No stranger to the popular vacation destinations of Cancun and Cabo San Lucas, Marco Salazar, founder of Tesoros Experiences, spent a sizeable stretch of the COVID-19 crisis in Central Mexico.
“I really found it to be amazingly beautiful,” Salazar said. “And there was just so much culture and so much heritage.”
Salazar told me that his time in Central Mexico featured a number of encounters that felt far more genuine than those on other trips to the country’s celebrated beachfront destinations — and that authentic vibe ultimately sparked a business idea.
“I felt that when COVID-19 ended, there would be an opportunity to promote actual experiences [in Mexico],” he explained. “Not based upon just going to the beaches and sitting on the sand and looking at the ocean, but actually trying to have true Mexico experiences.”
In 2021, Salazar helped launch Tesoros Experiences, a destination management company (DMC) that has since partnered with Tesoros de Mexico, a collection of roughly 40 boutique hotels, hoping to provide travelers with a more authentic vacation experience in Mexico.
We find adventurous individuals who want to embrace the culture, and we facilitate something very unique.
“The aim is, basically, that we find adventurous individuals who want to embrace the culture,” Salazar said. “And we facilitate something very unique, something they wouldn't think of doing. The experiences we've put together are true, real experiences that I don't think you're going to have the opportunity to see anywhere else.”
The Pug Seal Anatole France, a boutique hotel in Mexico City, offers guests a colorful, hip aesthetic and easygoing vibe.
Credit: 2024 Pug Seal Hotels & Alejandra Porcayo
Cities, Pyramids and UNESCO Sites
I joined a Tesoros Experiences trip late last fall in Mexico City that included a stop in the small town of Tepoztlan before we ultimately arrived in busier Puebla. Featuring overnights at a cast of charming boutique hotels, the DMC’s Route of the Volcanoes tour also focused on fabulous dining experiences and many firsthand encounters with Mexico’s rich culture, heritage and art.
All of the hotels we stayed in offered terrifically distinctive guest experiences, but the trip’s standout boutiques were the two Pug Seal hotel properties in Mexico City, which are chock-full of vibrant artwork and hip, contemporary design aesthetics, while still offering an easygoing vibe and wonderful food.
Located in Mexico City’s cosmopolitan Polanco district — brimming with restaurants, retail shops and galleries — both the Pug Seal Allan Poe and the Pug Seal Anatole France can serve as terrific launch pads for some focused, on-foot exploration of the sprawling Mexican metropolis, which is home to more than 20 million residents.
In much smaller Tepoztlan, meanwhile, the challenging, stair-filled hike up to the El Tepozteco pyramid which dates back roughly to the 10th century, was an unmistakable highlight. The experience offered jaw-dropping views of the surrounding area and a chance to get up close with Mexico’s ancient culture while standing on top of a fertility temple that’s perched on a mountainside cliff.
The Ex Convento Dominico de la Natividad in Tepoztlan is a UNESCO-listed church built in the 16th century.
Credit: 2024 Shane NelsonOur Tepoztlan visit also featured a stop at the UNESCO-listed Ex Convento Dominico de la Natividad, a gorgeous Dominican monastery and church built in the 16th century. But there was a great deal more historic splendor ahead in Puebla, where the town’s entire 16th-century center is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, loaded with outdoor markets and flower-fringed plazas, as well as a towering cathedral and an exquisite portfolio of lovingly preserved, centuries-old buildings and churches.
Hands-On Heritage
Seated on a shaded patio at the Talavera de la Reyna workshop in Puebla, I quickly discovered that painting glaze onto a ceramic coffee mug required far more patience and skill than I figured.
First opened in 1990, Talavera de la Reyna functions today as both a ceramics art gallery and a workshop, where a brigade of talented artisans regularly turn out stunning pottery creations. Located about 20 minutes from Puebla’s historic center, the facility offers guided tours and a wonderful hands-on opportunity for visitors to make their very own Talavera treasures. (My mug ended up falling a little short of masterpiece status.)
Recognized by UNESCO in 2019 as an “intangible cultural heritage of humanity,” Talavera pottery was first introduced to Mexico during the 16th-century Spanish colonial period. An artisanal tradition often used these days to fashion tableware, vases, pots or figurines, Talavera also shows up frequently on Puebla’s historic buildings and churches in the form of decorative azulejo, or glazed tiles.
“That was really special for me,” Tesoros Experiences’ Salazar said of his first visit to the Talavera de la Reyna workshop, where he also glazed some pottery. “True Talavera is [made by] a limited group of people that are licensed. … And this was really unique because it's a big business, but you get to really experience the history and the beauty of it.”
Salazar notes that many of the activity options Tesoros Experiences offers travelers today were first suggested by the DMC’s boutique hotel partners after asking them about what might appeal to guests.
“All of these experiences that were put together — I didn't design [them],” he explained. “We went to the individual hotels and said, ‘Tell us what you think you would like to showcase.’ And [Talavera de la Reyna] was one they wanted to showcase. There were so many other [experiences] designed by the hotels that I thought were just amazing — from making enchiladas to learning about art and history.”
Packages and Other Booking Options
Salazar says that travel advisors can certainly book a commissionable, multi-night Route of the Volcanoes tour for a client through the DMC’s website, which could include hotel stays, transfers and activities. But he adds that his company is also happy to book just their commissionable activity options with advisors who are perhaps interested in adding authentic experiences to a Mexico itinerary.
“You do not have to book a hotel room [through us],” he said. “We've had people come and do full tours. And we've had people do just excursions.”
Still, Salazar is quick to tout the guest experiences at the Tesoros de Mexico properties his DMC has partnered with.
“I think they're incredibly unique,” he explained. “You'll get incredible service; you'll get incredible kindness from the people. … And I think the owners of those boutique hotels are really representing their heritage and their culture very, very well.”
