Best Design Hotels in Mexico City & Central Mexico

Hotel Matilda breaks the mold of San Miguel de Allende hotels: While other luxury mainstays highlight the city's history by preserving antique architecture and dressing their rooms in colonial-style decor, Matilda showcases contemporary art and chic interior design. Guest rooms feature white, gray and brown hues (with a few turquoise accents), as well as top-notch amenities like 40-inch LCD TVs, iPod docking stations, MALIN+GOETZ bath products and complimentary Wi-Fi access. The hotel also boasts an infinity pool with a sundeck, as well as the Spa Matilda, where you can enjoy a soothing massage or body treatment. When you're ready for a bite to eat, Moxi Restaurant offers a menu filled with traditional Mexican eats along with inventive dishes. What's more, Hotel Matilda earns high praise from past visitors for its location in the heart of San Miguel de Allende – less than a block north of Juarez Park – and many guests feel the property delivers first-rate customer service.

Right in step with the neighborhood for which it's named, CONDESA df offers fashionable digs and a lively night scene that caters to trendy travelers. While it may have a French Neoclassical structure that dates back to the late 1920s, CONDESA's interiors are anything but antiquated. Contemporary touches, like walnut paneling and stylish furnishings, are courtesy of this Mexico City hotel's renowned interior designer India Mahdavi. And while the real star of CONDESA df is its fourth-floor sushi bar (one of the neighborhood's most popular late-night destinations, according to previous guests) and El Patio, a sophisticated restaurant that melds Mexican- and French-influenced dishes, the lodgings offer a few "wow" factors, too. Each room comes appointed with a rainfall shower, minibar, LCD TV and MALIN + GOETZ toiletries. If you're a light sleeper, travelers suggest booking a room on one of the lower floors; though you'll sacrifice the views, you won't have to suffer the late-night noise of rooftop revelers.

A retro-chic boutique hotel in Mexico City's hip Santa Fe district, Distrito Capital appeals to visitors seeking a trendy atmosphere. Guests consistently praise the panoramic views (especially those seen from corner rooms), but are also quick to compliment the hotel's intimate setting. Along with a contemporary lobby on the fifth floor, Distrito Capital showcases 1960s-inspired furniture and a minimalist design. Throughout the hotel, you'll find black walls, stark white linens and studio windows meant to flaunt the hotel's greatest asset – its vistas. Guest rooms are also appointed with high-end amenities like Acqua de Parma bath products, iPod docking stations and rain showers. You'll also find an outdoor 52-foot infinity-edge pool on the fifth floor, along with the property's Mexican restaurant. And according to previous patrons, with eclectic menu itiems like shrimp tacos, chicken blackberry mole and veal schnitzel, the on-site eats are equally as delicious as they are innovative.

Ideal for younger travelers who value design and ambiance above peace and quiet, Hotel Habita is a hip retreat tucked within the city's diverse Polanco district. Reflective of its stylish neighborhood, Hotel Habita offers chic indulgences aplenty. Though it can get crowded, the trendy fifth-floor pool is consistently lauded by guests for its cool architecture, open-air Jacuzzi and swanky atmosphere. Meanwhile the sixth-floor terrace, relaxing treatments and massage therapies at the spa, and uncluttered accommodations also receive high praise from visitors. All rooms are appointed with MALIN+GOETZ toiletries and minibars, among other high-end amenities. Some also come equipped with private terraces. To minimize traffic noise, past guests suggest booking a room on one of the upper floors, facing away from the street and not directly under the pool. And though there are a variety of Polanco restaurants to choose from right outside the hotel (a point of praise for past guests), the hotel also offers its own restaurant in the lobby serving a menu of international contemporary cuisine.

Sitting at the heart of the colonial city of Puebla (next to the Church of San Francisco), La Purificadora is a great choice for travelers looking to embrace Puebla's rich heritage. This hotel sits in the city's former water purification plant, which filtered water for the production of ice throughout the 19th century. But don't expect to lay your head amid pieces of ancient machinery; while La Purificadora's exterior is authentic, the hotel has been updated to exhibit a swanky, yet cozy feel. You'll find bright purple couches resting on the lobby's old stone floors, and though they maintain traditional aspects (such as hardwood floors), guest rooms are equipped with Bang & Olufsen phones, minibars and complimentary Wi-Fi access. Guests enjoy this blend of old and new, especially at the in-house restaurant — La Purificadora Restaurant — which offers inventive twists on contemporary Mexican dishes. Travelers are fond of the indulgent massages and body treatments at the spa as well. The rooftop terrace and pool, which affords sweeping views of central Puebla, is another hit with past guests, who highly recommend venturing to the roof at sunset to soak in the surroundings.