La Valise Mexico City, Member of Small Luxury Hotels

We recommend La Valise to travellers seeking a design address without the impersonality of large hotels, thirty- and forty-something couples on a cultural weekend or urban honeymoon. It's a hotel for those who want to be in Mexico's liveliest neighbourhood, within walking distance of Roma Norte's galleries, restaurants and bars. Families with children will find the scale too intimate; the clientele remains predominantly adult and international.

The house dates from 1920, typical of Colonia Roma's residential architecture with its high ceilings and bow windows. Complete renovation in 2013 that preserved the original volumes while introducing polished concrete, terrazzo and raw steel. The 17 rooms are spread over four floors, each different, between 28 and 45 m². The rooftop adds a fifth level with pool, bar and teak loungers facing the neighbourhood's rooftops.

Breakfast is taken on the rooftop or in the room: chilaquiles, huevos rancheros, bread from the Panadería Rosetta bakery two streets away. The rooftop bar serves mezcal-based cocktails and Mexican spirits until midnight, a short menu of ceviches and tacos. No restaurant as such, but the neighbourhood is full of tables: Contramar an 8-minute walk away, Rosetta 5 minutes. Room service offers a selection of dishes from partner restaurants in the neighbourhood.

La Valise stands on Tonalá, a quiet residential street in Roma Norte, between the avenues Álvaro Obregón and Insurgentes. The neighbourhood is Mexico's most creative: contemporary art galleries, design boutiques, speciality coffee shops, mezcal bars. Plaza Rio de Janeiro with its jacarandas a 3-minute walk away, Parque México 10 minutes. Insurgentes metro station a 12-minute walk, international airport 45 minutes by car. The neighbourhood is lively day and night, very safe, favoured by expats and Mexico's creative class.