Mexico City

Concierge.com's insider take:

Distrito Capital is the latest venture from the team behind two of Mexico City's hottest hotels, Habita and Condesa DF. Set in the emerging commercial district of Santa Fe, near the Toluca domestic airport, it's ideal for business travelers looking to avoid the traffic of city center, but also for leisure travelers who are passing through the capital on their way to other points in Mexico. The 30-room hotel takes its inspiration from the Park Hyatt Tokyo and other hotels that float above their cities: Rooms occupy the top four floors of an office building, with reception, restaurant, and gym at the bottom. And like the Park Hyatt, Distrito has an international, cosmopolitan swagger. With the exception of the large selection of mezcals at the bar, the sleek and spare hotel wouldn't be out of place in Berlin or London. Rooms are studies in unadorned black (hallways and bathrooms) and white (sleeping areas), with soaring ceilings and large windows with views of Santa Fe and, on the occasional clear day, the volcano Popocatépetl. Ask for a corner room to double the number of views (corner accommodations are suites on higher floors and standard doubles on lower ones). We have only two complaints: First, the black walls and dressers combined with less-than-generous lighting can make it hard to find any dark items, especially if your wardrobe is also a study in basic black. Second, while this hotel could physically pass for, say, a chic Park Hyatt, the service is more warm and well intentioned than it is five-star-flawless. Distrito Capital's restaurant, from chef Enrique Olvera, founder of Pujol, is a big draw: Widely acknowledged as one of the leaders of alta cocina mexicana, Olvera here tries his hand at simpler fare—appropriate for the mood of the eclectic crowd, a mix of businessmen and fixtures of the Mexico City nightlife scene, who party until early in the morning under the glow of the Alvar Aalto lamps.