Mexico’s City Escape

Nov 08, 2008

Meeting facilities at the W Hotel are designed to appeal to all five senses.

While lush beaches may often call to meeting planners and delegates who hope to combine a little R&R with their business, the savvy meeting planner would do well to remember that Mexico is made up of much more than its coastal parts.

Meetings staged in Mexico City, for example, often provide planners with options not available by the beach. Countless hotels and numerous restaurants, museums and private homes set the stage for unique, five-star off-site programs. Further, the Benito Juarez International Airport, Latin America’s largest airport, ensures plenty of passenger lift and abundant connecting ground transportation. As Mexico’s historic center, the capital also has numerous attractions, art institutions, sightseeing, dining and shopping options.

Known as DF (for District Federal) to locals, Mexico City may appear complex and overwhelming. An excellent starting point is Polanco, a trendy business and shopping district. Polanco is one of Mexico City’s most active areas, teeming with five-star hotels, the country’s highest concentration of foreign embassies, nightclubs, restaurants and an exclusive shopping street that is occasionally nicknamed "Mexico’s Rodeo Drive."

Its popularity with international business and visiting foreign dignitaries means that Polanco is no stranger to upmarket hotels. The area boasts the largest concentration of the city’s five-star properties, each capable of hosting self-contained meetings or serving as a facility for a cross-city program.

In an unofficial hotel row, the Hotel Nikko, JW Marriott and InterContinental Presidente tower over the area. The Hotel Nikko combines Mexican hospitality with Asian attention to detail, and the property’s 752 guestrooms on 38 stories provide views of Chapultepec Park. The hotel boasts a fully separate kosher kitchen and its largest meeting space, at more than 12,000 square feet, can accommodate cocktail receptions of 1,500 people.

The JW Marriott Hotel serves as Marriott’s flagship property in Mexico and has earned such accolades as "Best Overall Hotel in Mexico and Central America" by Conde Nast Traveler. The property houses nine meeting rooms. The largest room, with more than 3,500 square feet, can accommodate up to 400.

InterContinental’s Presidente Mexico features 661 guestrooms on 42 stories. Smaller meetings enjoy a scenic view from the 10th floor, while facility’s for larger groups are found on the 4th floor. In total the property can accommodate groups of up to 1,600.

A relative newcomer to the area, the W Hotel was built in 2003. By 2007, it had earned a spot on Conde Nast’s Gold List. The 237-room W has nine meeting studios that can accommodate 340 guests. The facility provides meeting planners with a unique Sensory Set Up, designed to stimulate all five senses of meeting attendees, who are treated to mood music, aromatherapy, catering and games designed to inspire thought and creativity.

Other popular hotels in the district include the ultra-hip El Camino Real, The Four Seasons, Fiesta Americana Grand Chapultepec, City Suites Anzures and the boutique Habita, ensuring that meeting planners seeking to book this upscale district never run out of options for their discerning clients.