World’s best-designed hotel is on Mexico’s Yucatán peninsula: International Union of Architects

The luxury Chablé resort on Mexico’s Yucatán peninsula has won a prestigious Prix Versailles award – handed out jointly by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organizatio (UNESCO) and the International Union of Architects for design – for its interior and exterior design.

The brainchild of architect Jorge Borja and designer Paulina Morán, the unique Chablé hotel is located around a cenote, or underwater freshwater lake, a geographical feature typical of the region.

Commercial buildings can be the catalyst for a better mix of economics and culture in our cities and our societies

Prix Versailles organizers

The establishment, which comprises 38 cabins and two large villas, is situated on an agave plantation and boasts meals prepared by Mexican celebrity chef Jorge Vallejo, whose Quintonil restaurant in Mexican City has been named among the 50 best in the world.

The Prix Versailles awards recognize the best hotel, restaurant and retail architecture in the world.

“Commercial developments, which have long been disparaged, can on the contrary serve as a showcase and a driver of quality of life and sustainability, both now and in the future,” organizers have said of the award.

“Because they touch on every actor involved in social life, commercial buildings can be the starting point or the catalyst for a better mix of economics and culture in our cities and our societies,” organizers say.

The 2017 awards also saw another Mexican hotel – Mar Adentro on the Baja California peninsula – given a special prize for external design.

English version by George Mills.