Blame it on the trees
Blame it on the trees. Or from the pool on the terrace or from the rooms with six meter ceilings. It has to be someone's fault that the photos of this place take up so much memory on my iPhone . But they are the trees. Definitely.
In the former Palace of the Counts of Miravalle, in Mexico City, now converted into the Downtown Hotel there are some trees. They are large, leafy laurels, nothing extraordinary... until you climb to the top floor. There, in the central space, appears something that looks like a garden. It is not: it is the tops of those same trees that have been pruned to look like green soil . This is a top notch energy efficiency find. Enter and exit the rooms that surround this green space it is what is called post-luxury, and that goes far beyond the stars of the hotels and to have a butler 24 hours a day.
The Downtown hotel is also a square, a forum. The dimensions and structure of this 17th century colonial palace allowed the owners of Grupo Habita to be ambitious. There was room to build more than just a hotel there. It should also be a celebration of Mexican culture, that of yesterday and that of the day after tomorrow. . The entrance had to be a meeting place, a point of union between exterior and interior. There they placed those unforgettable trees. In addition, every square needs them. And under them, they chose a restaurant, Azul Histórico, commanded by chef Ricardo Muñoz Zurita. His kitchen collects dishes from the kitchen of the whole country without touching them with an almost pedagogical will . That would be on the lower floor, where there would also be another, in another square (we're talking about ambition) called Godfather's neighborhood kitchen. Great concept, by the way.
The listed swimming pool
We're only going to the first floor. In the mezzanine are the shops, many and well chosen shops . It is possible to spend an entire afternoon browsing through the irreverent design Algarabía Shoppe, drinking chocolate with Qué Bó chili, or taking photos (and remembering when Spain was not Hispanistán) in the branch of the most famous stall in the San Juan market, La Jersey.
But, let's keep going up the sumptuous staircase, we want to get to the hotel. We call it hotel because somehow you have to call it. There are seventeen rooms with infinite ceilings, finishes as crude as they are exquisite, free-standing bathtub and mud lattices that act as walls. There are no closets as such. The hotel has that kind of cockiness . In addition, little clothing is worn in this place. And this leads us to the next floor, to the terrace
Here is the most photographed pool in the kingdom, a wet dream for fish lovers . It is industrial, hard, with views of the Historic Center of the "de efe" and with a sexy air that is quite difficult to explain. It has the usual bar, because it is a pool that requires michelada or cocktail. It is not functional: here nobody comes to swim. Its function is to make everyone believe that they are where they should be. It has its usual terrace, highly valued and open to guests and mortals.
Downtown Mexico: a huge hotel concept
for being open, it is even for those who sleep in the Downtown Beds. This invention is a hostel that is embedded within Downtown . For a derisory amount (from 14 euros) you can sleep in it and use all the services of the older sister hotel. Traveling with a backpack does not mean that we do not value / need / want / can swim in the pool and take thousands of photos or eat ceviche at the restaurant.
But I think that the trees are to blame for my amazement and enjoyment. Everything else is a find a huge hotel concept , but the trees are his declaration of intent. It is those laurels that, with their shadow, speak of poetry, culture, luxury and so many other things.
The hotel is housed in a 17th century colonial palace