Camino Real Mexico City

A short distance from the edge of Chapultepec, the Ricardo Legorreta–designed Camino Real Mexico City (Av. Mariano Escobedo 700, tel. 5263-8888, U.S./Canada tel. 800/722-6466, www.caminoreal.com/mexico, $130–230 s/d, up to $310 for executive floor) fills the corners of its unique whitewashed, cubist building with a flamboyant selection of modern art, including a Rufino Tamayo mural in the lobby and masterworks elsewhere by Alexander Calder, Pedro Coronel, Davíd Alfaro Siqueiros, and Gunther Gerzo. Wandering around the palatial corridors of the five-story main building, lined with banquet halls and bars, one could be forgiven for forgetting that it’s a hotel. The 713 airy rooms, decorated in solid colors, are practically hidden in the corners of the hotel, which also boasts three swimming pools, four rooftop tennis courts (illuminated for night play), and an excellent health club available to nonguests for $10 per visit. The hotel has several restaurants and bars to choose from, including a branch of Le Cirque, one of the best French restaurants in Mexico.