Amomoxtli

Style

Where the mágico happens

Setting

Temple-topped Tepoztlán

Maybe it's the lashings of ‘Aztec moonshine’ pulque talking, or the effects of a cleansing stay in a temazcal (steamy bath house) with ceremonial drumming, but we love spiritually stirring stay Amomoxtli. Set by picturesque Náhua and New Age-y mountain town Tepoztlán, close enough to Mexico City for a city-to-country jaunt, this hotel wears its heritage on its sleeve and shares it generously with guests. You’ll benefit from pre-Hispanic wisdom in the spa’s utterly unique cleansing ceremonies and traditional healing treatments, the kitchen keeps local hand-me-down recipes alive with wholly local ingredients – pumpkin flowers, hibiscus, huitlacoche, grasshoppers – and daily activities involve cooking to decade-old methods, or making perfumes with the flowers and plants that burst into life throughout the property. A glamorous pool and ever-present views of a temple-topped mountain help add to that hazy enamoredness you can’t help but feel here.

Facilities

Rooms

34, including 27 suites.

Checkout

12 noon, but flexible, subject to availability. Earliest check-in, 3pm.

More Details

Rates usually include à-la-carte breakfast. Some daily activities (yoga, meditation) are included too, and a 10 per cent service fee will be added to your bill.

Free Internet Access

Laundry

Pool

On-Site Restaurant

Room Service

Spa

At the Hotel

Spa with temazcal and sauna, tropical gardens, terrace, library, living-room lounge, concierge, laundry (for a charge) and free WiFi. In rooms: air-conditioning and fan, bathrobes and slippers, mosquito repellent, full-size organic bath products. Higher category rooms have a welcome platter of local fruit and a Bluetooth speaker.

Our Favourite Rooms

Paraiso and Torre are part of the main building and were placed to have the best view in the house, although they are by the restaurant, so may be a little noisy at times. More private are the Premium rooms which have Jacaranda-draped terraces and plenty of space inside, plus unique local objets d’art: gourds, brushes and Aztec-style tiles. The Standard room is on the cosy side, but it has sweeping sierra views from the bed. In all, much consideration has gone into getting guests their daily dose of ‘zzz’s’ and the beds are of the snooziest quality.

Poolside

Why hike up to 6,000 feet above sea level when you can get a spectacular view of the mighty Sierra de Tepoztlán while floating on your back in bath-tub-warm water? The pool (open 9am to 6pm) is laid out for luxuriating, with double day-beds sunk into the water and two whirlpool baths to bubble away in, plus drinks delivered to your side.

Spa

Yes, it’s a cliché to say that spa therapists work magic, but those here seem to have a good grasp of the mystical arts. The journey to an enlightened you starts down a cobbled path to where five treatment cabins are set by a goldfish-filled pond in a palm-strewn glen. Massages and facials are offered, but they seem humdrum compared to the choice of indigenous rituals and temazcal ceremonies – transformative experiences that use native herbs grown onsite and draw on the teachings of Tepozteco elders and ancient Náhua customs. Say, spells in a temazcal (steam lodge) accompanied by rhythmic drumming, medicinal infusions and manifestations; energetic cleansing with feathers and incense; or rituals involving bathing in local elixir pulque, body wraps accompanied by animalistic chants, or sage purifying. Keep your mind wide open.

Packing Tips

An adventurous spirit will help you make the most of what Amomoxtli has to offer – and leave any skepticism at the door. Mozzies do tend to appear in the open spaces, but the hotel kindly provides an organic spray to ward them off, which you’ll find in your room, as well as a sanitation pack and keepsake notepad made with recycled paper.

Also

The main house is a work of art, built by the students of famed Mexican architect Luis Barragán, and you can see his signature style in the ceiling design and frameless windows. Staff can arrange private dinners for your group on request.

Children

The hotel is for over-13s only – although really it’s best suited to adults. So, los niños are a no-no.

Gallery

Food & Drink

Top Table

Couples who want some alone time or those packing an engagement ring can have a candlelit dinner by the pool, with just the goldfish to spy on you. And you can lay the romance on thick with musicians and flowers too.

Dress Code

Go with the flowy – and a touch of colourful Otomi embroidery.

Hotel Restaurant

You’re not so much eating at hotel restaurant Mesa de Origen (‘table of origin’) as you are being told a story – this is time-honoured cookery, tinged with nostalgia and emotion, that brims with ancestral pride. All ingredients are sourced within Morenos state, many from the local market and some grown onsite; honey, cheese and breads are made using 50-year old processes; and recipes are gleaned from the townfolk, most handed down for generations. Chef José Luis works alongside Doña Gloria, who – in lieu of formal training – previously cooked in a tlecuil (Náhua smoke kitchen) and guides the menus by local celebrations and what’s authentic for certain seasons. The mole sauce is her specialty. And, truly, you may not have tasted anything like what arrives at your table, with dishes such as barbecued corn with grasshopper mayonnaise, hibiscus taquitos and quesadillas with squash blossoms or huitlacoche (which is more delicious than its English translation of ‘corn smut’ belies). Pizzas fired up in the wood oven have a Meso-American take too, with toppings such as guava and cheese, and the philosophy extends to breakfast dishes: chilaquiles, gorditas stuffed with black beans and homegrown epazote, eggs with prickly pear, or served in tomato broth with beans – just like grandma used to make. And, as if the artful cookery weren’t enough to wow, the scenery will finish you off – both the open-to-the-elements kitchen terraces and the set-by-a-placid-pool outdoor terraces look out and up to the mountains. The pool bar also has a menu of snacks to enjoy as you laze: pizzas, rustic guac, quesadillas, Bajan-style trout tacos and a selection of salads.

Hotel Bar

There are three bars at the hotel, but it’s the kind of place where you can wander around with a drink in hand. All serve a selection of beers, wines and classic cocktails (margaritas, Aperol spritzes, dry martinis), although the signature sipper is mezcal muddled with flowers from the garden. One is set in the main house so you can sit in the cosy dining room or on the porch, there’s a bar beside the pool for post-dip drinking, and in Mesa de Origen there’s a decoratively tiled bar beside the open kitchen, which was built around a tall cactus that has its own little roof hatch to poke through.

Last Orders

Breakfast is served from 8am to 10.30am, lunch from 1pm to 5pm, dinner from 7pm to 10.30pm. The pool bar serves from 11am to 7pm, till 10.30pm in Casa Principal.

Room Service

From 8am to 11pm you can have select restaurant dishes delivered to your room, and if you get thirsty in the night staff can deliver drinks.

Planes

Mexico City’s Benito Juárez International Airport is the closest, just a 90-minute drive from Amomoxtli. The hotel can arrange transfers in a private air-conditioned car for up to three people.

Automobiles

A car will come in handy if you want to explore Mexico further – and may be essential in more remote rural areas. There’s a louche approach to speed limits in Mexico City and it’s best to drive by day, but rental costs are low and you’ll have more freedom to head further south to Puebla, Oaxaca or a full-fledged Yucatán road trip. On the other hand, the hotel has enough spa rituals and indigenous activities to keep you occupied for a short break. There’s free valet parking onsite.

Worth Getting Out of Bed For

Let Amomoxtli put a spell on you – it deserves as much of a mágico designation as Tepoztlán for its spa that inspires not just dreamy sighs, but spiritual awakenings with the help of Aztec wisdom; and a pool that’s not only a beauty of itself, with its day-beds stretched over the water and whirlpool tubs, but has a panoramic view of the noble sierra. There’s also a weekly programme of activities for guests which will teach you more about Náhua culture, the lush environment surrounding you and a little New Age self-care. Our favourite of these might be the hotel’s dedicated relaxation time when pre-Hispanic music plays and aromatherapy scents are diffused through the garden as guests relax – it’s essentially an adult nap time, which we’re very much on board with. Get some crystal healing or reflexology in the spa, let the chef show you how to make the delicious breads he lays out each day, or sample various kinds of pulque at a tasting, a pre-Hispanic drink deeply rooted in Mexican culture that’s made from the fermented sap of the agave plant – it’s not dissimilar to kombucha in taste, but more alcoholic.

It’s hard to believe Tepoztlán is just a 90-minute drive from Mexico City – it’s a verdant, peaceful place to escape to for a weekender (or a city-to-country road trip). It’s main claims to fame are being the birthplace of the mightiest Aztec god Quetzalcoatl, a place where indigenous Náhuatl culture is kept alive (many residents speak the traditional language) and El Tepozteco, a temple to the god of pulque (AKA Tepoztecatl) set 6,000ft above sea level in the mountains (so it’s quite a hike to reach it, although clambering around the ruins and feeding snacks to cheeky coatimundis make it worth the exertion). And, it also draws those on a slightly different plane: it’s possible to get your chakras set back into place, your aura photographed, tarot readings and a horoscope overview of what the future holds. Visit the Wednesday morning market to seek out the curious, then buy handicrafts and local delicacies. Of course, a refreshing hike through the rugged national park surrounding the town might be just as uplifting, or perhaps a visit to the Museo del Hongo, a place dedicated to Maria Sabina who used fungi (of a certain kind, we surmise) in healing rituals – they also arrange foraging trips. The Carlos Pellicer Museum is a little straighter in style, with thousands of important archaeological artefacts. And, if you happen to arrive four days before Ash Wednesday, you’ll find the town in a jubilatory mood – and some neon-bright costumery – as the Carnaval rollicks through town. A highlight is the dance of the Chinelos and larger-than-life icons.

Earn or Redeem Points with World of Hyatt

This Mr & Mrs Smith hotel participates in the World of Hyatt loyalty program. As a member, you can earn and redeem points and enjoy exclusive benefits for qualifying nights. .