Camino Real Hotel, Polanco

The Camino Real Hotel,  Polanco is a landmark hotel and one of the most celebrated places to stay in Mexico City. Construction was planned in anticipation of the 1968 Olympics, but the hotel has survived as one of the most important in the City in part because of the today inconceivable team who put it together.

Design of the hotel was chiefly undertaken by Ricardo Legorreta. But he quickly got Matias Goeritz and Luis Barragán on board too. According to legend, it was Barragán who came up with the idea of filling the new hotel with fantastic art. The reasoning was simply meant to capture the imaginations of pedestrians within the largely horizontal hotel as they strode its significant distances.

Among works from the earliest years were a tapestry by Anni Albers, a sculpture by Alexander Calder, a mural by Pedro Friedeberg, and works by Goeritz. Barragán designed the still-magnificent lobby interior. The brand new hotel opened in time for the Olympics and it has never been out of fashion.

In the 1970s, works were added. Rufino Tamayo completed a significant new mural and paintings by Rodolfo Morales were hung on the walls. The Albers tapestry was lost for many decades and only recovered in 2018.

Today, the Camino Real Polanco is still among the most lavish places to stay in Mexico City. The design simply must be lived to be fully appreciated. It’s also not usually among the most expensive hotels. The location is dynamite for exploring Polanco, Chapultepec, and the nearby Paseo de la Reforma.