Behind its sober façade of faded pastel blue, this renovated home dating from the late 1800s hides a soaring architectural update. Graphic designer owner Eva Lucia Reyes joined forces with Taller Estila Arquitectura and Workshop Diseño y Construcción to create a thoughtfully restored space with patterned white cement, traditional tiles, preserved original beams and contemporary Mexican folk-art, all held within the rustic beauty of the villa’s chukum (tree bark-plaster) exteriors.

A modest street front entry belies the historic property’s contemporary makeover. Behind the simple front doors, the original, high-ceilinged foyer has been transformed into a sleek, shotgun, living/dining and kitchen space. The kitchen is outfitted with a prep island accented by geometric pasta tiling in the original flooring as well as the newly created kitchen backsplash. 

The long linear design leads straight out to the villa’s courtyard pool, accessible via an oversized, steel and glass divider that opens to a covered outdoor lounge. The alfresco living area is furnished with huipiles cushions from Chiapas and two tortilla-making banquetas as coffee tables. Tall, white cement walls flank the chukum plaster pool surrounded by vegetation. A downstairs bedroom has a private pocket garden, and the upper level space features antique finds, textural linens, and effortlessly sophisticated clay tile flooring.

An English-speaking concierge is available to help with any needs that may arise during your stay. Services available include car rental services or drivers, airport pickup, private in-home licensed massage services, on demand cooking/cleaning, recommendations for restaurants and information about area cenotes, nearby Mayan archeological sites and other day excursions.

AROUND

Located on a quiet street in downtown Mérida, walking distance to Santiago Market, local restaurants and several neighborhood cafes and art galleries, the villa is set in Merida’s Centro neighborhood, an area overlooked by the colonial Cathedral and the Governmental Palace. The town’s main square, the laurel tree-shaded Plaza Grande is located here, and the neighborhood is regarded as one of Latin America’s largest historical districts, a place where Mayan ruins share the streets with Spanish colonial monuments. 

As the capital city of Mexico’s Yucatán region, Mérida puts both ancient Mayan and the region’s Spanish colonial heritage on dazzling display. Colonial-era churches and residences occupy the city’s leafy plazas, as do 4,000+ year old indigenous Mayan cultural fortresses and remains. Mérida , or “the white city,” is an increasingly happening urban center known for its inventive gastronomy. Exotic tropical produce fills local market stands, cocoa farms occupy dense jungle villages beyond the city limits, and pre-Columbian foods have been artfully reincarnated at the hands of hip, locally focused young chefs who turn out contemporary versions of cochinitia pibil and papadzules. 

The UNESCO-listed Mayan ruin of Uxmal is located about an hour and a half sout of Merida, and dozens of lesser-celebrated pyramids offer tours and a deep dive into Mayan culture. One of the World’s Seven Wonders, Chitzen Itza is the most prominent of dozens of other sacred Mayan temple sites accessible outside of town. The pueblos mágicos (Valladolid, Izmal) are also close by and worth exploring. Cenotes, or natural sinkholes in the region’s limestone bedrock that once served as water supplies for the ancient Maya, are part of what define the Yucatán Peninsula, where more than 10,000 of these deep blue swimming holes are located. Each cenote is uniquely beautiful, and hundreds are accessible as lushly camouflaged swimming holes.

LOCATION

Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico. Nearest airport: Mérida (15 minutes)

BEST TIME TO VISIT: Year round