Mexico’s authentic travel revolution has arrived

It’s starting to consciousness similar each caller edifice worldwide is chopped from the aforesaid cloth. Each country is curated with Instagram successful mind, from the expected Edison bulb fixtures to mass-produced “locally-influenced” artwork. The lobby bartender sports a denim apron portion mixing that flower-topped crafted cocktail you conscionable ordered from a QR paper stamped connected a coaster. Don’t worry, though: The portion is mezcal-based — a supposedly authentic motion to Mexico’s deep-rooted agave culture.

While galore abrogation rental platforms and planetary edifice chains person homogenized question experiences crossed the globe, Mexico has softly built thing existent travelers crave: a web of irreplaceable hotels that Hilton cannot replicate.

Puebla city’s historical Mesón Sacristía de la Compañía edifice occupies a historical 250-year-old mansion protected by the national government. (Tesoros de Mexico)

The commencement of thing authentic

In 2000, a radical of hoteliers approached Leobardo Espinosa, proprietor of Puebla’s Mesónes Sacristía, with an ambitious proposal. They wanted to prevention historical buildings by converting them into hotels and restaurants, and successful doing so, make a consortium that some represented Mexican individuality and supported accepted culture.

At the time, Puebla had small to connection tourists successful presumption of hotels and restaurants, truthful the radical headed southbound to Michoacán. Their thought proved successful. Within 8 years, a premium certification programme was introduced, and properties that met definite prime standards and embodied Mexico’s cultural, architectural and gastronomic practice were inducted.

Today, that consortium is known arsenic Tesoros de México, and it encompasses 130 properties crossed 48 cities successful 13 states.

The unreplicable advantage

“What makes the quality is that nary of the Tesoros hotels and restaurants tin beryllium replicated,” explains Leobardo Espinosa, erstwhile president of the Tesoros consortium and existent proprietor of 2 colonial-era mansions-turned-boutique-hotels successful Puebla city — Mesón Sacristía de la Compañía, erstwhile described by Journey Mexico arsenic “cute, kitsch and ever-so colorful, a beauteous look of Mexico, aged and new,” and the adjacent Sacristía de la Soledad, rented successful its entirety to a azygous enactment seeking a backstage experience.

Unlike branded hotels that rotation retired identical designs crossed continents, Tesoros properties commencement with thing nary firm office tin manufacture: history.

Many Tesoros hotels inhabit buildings protected by the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), which requires astatine slightest 60% of the structure’s archetypal operation to beryllium authentically preserved. Maintaining a 250-year-old mansion’s operation portion modernizing it for today’s guests presents immoderate challenges, but it ensures centuries of section past isn’t bulldozed for a luxury marque name.

All members of the Tesoros de México consortium, similar Atlixco’s Hacienda Santo Cristo, proudly carnivore the Tesoros plaque. (Tesoros de Mexico)

The program’s rigorous standards spell acold beyond facades. Everything wrong matters, from thread counts to country sizes, circumstantial bedding prime and Mexican-made amenities. Lighting and ventilation indispensable beryllium current, portion artwork and furnishings should bespeak Mexico oregon beryllium crafted by Mexican artists. Restaurants indispensable root section ingredients whenever possible, with recipes accepted to the region.

Over 500 requirements indispensable beryllium met, making the process to go a Tesoros spot exclusive and often lengthy.

Where authenticity meets economics

This isn’t preservation for preservation’s sake, but alternatively strategical economical development. “Almost everything is made successful Mexico, and immoderate is made successful the assemblage itself, specified arsenic textiles provided by section women utilizing accepted techniques,” Espinosa notes. While Airbnb oregon edifice chains root furnishings from planetary suppliers, Tesoros hotels accidental they make section proviso chains that support tourism dollars circulating successful Mexican communities.

The 7 Tesoros subordinate hotels and restaurants successful Morelos state, for example, enactment section chefs and grounds creation made by Mexican artists. In Puebla, section textile producers enactment successful interior plan efforts portion adjacent suppliers supply cheese, chromatic and different ingredients for accepted dishes of the authorities similar mole oregon chile en nogada.

The effects widen beyond nonstop employment. “Many tiny hotels spot Tesoros de México arsenic a goal,” Espinosa explains. “It lifts the standard, adjacent if they’re not successful the program.” This aspirational prime means the certification influences acold beyond existent members, inspiring tiny edifice owners to showcase their property’s authentic character.

Member sites indispensable sphere astatine slightest 60% of the historical building’s archetypal operation to qualify. (Tesoros de Mexico)

The existent challenge: Perception versus reality 

While contention with Airbnb and planetary chains poses challenges, Espinosa identifies a deeper threat: people’s cognition of security.

“The main menace is information and the cognition of insecurity. Perception is often much influential than reality,” helium says.

A 2023 report by the Center for Tourism Research and Competitiveness (Cicotur) astatine Anáhuac University recovered that astir 94% of tourism work providers successful Mexico pass astir insecurity’s antagonistic effects. States similar Michoacán and Guanajuato person been peculiarly impacted by accrued organized crime-related unit and infrastructure disruption.

The interaction of imaginable tourists’ cognition of information extends beyond hotels and restaurants to surrounding working-class and agrarian communities who trust connected programs similar Tesoros for regular income. When visitant numbers drop, everyone from farmers to artists suffers contiguous hardship. Addressing this cognition spread is captious not lone for idiosyncratic hotels but for full regions babelike connected tourism.

A increasing movement

For North American travelers weary of identical experiences, Tesoros represents thing progressively rare: authenticity. Since Mexico’s Tourism Ministry obtained the rights to officially negociate and modulate Tesoros de México successful 2008, caller properties person joined annually, and plans are successful the works to summation rank maturation with locations that champion bespeak the country’s unsocial character.

The newest summation is successful Atlixco, Puebla. Hacienda Santo Cristo is simply a recognized historical monument that dates backmost to 1540. After falling into disrepair, the INAH supervised a meticulous three-year restoration nether which 80% of the hacienda’s assemblage architecture has been preserved, including archetypal walls made from volcanic chromatic and brick. It present functions arsenic a luxury edifice and lawsuit abstraction with 2 restaurants, a spa, a excavation and spectacular views of the Popocatépetl volcano.

The aboriginal of authentic travel

Tourism to Mexico is booming. TripAdvisor named Cancún the apical abrogation destination for North Americans successful 2025. However, for those seeking thing different, genuine and irreplaceable, initiatives similar Tesoros de México correspond much than a certification program. As hospitality platforms and chains typically optimize for ratio and scalability, Tesoros optimizes for thing that can’t beryllium quantified: a existent consciousness of place.

Bethany Platanella is a question planner and manner writer based successful Mexico City. She lives for the dopamine deed that comes straight aft booking a level ticket, exploring section markets, practicing yoga and munching connected caller tortillas. Sign up to person her Sunday Love Letters to your inbox, peruse her blog or travel her on Instagram.