Condesa DF Hotel

AV. Veracruz N.102 Col. Condesa, Mexico DF, Mexico

La Condesa is a district in the capital equivalent to London’s Notting Hill Gate: a regentrified residential neighbourhood close to the centre of town with buzzy restaurants, cafés and a great park on its doorstep. And there’s no better base for exploring its charms than Condesa DF, a boutique hotel in a listed Twenties building, in the French neo-classical style. Visually, it’s pleasure all the way, from the muted, magical aquamarine blues and greens of the lobby to the neutral palette of the high-spec rooms kitted out with bespoke furniture by influential Parisian designer India Mahdavi. Typically Mexican cotton bed coverings and starkly contemporary stone-tiled bathrooms are standout features. However, Condesa DF should be seen as more than a mere sleeping place – its triangular ground- floor atrium, El Patio, segueing from breakfast room awash with natural light to buzzy evening bar and bistro serving French fusion by chef Romain Fouquet. There’s also a rooftop sushi bar where ‘healthy’ cocktails as well as margaritas and wicked mezcals – tequila’s grown-up cousin – can be enjoyed along with spectacular views of Chapultepec Castle and the gorgeous España Park. The comparisons with Notting Hill don’t stop there – be sure to ask staff about the Mini Cooper house car (a British classic if ever there was one) that you can use to nip around the neighbourhood stocking up on souvenirs at the raft of local independent shops and art galleries. AG. Doubles from £160. 00 52 (55) 5241 2600, condesadf.com