In Mexico City, which edges out New York in the list of the world’s largest cities, there are a plethora of hotel options. Two in particular stand out for offering elevated experiences to savvy travelers out on business or pleasure. The Four Seasons Hotel Mexico, D.F. is the property of choice for successful professionals looking for an elegant environment in which to spend their downtime or conduct meetings. Meanwhile, W Mexico City brings the hip, signature brand to town with a dash of local flair. Both also offer dining and entertainment options that are in themselves destinations for style-conscious city dwellers.
From the bustling power breakfast scene to the pleasures of relaxing poolside, the Four Seasons sets the standard for sophistication. The graceful structure echoes Spanish colonial architecture evoking a more elegant era and setting it apart from the high-rise hotels thronging the area.
The five-star sanctuary is situated on historic Paseo de la Reforma, the city’s most impressive thoroughfare, punctuated by statues, fountains and monuments. The Four Seasons' most prepossessing feature is a large, lushly-planted central courtyard inspired by nearby Chapultepec Castle, once a presidential palace and sacred site for the Aztecs.
The courtyard provides outdoor oases for both the bar and restaurant, as well as cooling colonnades and balconies for the upstairs meeting spaces, should visitors desire a private breakfast al fresco. Many guest rooms offer calming courtyard views as well.
At night, flaming torches add a dramatic element to the enclosed landscape with its citrus and banana trees, turning it into an exotic, enchanted garden. Luxurious amenities at this Four Seasons include a full-service spa with Mexican-inspired treatments, an outdoor pool, health club, and a high-tech business center with a multilingual concierge.
Seventeen consecutive AAA five-diamond awards attest to the hotel’s extremely high standards. There are 240 guest rooms in all including 40 suites, topped by a 2,228-square-foot Presidential Suite on the highest floor, complete with authentic Mexican antiques. In addition to the city’s 75 museums and 10 archaeological sites waiting just outside the doors, culture vultures will appreciate the hotel’s in-house Galería Lourdes Sosa. It features a rotating collection of the best in Mexican art, including work by acclaimed painter Jose Luis Cuevas.
Reforma 500, the hotel’s elegant restaurant, features contemporary Mediterranean cuisine from Chef Edgar Kano including delicious dishes like Short Ribs with Hoja Santa and Guajillo-Scented Asparagus Risotto. The place for the city’s prominent businessmen to see and be seen every morning at breakfast, the chic eatery is also popular for its champagne lunches where unlimited Taittinger flows. Next door El Bar offers tequila and mezcal tastings in a relaxing setting inspired by an English country house library.
By contrast, W Mexico City’s signature The Whiskey living room lounge with its DJs, games, and W Signature drink list, is the place where the city’s cutting edge cocktail crowd comes to dance the night away. The hotel presides over the trendy Polanco neighborhood, its prime location pronounced by the Bentley dealership across the street.
Surrounded by chic boutiques, galleries, restaurants and nighttime haunts, it’s situated in an area favored by embassies and exclusive apartment buildings on the edge of Chapultepec Park—which at 1,600 acres, is the largest urban park in the western hemisphere.
The W brand has come to signify a well-curated version of cool with an equally high level of service, and the Mexico City version maintains the standard in style. With elements like the indoor Koi pond and splashes of deep cherry red referencing Mexican art, it steers clear of gloomy pretension and doesn't take itself too seriously—a trap many so-called hip hotels fall into.
The W’s emphasis on design is apparent even from across the street, with a whimsical mural decorating an upper story and architecture that’s suitably modern, which manages to stand out without being intrusive.
The building is artfully angled to give its suites amazing city views while offering privacy from neighboring structures. The striking elements of the decor still leave room for your own style to assert itself, and all of the brand’s exclusive perks are present: P.A.W. (Pets are Welcome) policy, Whatever/Whenever service, AWAY Spa and fitness center, and W Store. W fans will be familiar with room categories including Wonderful, Spectacular and Fabulous, and suites ranging from Fantastic and Marvelous to Extreme WOW. All feature terrazzo floors, luxurious baths, Bliss spa products, plasma TVS, and W pillow menu.
The Extreme WOW suite is one of Mexico City's most opulent aeries. The two rooftop terraces command incomparable views of the urban landscape and the immense, lush park. The living room is fully equipped for entertaining with a projection screen and surround sound Bose stereo system, and the dining room can easily accommodate eight people for an exquisite meal. The AWAY Spa, meanwhile is a Zen-like retreat with a relaxation pool, steam room, Jacuzzi, sunroom, fitness room, and “Temascal” or traditional Mexican adobe sauna lodge.
The W is a great place from which to launch an excursion to the Museum of Modern Art, the Rufino Tamayo Museum and other nearby cultural highlights. The property’s proximity to many major corporate offices also make its nine high-tech conference rooms a local attraction as well, as is Solea, the W’s stylish restaurant serving continental Mexican cuisine with a focus on seafood and steak. Of course patrons of the W Mexico City are eligible for the Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) program, connecting over 1,000 hotels and resorts worldwide across nine brands.
