If you want to connect your group with local culture in Mexico’s interior, one of the best places to start is the hotel that’s hosting you.
In the nation’s capital, Le Meridien Mexico City has a program called Unlock Art, which provides free admission for guests to the Museo Rufino Tamayo, one of the country’s most prominent modern art museums (which is also available for private events). And the super luxurious St. Regis Mexico City offers a Cultural Curator concierge program, with a variety of choices for different tastes. With “Cultural Curator: Shopping,” guests can experience a consultation and shopping excursion with fashion stylist Marco Corral. Active travelers may appreciate the services of the running curator service, which allows guests to run with professional marathon runner Rogelio Jimenez — and active types may also appreciate the hotel’s new biking curator service, which provides guests with the use of a Bentley bicycle.
In Merida, the Presidente InterContinental Villa Mercedes Merida works with planners to connect groups with Yucatecan history and traditions. During meetings on site, attendees can get a reprieve from the usual fare with a traditional pepita de calabaza (“pumpkin seed”) break. And they can also attend custom-designed presentations by an array of experts on Mayan culture — including archeologist and astronomer Alberto Hagar, who talks about the relationship between Mayan structures and the stars, and archeologist Don Beto Gomez, a Smithsonian-certified guide who can help unravel the secrets of the ancient Mayan world as well as the fascinating colonial era in the Yucatan peninsula. Groups can also accompany the hotel chef on visits to a local market, and then learn how to make Dzikilpak, an authentic Mayan dip.
Indeed, hotels large and small can be valuable allies for meeting planners looking to incorporate local culture and also to plan exclusive, private visits to local attractions. Galeria Plaza Reforma in Mexico City, for example, sets up private group visits to places like Chapultepec Castle, the Modern Art Museum and the National Museum of Anthropology, while the strategically located Hilton Mexico City Reforma is perfectly situated for visits to nearby attractions including the Palacio de Bellas Artes (one of the nation’s most beautiful performing arts centers), the Zocalo (one of the largest city squares in the world) and a variety of museums. Around the nation, properties that belong to the Mexico Boutique Hotels consortium specialize in recommending unique experiences and noteworthy attractions for their guests.
