Falling in Love With Mérida, Mexico, One Perfect Home at a Time

A design lover finds her dream city in the heart of Mexico.

Falling in Love With Mérida, Mexico, One Perfect Home at a Time

Casa Sisal at Hacienda Sac Chich has a reflecting pool and sunken sitting room.

Courtesy of Hacienda Sac Chic

I travel for design. My flight history is evidence: I first went to Marrakech for its riads, Palm Springs for its midcentury Alexander houses, and Pittsburgh for Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater. So when my husband and I were invited to a wedding in Mérida, Mexico, the Yucatán capital known for its Spanish colonial restorations and contemporary interiors, I was thrilled. The best way to get an up-close look at those buildings, I knew, would be the home-rental route: I could immerse myself in architectural variety and a private pool.

Beautifully designed Airbnbs like Casa del Limonero are easy to book in Mérida.

Beautifully designed Airbnbs like Casa del Limonero are easy to book in Mérida.

Photo by Arabella Bowen

On Airbnb, I booked Casa del Limonero, a modern two-bedroom casita with minimalist lines accentuated by pops of color, massive glass accordion doors, and a courtyard with a plunge pool. More incredible design awaited in Mérida’s centro histórico. We fell hard for Coqui Coqui, a perfumery set in a sumptuous Belle Époque building (with a private suite for rent), and the new concept store Casa T’Ho, where the high-end accessories impressed us as much as the 19th-century mansion they occupied.

Pops of color accentuate the clean lines inside Casa del Limonero.

Pops of color accentuate the clean lines inside Casa del Limonero.

Photo by Neil Youngson

Hacienda Sac Chich, a sisal factory turned rental property, where our friends got married, oozed even more character. We explored the five-acre grounds with mezcal in hand, wandering between buildings, until a villa caught my eye. It was reminiscent of Le Corbusier’s Villa Savoye, near Paris, but with a sunken sitting space and an infinity pool that reflected on its surface the surrounding palm trees. The hacienda was the perfect mix of colonial and contemporary—Mérida in a nutshell.

>>Next: How I Embraced My Inner Mermaid in Fiji

Arabella Bowen is a digital strategy consultant and startup launcher. She was formerly digital director @afarmedia and EIC @FodorsTravel. She lives in New York.
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