Casa Malca
Hotel · Tulum
KM 9.5, Carr. Tulum-Boca Paila, 77780 Tulum, Q.R., Mexico
Highlights
Art-filled suites, woodsy-chic restaurant, hip bar, pools
Art-filled suites, woodsy-chic restaurant, hip bar, pools
"Why we love it: A city slicker–approved beach retreat with a vibrant art collection The Highlights: - The secret indoor pool up a staircase from the main pool area - Fresh-baked breads by pastry chef Simone Colla served daily in the Filosofía restaurant - An entryway featuring a rare sculpture by KAWS and vintage armchairs hung like swings from the ceiling The Review: The people watching is just as entertaining as the artwork at Casa Malca, a mansion once maintained by Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar but now owned by New York gallerist and art collector Leo Malca. Set on a Caribbean-facing swath of sand next to the Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve—and just a short bike ride from Tulum’s beachfront boutiques and restaurants—the hotel features 71 rooms, complete with polished concrete floors, floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the ocean, and bold artwork from Malca’s personal collection. A black-and-white print inspired by Keith Haring covers the lobby bar, while antique baby dolls adorn the walls in one of the hotel’s three restaurants. The pool and beach areas are more sedate, with cerulean daybeds and colorful hammocks studded like jewels among the leafy palms."
"Housed in the former beach retreat of Pablo Escobar and reborn for avant-garde art lovers, this Tulum hideaway attracts a hip, creative crowd with its cool contemporary art collection, rooftop sundeck, and a laid-back vibe perfect for mezcal-sipping and people-watching." - Nicole Trilivas
"Casa Malca is located on an unspoiled beach in Tulum, on the edge of the Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve. It offers a bar-restaurant, tropical gardens and stylish accommodation with air conditioning. Each room and suite at Casa Malca is decorated in elegant white and has views of the gardens or the Caribbean Sea. The private bathrooms come with free toiletries and towels. Tulum town and the beautiful Mayan ruins of Tulum are both around 10 km from the property, while Cancún International Airport is 125 km away. Free parking is available on site." - My Boutique Hotel (en)
"There are a lot of hotels on the Riviera Maya. Very few of them make it into the pages of <em>Architectural Digest</em>. Casa Malca, a new boutique hotel boldly imagined and brought to life by prominent New York gallerist Lio Malca, made the cut. It’s not hard to see why. The main house itself isn’t new: it’s a simple stucco structure, rustic, traditional. It sat empty on the sand for years before Malca snapped it up and redesigned it, knocking down walls to create open spaces, adding new buildings to house additional guest rooms, putting up Keith Haring prints like wallpaper, and furnishing the airy spaces with retro furniture and key pieces from his own art collection." - Tablet Hotels
"Once the vacation home of Pablo Escobar and long abandoned with rumors of bulletproof walls and a hidden escape tunnel, this grand mansion was reinvented in 2014 by a prominent Colombian art collector into a 71-key luxury boutique hotel set in the tangled Caribbean jungle of the Riviera Maya on the white-sand shores of Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula. Rooms and suites are eclectic and art-forward, featuring plush king beds, colorful Persian rugs, velvet curtains, massive headboards and artwork from the owner’s private collection; many rooms face the Caribbean while others sit tucked in the jungle. Dining options span three restaurants and an atmospheric bar: a main gourmet restaurant that blends local ingredients with international techniques (noted for seafood, meats and fresh vegetables), a contemporary Asian spot led by Chef Jonathan Carbajal offering sushi-grade salmon, bluefin tuna and crispy rice, and a casual beachfront venue for light bites and drinks, plus a sophisticated cocktail bar with opulent décor and original Keith Haring wallpaper. The property offers three pools (two surrounded by palms and sea sounds and one set in an underground cave), comfortable daybeds, hammocks, shaded cabanas and a picture-ready beach tunnel linking pool and ocean. A rooftop spa provides treatments that blend modern wellness with ancient Mayan techniques and includes a hydrotherapy circuit with sauna, steam room, cold plunge and hydromassage jacuzzi."
