The Top Hotels in Puebla, Mexico
Colorful colonial townhouses lining cobbled streets, leafy plazas ringing with bells from baroque churches – Puebla city feels quintessentially Mexican. There are excellent restaurants and a lively cultural scene – and it’s easy to reach (in about two hours from Mexico City international airport.) Yet, despite a wealth of handsome hotels – many sitting in palatial buildings – the city remains relatively peaceful. Come before it’s heaving with tourists and stay at one of these top hotels in Puebla, all bookable on Culture Trip.
Quinta Real Puebla
Boutique Hotel
With rooms set in a 16th-century Spanish colonial convent, furnished with antique furniture and art, and with cloisters set around a central atrium with a tinkling fountain, Quinta Real epitomizes the romantic feel of Puebla. And, a block from the main square in the downtown district, this hotel in Puebla couldn’t be better situated. The hotel staff are helpful, ready to give local recommendations, and can organize tours.
Casona de los Sapos Hotel Boutique
Boutique Hotel
Casona de los Sapos fuses the grand with the intimate: it is set in a renovated 17th-century cloistered mansion two blocks from the city center, yet it has only 16 rooms. All are individually decorated and elegantly appointed with exposed beams, polished wood floors and a mix of neocolonial and modern furnishings. Amenities at this Puebla hotel include a rooftop terrace with skyline views, a jewel-blue heated indoor pool and a small contemporary art gallery.
Quinta Esencia Hotel Boutique
Boutique Hotel
Rooms with black leather lounge chairs, quilted bed heads, gray velvet ottomans, glass stairs and a giant chandelier suspended in the atrium – Quinta Esencia may inhabit a colonial-era townhouse (a block from the Zócalo), but it’s refitted in a delightful late-1980s New Romantic retro style. You can imagine Duran Duran posing for an album cover on the Neo-Baroque balustrades.
Hotel Casa Monarca
Boutique Hotel, Luxury
Casa Monarca fuses the traditional with the trendy: walls in the rooms at this hotel in Puebla have been stripped back to reveal ancient raw stone, yet they sit over modern laminate floors and beds draped in white linens and muted lilac and beige scatter cushions. Public areas are adorned with Neo-Rococo murals etched onto artily cracked and distressed colonial-era plaster and whitewash. The location is excellent – a 10-minute walk from both the main square and the Paseo Bravo gardens.
Hotel Cartesiano Puebla
Hotel
Housed in a colonial mansion and two adjacent annexes, and with rooms whose warm woods, neutral shades and mood-lighting are set against ancient raw stone and brick, Cartesiano mixes old- and new-world elegance. Most come for the spa, one of the best in Puebla, for a wealth of treatments, from hot-sand therapy to binaural sound baths. The rooftop infinity pool has wonderful cityscape views.
Casareyna Hotel
Hotel
La Purificadora
Hotel
Another superb example of design-inspired hotels in Puebla from the Mexican Grupo Habita, La Purificadora is the height of sleekness and chic. Enjoy the neutral-toned but richly decorated rooms and a see-through swimming pool akin to a human aquarium. The rooftop cocktail bar is a great place for city views, while the hotel restaurant has traditional Poblano dishes served with flair.
Presidente InterContinental Puebla
Hotel
Mesón Sacristía de la Soledad
Hotel
Mesón Sacristía de la Compania
Hotel
Kitschy and colorful, this hotel in Puebla has a pink courtyard, golden doors and over-the-top canopy beds with gold frames. It is located next to the Mesón Sacristía restaurant, a local favorite. The intimate setting of the hotel is balanced by its larger-than-life decorations and the hundreds of antiques scattered about the place. If nothing else, go for the color!
El Sueño Hotel & Spa
Hotel
Rosewood Puebla
Hotel
Hotel Andante
Hotel
Mansion del Conde Hotel Boutique & Spa
Hotel
Alquería de Carrión Hotel Boutique
Hotel
Alex Robinson contributed additional reporting to this article.