Condesa DF

Cool contemporary hotel with a happening terrace and Gallic décor within walking distance of buzzy galleries, bars and restaurants

Back in the 1940s, Condesa was a quiet, leafy suburb a couple of miles west of Mexico City's Centro Histórico. After being invaded by urban sprawl, it has re-emerged 60 years later as a desirable district with trendy art galleries, bars and restaurants opening left, right and centre.

Condesa DF (the tag refers to Distrito Federal) fits in perfectly. From the outside, the triangular building has kept its century-old Art Deco facade; inside is a total - and very cool - redesign. Mexican architect Javier Sanchez and French designer India Mahdavi have conspired to create 40 ultra-cute bedrooms over 3 floors, a huge decked roof terrace offering sushi and cocktails on curvaceous sofas, and a ground-floor restaurant serving an incredible fusion of Mexican and Japanese food. There's also a small gym with a hammam, a lime-green tiled therme pool, a basement cinema screening art films at weekends, and a subterranean disco which hums until well after midnight. But it's the terrace which is the centre of attention, drawing local artists, socialites and bigwigs till the small hours.

Highs

• Condesa is not so much a hotel as a place - THE place - to hang out and party
• By day the location is very peaceful, especially for such a busy city
• It's just a short walk from cool boutiques, galleries, restaurants, bars and the leafy Chapultepec Park
• There are good metro connections to the city centre (7 stops to Zocalo, with 1 change)
• The large roof terrace has lovely views and funky pod-style seating
• The excellent restaurant serves adventurous and immaculately presented cuisine

Lows

• Rooms are frankly pretty small - unless you opt for a Corner Suite or the Top Suite
• This isn't for people wanting peace and quiet - the hotel comes alive at night, its terrace buzzing until 2am and the basement disco until 4am. Earplugs are provided, though
• Extras are pricey, and you can expect to pay double the street-rate for taxis
• We've heard reports of plumbing and air conditioning problems, but during our stay everything worked perfectly
• Service can be a little disorganised, though there's no shortage of staff (160 in total!)