Mexico City, Mexico

Octavia Casa

Price per night from$394.48

Price information

If you haven’t entered any dates, the rate shown is provided directly by the hotel and represents the cheapest double room (inclusive of taxes and fees) available in the next 60 days.

Prices have been converted from the hotel’s local currency (MXN7,861.49), via openexchangerates.org, using today’s exchange rate.

Style

Urban outfitter

Setting

Fashionable Condesa

Woven into the urban fabric of Mexico City’s chic Condesa district, Octavia Casa is a stylish, six-key stay modelled on the owner’s contemporary fashion brand, Octavia. And though you might feel compelled to come dressed to impress (especially seeing the reeded glass catwalks that connect the indoor-outdoor spaces), the atmosphere is low-key and laid-back. The serene interiors score some serious style points with Mexican designers. When it’s time to strut your stuff, Condesa and neighboring Roma are on the doorstep – but we have a feeling the hotel’s rooftop will soon beckon you back, and remain in vogue with the city’s sundowner crowd.

Smith Extra

Get this when you book through us:

A cocktail on arrival and bottle of local wine

Facilities

Photos Octavia Casa facilities

Need to know

Rooms

Six, including two suites.

Check–Out

Noon, but flexible, subject to availability. Earliest check-in, 3pm.

More details

Rates don’t include breakfast, but a Continental spread (brought in from a local bakery) of fresh bread, pastries, homemade jams, charcuterie, and fruit juices can be purchased for US$20.

Also

There’s no elevator on property (rooms can only be accessed via the central staircase), sadly making Octavia Casa unsuitable for wheelchair users.

At the hotel

Rooftop terrace, courtyard, 24-hour security and free WiFi. In rooms: smart TV, air-conditioning, minibar, Nespresso coffee machine, tea-making kit, and Le Labo bath products.

Our favourite rooms

Each stylishly stripped-back room is as elemental in palette as the natural material it’s named after – including Lino (linen), Bronce (bronze), Roca (stone), Yute (jute), Tierra (earth), and Nogal (walnut). Muted neutrals set a soothing scene throughout the sleeping quarters, with cloud-like linens to sink into. For slightly more space to stretch out in, we’d plump for one of the two studios (Lino and Bronce).

Spa

There’s no spa onsite, but the hotel has local wellness brands Scape and Hauspa on speed-dial if you’d like an in-room massage.

Packing tips

In need of something extra stylish to slip into for the evening? You’ll want to save some space in your suitcase to raid Condesa’s trendy boutiques, which are brimming with vintage finds and artisan-made treasures.

Also

The teak lattices that cleverly shade the front of the casa were designed by Mexican architectural studio Pablo Pérez Palacios to act as a screen for guest privacy (while giving peeping passers-by a shuttered glimpse).

Children

Over-12s are welcome at this casa, but there are no extra beds, so another room must be booked.

Sustainability efforts

Water is recycled to irrigate the hotel’s plants and rooftop garden (which is where solar panels have been installed to maximize Mexico City’s sunny disposition).

Food and Drink

Photos Octavia Casa food and drink

Top Table

Take a bamboo stool from the lobby and sit under the shade of the courtyard’s guava tree.

Dress Code

Lean into linens and natural colors to breeze between the casa’s indoor-outdoor spaces.

Hotel restaurant

Technically speaking, there’s no onsite restaurant – but guests can gather in the ground-floor courtyard for locally sourced baked goods at breakfast, sweetened with honey and homemade hibiscus-and-ginger jam.

Hotel bar

Again, there’s no dedicated bar area – just a chic rooftop you can head up to for sundowners overlooking the city (expect clinking glasses of natural Bichi wine, made in Mexico’s rugged Baja California Norte mountains).

Last orders

Just let the team know if you’d like breakfast the night before to ensure enough baked goods are brought in.

Room service

Who needs in-room dining when you’ve got Mexico City to eat your way through?

Location

Photos Octavia Casa location
Address
Octavia Casa
Avenida Amatlan 126 Hipódromo Condesa Cuauhtémoc
Ciudad de México
06170
Mexico

On a tree-lined avenue in the leafy Condesa district sits Octavia Casa, surrounded by quiet residential streets and neighbored by artsy Roma.

Planes

Mexico City’s international airport is around 45 minutes by car from the hotel (traffic-dependent). A transfer service can be arranged with the hotel in advance of your stay.

Trains

Patriotism and Juanacatlan stations are just under 10 minutes’ walk from the hotel; if you’re coming from the airport, you can take Line 5 to Pantitlán, then change onto Line 9 to Chilpancingo (a 15-minute walk from Octavia Casa).

Automobiles

Since you’ll be staying in one of Mexico City’s most pedestrian-friendly areas, there’s no need to hire a set of wheels. There’s no onsite parking at the property either, so you’ll need to take your chances on public street parking (which can be tricky at the best of times).

Worth getting out of bed for

Mexico City’s charms are best enjoyed by those who go without a plan, and simply get lost within the mish-mash of street markets, art galleries, and buzzing mezcal bars. If you do have your sights set on, well, a few sites, you’ll need to venture into the centro histórico (for the show-stopping Metropolitan Cathedral and Palacio de Bellas Artes). Every visit to this colorful city is a vibrant treat for the senses, but the electric-pink Casa Gilardi and Frida Kahlo’s Casa Azul (Blue House) top the list. And after a day absorbing the chaotic beauty of the city, retreat to Octavia Casa’s idyllic embrace in the leafy, laid-back Condesa neighborhood (arguably the greenest in this green city). Fronted by art deco buildings and dotted with outdoor sculptures, Parque México is a peaceful spot for golden-hour strolls, yoga classes, and picnics. Avenida Amsterdam is also nearby, a former horse-racing track that’s now a tranquil, plant-lined walkway where residents escape the city’s heat. You’re also on the border of the trendsetting Roma district, where you can browse quirky bookstores and linger at quaint cafés by day, before settling into a low-ley mezcal lounge after dark.

Local restaurants

Your in-room guide book has been carefully curated by Octavia’s owner, but a few of her foodie favorites include Botánico (for its secret-garden patio and seasonally changing menu); and Mexican-Mediterranean fusion joint, Lardo: the sister restaurant to Roma’s Rosetta (also by the talented chef Elena Reygadas) brings the flavors of Europe to the rustic outdoor tables – which often spill out from the French doors onto the street – laden with charcuterie boards, zesty salads, and wood-fired pizzas.

Local cafés

The humble tortilleria has been given a sleek update by Enrique Olvera, Mexico’s most famous chef, at Condesa’s Molino el Pujol – where locals queue around the block most mornings for this tiny open kitchen’s corn-based delights. The tortillas and tacos are so moreish you’ll want to return for lunch and dinner (an excuse to try the pillow-soft tamales and grilled, creamy elote). Just a couple of streets over from Octavia Casa is Ciena, a neighborhood go-to for wholesome brunch plates.

Local bars

Make like the locals and head to Hugo for the evening, a hip wine bar in Roma that hinges on natural, biodynamic labels – mostly grown in Mexico’s Valle de Guadalupe. Relatively new-kid-on-the-Condesa-block is Caimán (named after the South American alligator), a swanky spot for light bites, cocktails, and wine with suitably reptilian bottle designs. Snack on homemade potato chips and dips, olive mixes, and tins of your favorite seafood, washed down with mezcal-based margaritas, dirty martinis, and whiskey sours.

Reviews

Photos Octavia Casa reviews
Robyn Donaldson

Anonymous review

By Robyn Donaldson, Literary aesthete

It would be a fib to say we fell in love with Octavia Casa the moment we stepped through the achingly cool sliding wooden doors. We actually fell in love with it weeks before our arrival. From the moment the staff sent a wonderful list of things to book in advance of our stay, in fact, because this instantly made our itinerary easier to manage (and far more hip). 

The key to what makes this hotel a real find in Mexico City — apart from the luxe brutalist aesthetics, offset by a smattering of ceramics by local makers — is the fact that for the entirety of your stay, it’s like you’re in the home of your coolest friends. Or your cool friend’s coolest friends. The ones with the hot tips and underground intel. From the best restaurants to the finest vintage shops to galleries, exhibitions and excursions — our hosts had all the info on tap.

Octavia Casa is a hotel built by creatives, for creatives and this is borne out in every inch. From the communal spaces, which are imposing and grand but remain welcoming due to the clever use of biophilic design, to the suites, which are an homage to quiet luxury, tactility and comfort. It’s all very Goop, in a good way. On arrival, we were met with a symphony of matt brass, aged wood and micro cement, and two of the most welcoming hosts we’ve ever encountered. It would be easy for such a carefully curated space to feel intimidating, but Pepe and Aneles kept things light and fun — offering us a catalogue of welcome drinks and local expertise, while allowing us to easily sneak off to see our room and decompress without feeling we had to make excuses. 

The staff are clearly passionate about the arts, design and culture — I came down one morning to find Pepe installing one of the incredible floral arrangements in the way your fashionable, former-gallery-owner aunt might do with things she ‘just found in the garden, darling’. And Aneles offered us a full list of local independent fashion spots to check out as soon as I mentioned that I planned to shop. It meant we could really maximise our experiences in the three days we had left in this sprawling metropolis.

The first thing we noticed about the room was it was so tranquil: a real retreat from the bustle of the city and a tonic after a busy few days in buzzy Roma Norte. La Condesa is a change of pace anyway, more laid-back and quiet, and our room was a cocoon of calm. From the genuinely enormous bed to the chic seating areas, there was space to work, rest and play, and nothing had been overlooked. From the coffee machine, local guides concealed behind QR codes, Le Labo Santal 33 bath products and blissfully powerful shower, to the fact that all the water in the room was filtered — which meant not only could we brush our teeth with abandon, but my hair looked absolutely resplendent. So much so, I’ve Googled getting a water filter installed at our house. Sheets were premium, air-conditioning subtle and the windows delightfully soundproof — it was a pleasure to unwind here after the full sensory experience of Mexico City.

After a night of rest and recuperation, we prepared ourselves for a full day of sightseeing with a delicious breakfast in the courtyard. It included delectable breads
and pastries from the nearby Saint bakery, fresh juices, great coffee, fruits, cheeses, meats and granola with some honey so good, I was sent off with numerous little jars for my onward journey. It’s exactly the kind of fare you need after all the tacos and margaritas you’ll undoubtedly indulge in and definitely straightened us out after an evening at the city’s top cocktail shop, the Handshake speakeasy.

The surrounding area boasts some of the best independent brands and emerging artists, showcased in stores such as Aurelie Concept Store and Cardon. You’re a hop, skip and a jump away from the hottest restaurants, including Lardo, Azul and Contramar, and you absolutely must visit Molino El Pujol for breakfast if you missed out on booking its much acclaimed big sister for lunch or dinner. But we also spent a fair few hours, coffee and marranitos in hand, simply wandering through the city’s beautiful parks.

La Condesa was perfectly placed for exploring, with Roma Norte half an away on foot to the east and the entrance to Bosque de Chapultepec a similar distance to the west. This meant we could amble across to restaurants, bars and lots of the sights, including Chapultepec Castle, the National Museum of Anthropology, Luis Barragán House and Studio, and the Museum of Modern Art. Must-visits like Frida Kahlo’s Casa Azul over in Coyoacán, the canals of Xochimilco and the Palace of Fine Arts are an easy Uber ride away and, if you’ve got a longer stay booked, day trips out to the archaeological site at Teotihuacán can commence in Condesa.

We spent such a blissful few nights at Octavia Casa, helped in no small part by the team’s impeccably curated edit of all that’s best about Mexico City. It allowed us to switch off in our luxurious suite, safe in the knowledge that we were armed with all the insider information we needed to get the absolute most out of our trip.

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Price per night from $394.48