Innovative Mexican hotelier Carlos Couturier’s latest project is an inland wonder, a former 19th-century water-purifying centre next to the Iglesia de San Francisco in the colonial city of Puebla. Purity is the guiding principle of the hotel’s design as executed by renowned architects Ricardo Legorreta and his son.
Victor: black and white are the only colours, bringing out the subtleties of the materials used – stone from the original building, old wood, onyx and custom floor tile, as well as found materials such as bottles and glass fragments, which are also integrated in the hotel’s graphic design. But this minimalism shouldn’t be confused with lack of luxury: a roof terrace and 30-metre pool provide ample recreational opportunity, and the 26 guestrooms offer spectacular views of the city, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
La Purificadora’s twenty-six rooms are more welcoming, less stark, as they ought to be — comfort is key, and architectural heroics are limited to the occasional balcony or, in the case of the Royal bedroom, a room-length terrace. Other highlights include a 30-meter (not a typo) elevated glass-walled swimming pool, a restaurant with an outdoor patio, and an extensive wine cellar — more fun than water, any day.
Fortunately for Puebla, a city 90 miles southeast of Mexico City, the 76-year-old architect, now working with his son Victor, has brought his distinctive imprimatur to the heart of its historic section, listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage site. La Purificadora, the hotel Legorreta + Legorreta designed (along with the firm of Serrano Monjaraz Arquitectos), occupies the remains of a 1844 stone-walled factory where water was bottled and purified for ice.
A ground-floor restaurant, patio, library and extensive wine cellar offer civilized diversions, but La Purificadora’s real achievement is in its mix of tradition and contemporary flavour, giving Puebla a hotel to savour on the road from Mexico City to Oaxaca.
LOCATION OF LA PURIFICADORA, PUEBLA
La Purificadora is located in the historic centre of Puebla, a colonial city on the road between Mexico City and Oaxaca.
|
