Best Hotels in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico

After spending a large chunk of time in Mexico City, eating our way through the city’s best restaurants, Lindsay and I spent Christmas of 2016 in Oaxaca and contemplated our next move. We heard from many people that we couldn’t leave Mexico without visiting San Miguel de Allende, so we hopped aboard a bus and rode the four and a half hours from Mexico City to San Miguel de Allende. Many people had recommended the city for its Spanish Baroque and Neoclassical architecture, art and food scene, and picturesque landscapes. The town is the birthplace of Ignacio Allende, the captain of the Spanish Army, a national hero recognized for leading the country to independence. Hence, in 1826, the town took on his name. In 2008, San Miguel de Allende was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, so it’s not surprising that it makes it on many travel lists as a recommended destination.

Lindsay and I immediately fell in love with this idyllic town. It felt more like we were in Tuscany, or somewhere in Spain, than in Mexico. We wiled away many days exploring its winding cobble-stoned side streets and looking for treasures. We also enjoyed quite a few note-worthy meals, which you can read about here.

In doing a search for places to stay in San Miguel, we saw that there are many options for all budgets, but it was difficult to discern which place would be best for us. Since we stayed in San Miguel de Allende for longer than the average tourist, we ended up landing on six hotels we’d recommend to you, depending on what you’re looking for in your lodging. These places aren’t in competition with each other, since they are all completely different and cater to different demographics. To help you understand their subtleties, we’ve categorized them by what makes them unique with our ‘Stay here if:’ statements.

Casa de la Noche

Stay here if : you are a fan of art and culture, and appreciate buildings that have a quirky history

Casa de la Noche is well-known for being an old town bordello. The original edifice, where the lobby now stands, didn’t even have windows before its renovation. The dilapidated building was renovated almost 20 years ago into a quaint and cozy bed and breakfast with lots of sunlight, green terrace spaces, and comfortable communal areas.

Image credit for dining room photo: Casa de la Noche

Casa de la Noche WOW factors:

The house has a lot of personality. Each room is decorated differently, and has its own Mexican-style charm. You have the choice between four types of rooms including suites, luxury rooms, deluxe rooms, or the working girls’ rooms (the smallest and most affordable room options).
The hotel is privately owned by California native, Barbara Poole. She’s an artist and honors the town’s culture and heritage by displaying local artists’ work throughout the hotel.
You’ll be greeted with information about the hotel, including a newspaper that highlights all the city’s events for the week and a map of San Miguel.
The hotel has numerous outdoor courtyards and common areas, including two indoor dining areas and two indoor seating areas. All are tactfully and colorfully decorated and are comfortable spaces to sip on your coffee or catch up on your reading.
The house comes equipped with a water purification system throughout the entire building, so you can drink right from the faucet! {It had been 3 months since I’d used faucet water to brush my teeth, so needless to say, I was grateful for this feature}.
The hotel couldn’t be located more perfectly. It’s about a five to seven minute walk to the main plaza and all of the restaurants you’d want to visit/sites you’d want to see within the town’s center.
The hotel is located on a quiet side street, so you’ll feel like you’re in your own oasis, without the noise of the city bothering you.
The wireless internet is quite fast, and works well throughout the entire hotel because there are numerous networks you can access. This made it nice to get work done and stay connected with family and friends during our stay.
It was great being able to use the hotel’s physical phone (for free!) to dial the States. We very much appreciated this feature since so much of our business is in the U.S., and connecting from Skype can often be challenging.
The hotel serves an excellent and healthy breakfast each morning. You’ll always be served fruit, yogurt, cereal, coffee, tea, and juice, along with your choice between two breakfast options, one of which always includes eggs.
There is a self-serve bar, so you can enjoy wine, beer, or a cocktail in the comfort of your own room, in the common areas, or outside in the courtyard. {The bar items come at an extra cost.}

Casa Contenta

Casa Contenta is Casa de la Noche’s sister hotel, and is also located in the heart of San Miguel de Allende. The house caters to groups, families, or those looking to host workshops/retreats.

Image credit for all photos: Casa Contenta

Casa Contenta WOW factors:

The hotel is a 10-15 minute walk to the main plaza, and is on a quiet side street, making it a great place to focus on the noise you’re sure to create among your group within the house!
Like Casa de la Noche, the house comes equipped with a water purification system throughout the entire building, so you can drink right from the faucet.
Casa Contenta offers seven guest bedrooms, each of which sleeps two guests to a room and includes a private bath. In total, the house can be outfitted to host up to 17 people.
The house can be booked for a workshop or retreat so that the host of the event doesn’t have to worry about coordinating guests’ stays while on-site.
The workshop package includes airport shuttles, breakfasts, specialized excursions, and welcome orientations, bundled for workshop providers.

Casa Tierra Negra

Stay here if : you love being in the heart of the city, and enjoy the sophisticated and modern comforts of a small, boutique hotel

Casa Tierra Negra is a luxury boutique hotel, centrally-located just three blocks off the main square. The hotel has three floors and seven rooms, with a rooftop open air terrace. The hotel has been open for nine years and is privately owned by an architect, so a good part of the experience is in the design and decor details. The staff is friendly, multi-lingual and always willing to help you find good restaurants and the best things to see in the city.

Image credit for all photos: Casa Tierra Negra

Casa Tierra Negra WOW factors:

The hotel is in the perfect location. It’s about a five minute walk from the main square.
You’ll be greeted with a welcome lemonade and a city map that orients you based on the hotel’s location and its proximity to the popular city sites.
The hotel is modern, while still being quaint and cozy.
There are only seven rooms, so we felt accommodated at every turn, and almost felt as though we were the only guests staying there because of how private it is.
Our room came with a fireplace and lantern with a battery operated candle, making the ambiance cozy, comfortable, and warm.
The hotel has a collection of movies you can borrow and watch in your room.
The bathrooms are well-stocked with shower amenities like shampoo, conditioner, soap, lotion, and bath robes.
The hotel does not offer breakfast, but you’ll have access to filtered water, coffee, and tea all day long. There’s a coffee maker in each room, and there’s also one at reception, so you can brew it yourself, or ask the staff to make it for you. The hotel also has a Nespresso machine, so for a couple of extra dollars, you can enjoy an espresso!
The rooftop terrace! Many smaller hotels we’ve visited, or those that are privately-owned, haven’t had a rooftop terrace, so we were pleasantly surprised to find a large terrace filled with tables, lounge chairs and umbrellas, along with heat lamps and blankets so you can enjoy the space anytime of day. The main church, Parroquia De San Miguel Arcángel, is visible from the terrace, and we really loved having our morning coffee up here.
Pro tip: The hotel is located off a main street, so there is car traffic passing at all hours. It didn’t bother us during our stay, but if you’re a light sleeper, or want to play it safe, I’d suggest requesting room one, two or seven which are not located on the street side of the hotel.

Casa Aliz Hotel

Stay here if : you enjoy the simplicity of clean, comfortable, and cozy hotels right in the center of it all (but without the noise)

Casa Aliz has seven rooms, along with an outdoor patio and a rooftop terrace. The hotel is modest and relatively new; it’s only been open for 18 months. If you’re looking for a clean, comfortable stay, with the basics, Casa Aliz Hotel is perfect. We were told that in a couple of months, the hotel will start serving breakfast on the terrace, which is a plus because not all hotels in San Miguel do this.

Image Credit: Casa Aliz

Casa Aliz WOW factors:

The hotel is located off a quaint and quiet side street near the Parque Juarez, so you’ll be very close to the center, without the noise of cars or passersby.
The rooms are spacious and come with nice amenities like locally-made soap and everything else you’ll need for a shower. Bathrooms are also well-equipped with other items like lotion, slippers, and a hair dryer.
Each room has a nice sized TV and a coffee maker, with coffee provided. We also really appreciated the space heater provided for cold nights.
The hotel staff is friendly, and most of the staff speaks English.

View Hotel

Stay here if : you enjoy sipping wine at luxury hotels that have exceptional views of sunset

The View Hotel is for you if you’re all about relaxing while being surrounded by a beautiful vistas, soaking in sun on a tranquil hillside, enjoying the sunset around a fire with a glass of wine in hand, and bathing in your own personal jacuzzi. Relaxation is in the details and is the mission of View Hotel. Read below in the WOW factors section to learn more about what we mean. The hotel is about two and half years old, and offers stays perfect for couples and families alike.

Image credit for above photos of View Hotel: View Hotel

Villa photos:

Image credit for villa photos: View Hotel

View Hotel WOW factors:

The hotel is located on a quiet, tranquil and picturesque hillside, making for a perfect getaway from the center of town.
The hotel is a short, direct 20-25 minute drive from the center of San Miguel de Allende, depending on traffic. It costs 150 pesos in a taxi from the city center.
The hotel is privately owned by Abeck Leòn, and his wife, Adriana. Abeck is a designer, so a large majority of the hotel’s furniture, light fixtures, and stained glass are made by Abeck. His pieces are beautiful and give the hotel personalized charm. He and Adriana, and also Jose, were generous and kind hosts with whom we very much enjoyed spending time.
The hotel staff is truly at your service, and ready to make your stay as relaxing and comfortable as possible.
The hotel’s six main rooms are painted all different vibrant colors, and also all have a vista view and are named after elements of the sunset.
There are also four villas off the hotel if you’re looking for space with multiple bedrooms for families or larger groups. They have a more rustic and countryside feel than the hotel, but are still comfortable and well-equipped. The villas are designed to house between 12-15 people, depending on the villa. The biggest is the Villa View with 4 bedrooms, 6 bathrooms and a small pool with a surrounding garden.

After three months on the road, View Hotel was the first place Lindsay and I were truly able to relax, disconnect, and unwind. The following aspects of the View Hotel made for a truly relaxing stay:

The hotel has a full restaurant, so you won’t have to leave the property if you don’t want to. There’s also a full bar at the hotel, so you can sip cocktails, beer, and/or wine and enjoy the vista from various spots all around the hotel. Jose, part of the hotel staff, cooked us an amazing steak dinner that Lindsay and I enjoyed with a bottle of red wine. We couldn’t have felt more at home with Jose’s attentiveness and service.
The hotel breakfast service runs from 8-11:30am, so you can sleep in as long as you like. Eat breakfast in bed or in the hotel’s vista view restaurant, and order from six different daily options.
Check out is 1pm, so you won’t feel rushed leaving the hotel on your check-out day.
There’s a small, intimate pool with a vista view.
Enjoy the night sky around the hotel’s fire pit.
Hotel rooms come with personal jacuzzi bathtubs.

Hotel Hacienda Las Nubes

Stay here if : you enjoy a quiet and private countryside oasis, with city life close enough to visit daily

Hotel Hacienda Las Nubes offers beautiful mountainous and pastural landscapes, making it a perfect place to relax and unwind. It’s easy to get lost in time as you explore the hotel grounds in all of their tranquility. From the front courtyard to the secluded pool courtyard and dining patio, there are many places to relax with a good book, soak up sun during the day, and enjoy the night sky unadulterated by city lights.

Image credit: Hotel Hacienda Las Nubes

Hotel Hacienda Las Nubes WOW Factors:

The hotel is surrounded by beautiful countryside vistas that make it easy to unwind while engulfed in nature.
It’s perfectly located outside the city, but still close enough to head into town each day to explore, returning to enjoy the night in a more tranquil area.
It’s only about a 10 minute drive to town and should cost about 80 pesos ($4) by taxi.
The hotel staff is very friendly and attentive. Samuel and Renee were always happy to make sure we had everything we needed for a comfortable stay. Lindsay and I enjoyed our breakfast in bed and a welcome cheese and wine plate followed by hot chocolate.
We’ve tried a few too many hot chocolates during our time in Mexico, but we have to say that Hotel Hacienda Las Nubes’ hot chocolate was by far our favorite!
The hotel offers an extensive breakfast menu which you can enjoy in your room, poolside, patio-side, inside at the bar, or in the living room area.
In addition to its scenic views, the hotel offers other ways to relax, including its swimming pool, and massage services (for an extra charge).
Enjoy water, coffee and tea around the clock. Beverages are located in the hotel lobby and restaurant area, which made a nice excuse to take hourly breaks from our work.
There is a small and cute selection of shops, along with a restaurant and market that is about a 10 minute walk down the cobblestone path on the way out of the hotel. While the hotel offers everything you’ll need, it’s nice to have access to the stores, in case you’re looking to explore the immediate area on foot.

While in San Miguel de Allende, you’re likely to hear mention of Rosewood San Miguel de Allende. It is one of the fanciest hotels in the area, so maybe you wont stay there, but the hotel is absolutely worth seeing. Walk around and visit its coffee shop, gift store, main courtyard, art gallery, and rooftop terrace. The rooftop terrace, with its bar and restaurant, offers a great place (maybe even the best in town) to view the sunset. Lindsay and I enjoyed the Potato and Octopus Brava appetizer with our guava vodka drinks while viewing the beautiful San Miguel de Allende vista and sunset.

Which hotel would you pick for your stay in San Miguel de Allende? Let us know which appeals to you most, and why, and don’t hesitate to reach out if any questions arise while planning your San Miguel de Allende visit!