Umbral — Mexico City, Mexico

The Hilton group could not have picked a better spot in which to debut its Curio Collection in Mexico City, the Metropolitan Cathedral, Zocalo and the 13th century Museo del Templo Major all within easy reach of the Umbral.
Housed in a heritage pile dating to 1924, the 59-room hotel makes the most of the original high ceilings, long corridors and tall windows to create a sequence of grand moodily lit spaces that local architect Javier Sanchez, and interior design firm Nomah have conspired to unfold like cinematic set-pieces.
This sense of drama is especially evident in the bedrooms, each preceded by a shadowy ante-chamber, the titular umbral, that leads through a gold-lined arch into a lofty space dressed in blonde timber, modular furniture, and dripping pendant lamps.
An on-site art gallery of local artists is paired with a music library and cinema, but it’s the sun-lit rooftop terrace with its heated pool and wellness bar, and city views that had us at ‘Hola’.
ADDRESS
Calle de Venustiano Carranza 69
Centro Mexico City
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Daven Wu is the Singapore Editor at Wallpaper*. A former corporate lawyer, he has been covering Singapore and the neighbouring South-East Asian region since 1999, writing extensively about architecture, design, and travel for both the magazine and website. He is also the City Editor for the Phaidon Wallpaper* City Guide to Singapore.
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