Hotel La Purificadora

La Purificadora

"Another property from the design-savvy Grupo Habita is set inside a nineteenth-century water-purification plant separated from Puebla’s center (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) by a broad boulevard. Architect Ricardo Legorreta has kept the bones of the industrial structure—soaring stone walls, hulking dark-wood beams—but excised the rest to make room for a dioramalike lobby that is open on one side with inviting violet couches arranged around elevated fire pits. As with Habita’s other properties, the experience here is less about plush comfort than it is about style and glamour. The service at the restaurant may be glacially slow, but at least you are sharing a long communal table, made from heavy wooden beams salvaged from the original building, with slick entertainment impresarios weekending from Mexico City. Guest rooms are compact and fairly minimalist, and early construction flaws are being amended (such as a floor-to-ceiling glass door that opened onto a lovely balcony but didn’t shut completely)—all the more reason to stay late at the rooftop bar and pool, where the hip clientele drink up the impressive city views. Gastronomes should also take note: The hotel’s executive chef, Enrique Olvera, also owns Mexico City’s celebrated Pujol restaurant."