There is no lack of luxury hotels in Mexico City. The city is teeming with five-star, high-end options. But for me there can only be one. Over the last four years, the St. Regis Mexico City has always been an oasis of calm in a swirling city of confusion.
I'll give you an example. On a backpacking journey across Mexico I managed to lose my cellphone, so a new one had to first be activated in the U.S. and sent via FedEx to Mexico City.
I hopped a plane from Puerto Escondido to the capital to await its arrival. As I waited for the phone to be released from customs (no delivery date was given), the St. Regis Mexico City permitted me to use its address as the shipping location.
The kicker? I wasn't even a guest.
But since I had been a guest before, I was treated with the same level of service and kindness as if I were one. For five days I waited for my phone to be released from the clutches of customs in this digital disaster, calling the St. Regis every day to see if it had arrived. If any staff member lost patience with me, I certainly never knew. That right there is the definition of luxury.
And then, of course, there is the hotel itself. The location sets the scene, overlooking the Paseo de la Reforma, as the frenetic energy (and sheer volume of people) swirl around the quiet tower below.
The hotel offers 94 Deluxe rooms, 58 Grand Deluxe rooms, 20 Executive Suites, 15 Luxury Suites and two Presidential Suites. Services and amenities in all rooms include signature butler service, 24-hour room service, WiFi and spacious marble bathrooms.
One of the highlights of the hotel is the Remede Spa, which has five single cabins and three couples cabins. After your treatment, enjoy a complimentary glass of Champagne in the lounge or keep the health vibes going and take a dip in the indoor pool.
The dining scene at St. Regis is impeccable, as well, with Diana Restaurant serving haute Mexican cuisine (with an impressively lengthy list of Mexican wines), Candela Romero offering Spanish fare and J&G Grill, which is a Jean-Georges Vongerichten establishment, serving steaks, seafood and a very popular avocado pizza.
The King Cole Bar is swanky with its suspendered mixologists, but still approachable. Head bartender Ricardo Sandoval is responsible for crafting the cocktails, but the hotel has launched a program that invites acclaimed mixologists from around the world to take residency for a month. Each month Sandoval also introduces new ingredients and items for the bar menu.
The bottom line: Being stranded in Mexico City is a whole lot less stressful when you have a home away from home like the St. Regis looking out for you.
Rates at the St. Regis Mexico City begin at $337 per night. See www.stregismexicocity.com.