261 Best Hotels in Mexico

This inviting, reasonably priced hotel on the edge of increasingly trendy San Miguel Chapultepec and adjacent to Bosque de Chapultepec conveys an old-world sensibility with its floor-to-ceiling curtains, British antiques, and large marble-accented bathrooms, some with steam showers and Jacuzzi tubs. Some rooms have balconies overlooking the park. The elegant restaurant features live piano and serves fine Continental cuisine.

Despite the enormous size of this timeshare-resort hybrid, there are only 205 rooms and 35 residences, meaning guests are treated to 1,400-square-foot hacienda-style suites. The property itself replicates an old Mexican village, with rooms housed in two buildings tiered on a hillside so nearly every suite has an ocean view. Separating the buildings are two pools, one designated for activities and the other for peace and quiet. The seven restaurants range from Mexican cuisine to grilled specialties; or guests can use all-inclusive privileges to dine at one of five restaurants on the marina in Cabo San Lucas. A hotel shuttle makes 10 trips a day to sister property Marina Fiesta. The on-site grocery store, pharmacy, and babysitting service make this resort popular with timeshare owners. Be sure to read the list of amenities that are not included in the all-inclusive plan, or you might end up with sticker shock at checkout.

About a 20-minute drive north of Oaxaca's historic center, this hotel is a cool, quiet oasis. The spa, which has a hot tub, massage, and traditional temazcal steam baths, will help you regain your inner balance. Staff members can assist in arranging horseback excursions, bicycle rides, or ecological tours to the nearby mountains. All rooms are no-smoking.

Three miles north of town, this 1811 hacienda strikes a perfect balance between the old and the new in dramatic rooms and suites with contemporary paintings, antique mirrors, polished cement floors, handcrafted Mexican furnishings, and spacious bathrooms that feature vanity areas and walk-in showers built with local stones. Be sure to tour the sprawling grounds landscaped with bougainvillea, hibiscus, tamarind, and lime and orange trees. The patio hammocks are great for an afternoon nap after a dip in the pool. Meals are served on the veranda at a 14-person mahogany table, in a dining room with old murals, or in the original chapel.

Five blocks south of San Miguel's main plaza, this small inn consists of two-story buildings set around a lush courtyard. Second-floor rooms get far more air and light than those at ground level, but all have coffeemakers, purified water, and bathrobes. There’s also a town house with a full kitchen and two bedrooms. There is no pool, but the ocean is just a block away. Dive packages are offered at a discount.

Located only a few short blocks from the main attractions in Centro Histórico, this hotel is a great choice for travelers who want a comfortable place to stay at a reasonable price. There's a popular seafood restaurant in the lobby and many other eateries nearby.

You can't miss this hotel, because its profile resembles an arrow pointing straight up. It's also one of the best deals in town. Rooms are impeccably maintained, and the eager-to-please staff makes sure you have a map of the city on arrival and a bag of local coffee to take home.

This branch of the reliable chain sits in the heart of historic Guadalajara. Though the hotel's public areas could use some updating, it has a grand entrance—with a restaurant and a men's shop—and rooms have nice touches like plasma TVs. The bathrooms have glassed-in showers, but no tubs. The breakfast buffet is a good deal, and the restaurant serves national and international dishes.

From the traditional adobe structure to the use of feng shui, this tranquil, holistic-oriented eco-resort at the foot of the Quetzalcóatl mountains in the village of Amatlán has an expansive spa and has been designed to blend with the environment. Rooms have meditation chairs set in bay-window alcoves where you can absorb the unparalleled views. Rates includes breakfast and some activities, and additional meals are available in the airy restaurant, with its high domed-brick ceiling. The resort is a 15-minute drive east Tepoztlán.

Wandering around the gardens and discovering cascades, fountains, abandoned pillars, and sculptures in this 16th-century former sugar mill that once belonged to the famed conquistador makes for an enchanting experience, especially at dusk. Ask for a room in the old part of the building to fully immerse yourself in the flavor of the place. Rooms have traditional Mexican furnishings and lovely patios or balconies. The restaurant is within old fort walls draped with vines—it's like dining inside a ruined castle. Facials, wraps, and massages are available in the plush spa, which also contains a cedar dry sauna.

Hotel Azul was the first entry in the post-2010 boom in boutique hotels in Oaxaca, converted from a run-down house in the city center to a hidden gem of a boutique hotel. Although it is situated on a busy downtown street, once you step through the front door, you'll enter into a world of peace, high-quality service, and chic, well-designed rooms. For guests who want a little extra luxury, Hotel Azul offers suites designed and decorated by five of Oaxaca’s most illustrious contemporary artists. After a day exploring the city, the classy rooftop cocktail bar offers a range of refreshing Oaxacan cocktails to whet your appetite before dinner.

This sleek boutique property has quickly become the lodging of choice for a discerning young crowd. (It's plenty fun, if not quite as hip as the next-door Hotel B Unique.) Service is attentive; with so many areas to hang out around the pool and beach, though, catching the waiter's eye can be a challenge. Each room has clean lines and its own Mexican decor elements. The restaurant and bar are perfect for enjoying sunsets. Thanks to the hotel’s amenities, you can start the morning with a yoga class and then retreat to the spa, or spend the day snorkeling and diving.

Set right in front of the best beach in Barra de Navidad, this is a clean, comfortable hotel—just don't expect any kind of luxury. Mostly frequented by national tourists, Hotel Barra de Navidad has a nice restaurant and offers a wide range of spa services.

Catering to a youthful, see-and-be-seen crowd of clubbers and fashionistas, this uber-cool design hotel also houses a hipster-approved lifestyle boutique and a buzzy mod-Mex restaurant. There's also an oft-Instagrammed glass-walled swimming pool. It's the kind of place where you'll want to laze by the pool and sip cocktails with friends, and although the rooms—with concrete floors and eye-catching low-slung furniture—are beautiful, they can also be noisy. 

A pond filled with flowers is one of the many touches that make this hostelry in a restored colonial mansion stand out. Glass ceilings in the lobby and atrium make for beautiful lighting. A lovely newer wing across the street, also in a colonial home, has a colonnaded courtyard and large, quiet rooms painted light colors and filled with tasteful photographs of San Cristóbal. The restaurant, which surrounds a courtyard with banana trees, serves international dishes.

This small hotel is the best option on Plaza Independencia. There are crafts in every room and hallway, in some of the most unexpected places. The terraced rooms present great views of the plaza. There are tables in the quiet courtyard, where tasty typical cuisine and a range of fruit and vegetable juices are served.

Dating from 1740, this colonial-era house has been declared a historical monument. Graceful colonnades separate three interior courtyards. Most of the simple guest rooms have large windows overlooking the courtyard or corridors; a few rooms on the second floor have views of the mountains. The restaurant, Doña Rita, sits among the elegant columns on one of the porches. The hotel is three blocks east of the zócalo.

Elegant with its postcolonial architecture, this hotel is on a calm side street a block from Teatro Degollado. Hand-carved furniture and doors and wrought-iron railings adorn the public areas and the rooms. Standard rooms are small, making suites worth the extra cost. Balconies overlook the courtyard pool from some rooms.

Short of camping along the trail, you can't get a whole lot closer to the famed Peña de Bernal monolith than staying in this imaginatively designed boutique inn constructed of local stone and offering a very nice restaurant and wine cellar bar, plus a terrace, pool, and hot tub with great views of the countryside. The one drawback of being so close to the mountain is that the location is a bit outside the charming town center of Bernal. But for exploring the area, including the many wineries nearby, it's a great choice.

Enjoy close proximity to the Zócalo and Alameda Central from your boho-minimalist hideaway in this exquisitely restored 17th-century building. The lobby-level collection of hip restaurants and boutiques create a busy entrance. One of the building's best attributes is its gorgeous rooftop terrace, which includes a snazzy cocktail bar as well as a lap pool, sunken hot tub, and sun deck.

A block from the beach and overlooking Lázaro Cárdenas Park, this hotel offers great city and mountain views from the rooftop, which has a pool and party area. Suites have small kitchenettes in one corner. Units with great views cost the same as those without, so ask for one with a panoramic view.

The 18th-century pink-stone facade of this lovely old colonial building faces the Plaza de Armas and the cathedral. During festival season, rooms looking onto the plaza are within earshot of late-night and early-morning tamborazo music. That said, you'll get a great view of the festivities from your small balcony. It offers lots of services, such as parking, babysitting, a bar-restaurant, business center, and a small gym.

Opened decades ago by a family of dedicated bird-watchers, this meandering, three-story hotel with expansive grounds is the home base of choice for birding groups. Rooms have small balconies and polished limestone floors; junior suites have large whirlpool tubs. Betty Vásquez, who runs El Delfín French restaurant here, studied at Le Cordon Bleu in France; she prepares elegant and very tasty meals.

Simple rooms in this six-story low-rise have somewhat battered colonial-style furnishings; some have tiny balconies but only a few on the top floors have a partial ocean view. The small figure-eight pool in the middle of the courtyard is exposed but still refreshes. The two-bedroom apartments are poorly designed and have stiff Mexican furnishings. J&B Dancing Club next door provides Latin and pop music throughout the week.

This five-story 1907 hotel, referred to locally as El Génova, has a pleasant lobby whose atmosphere successfully combines elegance and whimsy. Guest rooms are small but comfortable, with modern furnishings. The clubby Phone Bar has a Brit-rock theme and a classic London phone booth in the center. The small, Wonderland-esque Veranda Bistro features a living wall, checkerboard-tile floor, playful accents, and a menu of contemporary Mexican cuisine.

A dramatic pool—surrounded by pillared archways draped with white curtains—serves as a focal point at this urban oasis, where small but chic guest rooms have satellite TVs, air-conditioning, hardwood floors, and four-poster beds with silk pillows and 600-thread-count Egyptian cotton sheets. There are hints of royal red throughout the property, which matches the bright polished floors inlaid with river stones. Request Room 1 or 3 for a view of the pool. Next door, a sister property, Hacienda VIP, is very similar in style but slightly more expensive and worth upgrading to if you want larger rooms.

This hotel and trailer park across from the beach on the town's main street is part of the Best Western chain. Rooms are generic but clean, and each has a balcony or patio, a few with a view of the sea.

Suiting its name, this hotel occupies a stately late 19th-century building with a corner cupola right on the Reforma alongside the Glorieta de las Mujeres que Luchan, a monument to women's struggles. The hotel's Restaurant Gaudí serves Continental cuisine with some classic Spanish selections. First-floor executive rooms have small balconies and leatherette headboards, but many smaller details have been overlooked.