Hotel Sevilla - A Mérida Ruin Rebuilt Without Erasing Its Scars

Hotel Sevilla in Mérida took eight years to build, and much of that effort went into leaving things alone. The 16th-century manor was close to a ruin when architects Ingrid Moye and Christoph Zeller first saw it, and they chose to keep the peeling frescoes, the chipped courtyard columns and the worn stone walls, adding concrete only where the building needed something new.

The result has 21 rooms, a shaded pool that recalls the water tanks of Yucatán's great haciendas, and a sauna with a cold plunge. A door in the spa leads straight into the pool. Check-in happens in a small side room beneath the building's original 1960s Hotel Sevilla sign, and Mérida's main plaza is one block away.

One Block From Plaza Grande

The hotel sits at 62 Street 511, in the historic center of Mérida. Plaza Grande, the city's central square, is a few steps away, and galleries, restaurants and the cathedral are all within easy walking distance. The entrance is a plain facade that gives little away.

Inside, you find a stone courtyard where sunlight comes through almond trees, and the traffic outside fades to the occasional car horn. The airport is a 25-minute drive away, and Paseo de Montejo is a short drive from the front door.

A 16th-Century Manor, Weathered On Purpose

The house was built around the time Spanish colonists founded Mérida on the tip of the Yucatán Peninsula. Its position one block from the central square signaled status, and by the 18th century it was the private home of a wealthy woman.

When Zeller & Moye, the Berlin-based architecture studio behind the project, first visited the site, it was derelict. Moye has said the ruin's condition as they found it felt too special to lose.

So the architects kept the frescoes, arches, timber beams and old tiles visible, and salvaged original doors and windows. New elements are clearly new. Concrete partitions divide the rooms, and a spiral staircase links the building's different eras. Zeller & Moye describe the project as a palimpsest, with each layer left readable.

The materials are local: wood, stone, brass, henequen, leather and ceramic tile. Some of the lamps were designed by Cuevas Arquitectos. The hotel is part of Grupo Habita and is a member of Design Hotels.

Bistrót: A First-Floor Terrace Restaurant With Daily Chalkboard Menus

The restaurant is on the first floor, a sun-dappled gallery where fabric panels soften Mérida's strong light. The menus were designed by French chef Marion Chateau, who is based at Grupo Habita's Hotel Humano in Puerto Escondido, and they are written on a chalkboard and change daily.

The cooking mixes Mexican dishes, Mediterranean references and seasonal produce. Dishes include pesto gnocchi, a niçoise salad, a smash burger, seared tuna with hasselback potatoes, and a gazpacho with melon and house ricotta.

Breakfast is included and covers fruit, granola, yogurt and toast. You can add à la carte dishes such as enchiladas, huevos rancheros or an omelet made with chaya, a leafy tree spinach common in Mayan cooking. The kitchen and bar make their menus in-house, and room service is available if you would rather eat in your room.

A Top-Floor Bar Above The Pool

The bar is on the second, top floor, directly above the pool. Concrete surfaces, candles and courtyard views set the mood.

The bar makes margaritas, Negronis and other classics, and the hotel also serves cocktails built around Yucatán flavors.

The Rooms

The 21 rooms and suites range from 22 to 40 m² (237 to 430 sq ft), with king or queen beds, and each sleeps two. They are arranged around the courtyard, many with views of the pool, the garden or the historic colonnades.

Ashlar walls, beamed ceilings, archways and heavy wooden doors set the tone, and most of the furniture was designed specially for the hotel. The palette is white, gray and black, with brass, lacquered steel, stone and leather, and gray concrete walls and shelves inspired by brutalism.

Bathrooms are integrated into the rooms through sliding panels that respect the protected structure. Some rooms have soaring ceilings and a grand domestic scale, while others feel small and monastic.

The Charming Room (22 m² / 237 sq ft) has a queen bed, a private patio, and a view of the central garden and restaurant. The Pool View Room (25 m² / 269 sq ft) has a king bed and looks onto the pool. The Historic Patio Room (30 m² / 323 sq ft) is on the second floor, with a private patio, a sitting area and a view of the central terrace.

The Pool Garden Suite (35 m² / 377 sq ft) has a private patio, a sitting area and a pool view. The Historic Patio Corner Suite (40 m² / 430 sq ft) adds a hammock and a desk, with views of the patio or downtown Mérida. Second-floor rooms get better ventilation than those on the first floor.

A Cenote-Inspired Spa With Sauna, Cold Plunge And Stone Slab

The hotel calls its spa a cenote in the city, and the bathhouse layout also reads as a hammam. A treatment starts with a salt scrub, relaxing or energizing, followed by a circuit.

Behind a heavy leather curtain is the sauna, Sauna Tuj, which uses dry heat and natural stone in a nod to Mayan traditions and runs at 72 °C (161 °F).

Next comes a deep cold plunge in a light-filled room, then a thermal stone slab in the center of the space for a volcanic clay mask and massage. Treatments end with a rooty black Mayan tea.

A Shaded Pool That Recalls Hacienda Water Tanks

The pool is on the ground floor, in the courtyard, framed by thick, weathered walls and tropical plants. Stone that predates the hotel divides parts of it, and it is positioned to stay in shade through the hottest hours.

The design nods to the cisterns and water tanks of Yucatán's haciendas. Daybeds and cocktails make it an easy place to wait out the midday heat between walks in the city, and the walls, planting and ponds help keep the surrounding spaces cool.

Mérida On Foot

Plaza Grande is one of Mexico's largest plazas, and the front desk keeps track of its event schedule. The plaza's folkloric program, Noches Mexicanas, has included live pok-ta-pok, the ancient Mayan ball-and-hoop game.

The Catedral de San Ildefonso, built in the 16th century, is the oldest cathedral in Mexico and is close by. Markets, museums, galleries and colonial mansions are nearby, along with restaurants that make Mérida one of the best food destinations in the country.

November through March is the best time to go, with warm but manageable temperatures, lower humidity and little rain, and fairs, performances and open-air markets on the streets. From July to October the rainy season brings lush surroundings, but also mugginess, more mosquitoes and a risk of hurricanes.