de Allende, Gto., Mexico. Telephone 2-14-66 or 2-00-72.

Hotel Villa Montana

(Morelia)

Some regulars refer to this collection of buildings on Santa Maria hill just south of the city as a ranch, while others prefer to call the several small buildings casitas. There's even more fervent disagreement about whether this extraordinary collection of 65 rooms and suites is as good as or better than its main Mexican rival, Las Mañanitas in Cuernavaca, with which it continually vies for the designation as finest small hotel in the country.

Villa Montaña has been built in small increments, with individual small villas added at intervals since 1958. The compound is composed of a maze of levels, terraces, bricked walks, sudden gardens, stone columns and lovely carvings. A small swimming pool adjoins the dining room (this is the major part of the original house) and there's a wonderful colonial-style sitting room with a fine view of the city of Morelia. A second pool is under construction, and they're adding a tennis court as well. Further good news is that no children under 12 are allowed, and there are no phones or television. The price for this total separation from the outside world is the need to wear a jacket for dinner--quite an anomaly in usually informal Mexico.

More than anything, there's a feeling of being in residence in a Mediterranean villa compound, and the posh furnishings in the splendid rooms make it clear that your host is among the wealthy gentry. The individual guest rooms range from fine to fabulous; no two are alike, but all boast broad beams, furniture in antique colonial style and fireplaces (some suites have as many as three). Even the bathrooms are appointed in bright tile, and the extravagant Presidential Suite would stun even a sheik. Rooms with a view are at a premium, so if it's possible, try to see a selection of accommodations before deciding precisely where to bed down. For total suntanning, the private sun deck off rooms 20 and 21 is probably your best choice.

And lest this description start to sound like a promotional paean, let me add that the only nonsuperlative justified in describing this refined oasis is that the food, though well prepared, is not very distinguished.

For information: Hotel Villa Montaña; Apartado Postal 233; Morelia, Michoacán, Mexico. Telephone 2-22-75 or 2-25-88.

Hotel Posada Rio Cuale

(Puerto Vallarta)

Perhaps the rarest hotel in Mexico is a genuine inn of exceptional quality that's very near the sea. Fortunately, The Posada Rio Cuale qualifies; it's not quite two blocks from the Cuale River itself and less than that distance from the fine swimming strand surrounding the Bahia de Banderas.

As is the case with many of the inns we've described, Rio Cuale has grown gradually since it opened in 1968. At present, there are 20 clean, well-furnished rooms, all of which fetch the same modest price--despite the fact that no two are alike. The hotel functions on three slightly erratic levels, with lots of brick and whitewashed masonry outside, plus spiral staircases and plenty of lush plantings.

The location is at least as appetizing as the accommodations, and its site is particularly perfect if you plan to explore a little of downtown Puerto Vallarta. This is the exception to the normal hotel rule hereabouts (where the majority of decent hotels are located quite a distance from the center of town) and particularly important since the best local restaurants--to say nothing of bars, discos and shops--are all in the downtown area. Once in residence here, you shouldn't need a taxi at all.

Despite a hilarious sign above the dining room announcing Gourmet Dinning, the food is first-class and its preparation is taken quite seriously. If you like fresh fish, don't miss the huachinango (Pacific red snapper). There's also a representative choice of wines and delicious espresso for sipping as you watch the moon rise. It's all very relaxed, very laid back and very unlike the normal tourist ruckus of Puerto Vallarta.

For information: Hotel Posada Rio Cuale; Apartado Postal 146; Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico. Telephone 2-09-14 or 2-04-50.

Hotel Virrey De Mendoza

(Morelia)

In referring to some old research on what is probably my favorite city in Mexico, I found a comment by Kate Simon in her Mexico: Places and Pleasures guide. In discussing "colonial atmosphere," Simon warns impressionable visitors to "keep in mind that that phrase sometimes means too much dark wood and weak light bulbs." This reminder is well taken at Virrey de Mendoza, since this lovely old colonial mansion has some rooms that all too accurately evoke the monastic image.

Local historians say that the ground floor of this inn dates from sometime before 1565, though the building more properly dates from around 1744, when the second floor was added. The elegant, rather remarkable structure was turned into a hotel in 1938 (shortly after a third floor was constructed), and its various levels have somehow become quite a miraculous whole.

Fortunately, the building's continued growth during various centuries has followed the original colonial plan, and the present rooms surround the large courtyard on all sides. The hotel boasts Morelia's first elevator, though guests seem to prefer the broad staircases that lead them past authentic suits of conquistador armor and other intriguing objets d'art of the colonial era. The suit of armor in the courtyard (now glassed over) is said to have once belonged to Antonio de Mendoza, who was Spain's first vice-regent in her most affluent New World colony and founded Morelia.

Not only is the hotel a local landmark but its site on the main square makes it a favorite meeting spot. The quality of the food only increases its local stature. As you approach the hotel from the square, it's hard not to imagine brightly gowned señoritas looking down from the small ornate balconies above. It's a lovely fantasy.

There are 55 guest rooms, almost all extravagantly furnished in colonial style. Ceilings reach as high as 20 feet above the polished hardwood floors, and baths are tiled and gleaming white. Try hard to reserve one of the six suites that face the historic Plaza of the Martyrs, for they're curiously about the same cost as the far more ordinary interior double rooms. There is even a closed-circuit color television system that often shows recent American films with Spanish subtitles.

There's a piano played pleasantly at lunch and dinner and vases of fresh flowers on every table. Ivy trails down from above and bullfighting memorabilia dominate the delightful bar that's set in one of the old house's original rooms.

For information: Hotel Virrey de Mendoza; Portal Matamoros 16; Morelia, Michoacán, Mexico. Telephone 2-06-33.

Las Mananitas

(Cuernavaca)

It's probably telling tales out of school, but when the inspectors from the French Relais et Chateaux group anonymously visited Mexico last winter, this was the only hotel they decided to try to lure into their august association. Mañanitas (the name means "little mornings") is perhaps the most popular inn in Mexico and has been enormously successful ever since it opened in November 1955. Not only are room reservations difficult to come by but even reservations for a transient lunch or dinner should be made well in advance. The popularity of this extraordinary inn is not the least misplaced, and though its access road is deceptively modest, the atmosphere inside is effusively romantic.

Mañanitas has been constructed in stops and starts around an original mansion that was built at the turn of the century. But the additional units have been added carefully and selectively over the years, and it's nearly impossible to find even the hint of a seam. The scale is surprisingly massive for a hotel with only 15 rooms--though appropriate after you see the 14 extraordinary one-bedroom suites and the single spectacular two-bedroom accommodation. The carved beds are even larger than king-sized, and one guide describes the dressing rooms as "right out of an MGM movie." Peacocks, cranes, parrots and flamingos roam the main surrounding garden areas (there's a second garden, containing the hotel's swimming pool, behind a locked gate).

Each room is slightly different, usually furnished and decorated with antique pieces and architectural elements that have been salvaged from other old houses around Mexico. Even the reproductions are artful. Every room has its own private patio or faces a terrace, and four patio suites and the two-bedroom colossus have individual fireplaces.

Guests often stay for weeks, or even months, at this refined hideaway, the equal of Europe's finest refuges. In an inn that can accommodate at most about 30 guests, it's astonishing to note that the staff numbers more than 100, and the service reflects this abundance. If you are captivated by an air of simple, genuine luxury, read no further.

For information: Las Mañanitas; Apartado Postal 1202; Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico. Telephone 2-46-46.

Hotel Villa Del Sol

(Zihuatanejo)

Don't let any travel advisor turn you toward neighboring Ixtapa, for the three miles that separate these two cities represent a far greater distance in ambience and orientation. "Zihuatanejo is for individualists," says German-born Helmut Leins, who owns and runs this hotelwith his wife, Rosa. "There are no fancy restaurants, no fancy places," he says, and he's right. For the old fishing-village pace of this lazy Pacific port remains its most appealing quality, and it has remained appealing despite the influence of the determined developers down the beach.

Many devotees consider Leins's nine-room inn (he hopes eventually to increase the capacity to 17 rooms) reason in itself to visit Zihuatanejo. This is the newest of the hostelries on this list; the first guest room was opened in December 1978. The construction is hardly luxurious, but it is still distinctively special, and not the least of its appeal is derived from a site right on the best beach in the village--which means on what may be the best beach in Mexico.

Native woods and other local materials have been used to build the one-and-a-half-story buildings, set around a small swimming pool and a large palapa (thatched-roof shelter). Enthusiastic promoters would describe the rooms as suites, since the typical accommodation here has a downstairs lounge and a sleeping loft above. Each bathroom has walls and a floor of polished Mexican tile.

This is an oasis where guests are left almost completely to their own resources; there's nothing in the way of planned activities, just the great beach, fine swimming, five wind surfers and a couple of boats with which to fool around if you're compulsively active. For those who thrive on dropping out in comfort, this is about as good a place to leave the world as we know.

For information: Hotel Villa del Sol; Apartado Postal 84; Zihuatanejo, Guerrero, Mexico. Telephone 4-22-39.

"When the nights grow chilly, it's wise to ask for lots of blankets or take along an especially warm friend."

"Further good news is that no children under 12 are allowed, and there are no phones or television."

This article was prepared with the assistance of Richard Pietschmann.