A Guide to Oaxaca City
Oaxaca City Central
Stay
Hotel Flavia
Hotel Flavia is one of the most unique hotels I’ve had the opportunity to stay at. The property was a private home, turned to an 11 bedroom boutique hotel with the family’s curated art collection throughout. It is located mountainside, about 30 minutes from the city-centre but so worth the distance. It’s warm and inviting but has unconventional “bunker” style rooms, and makes you feel like you’re staying at a colonial palace.
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Escondido Oaxaca Hotel
Escondido Hotel is more centrally located within the city, close to Benito Juarez markets. The property is a 19th-century house combining old and new.
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Photos courtesy of Escondido Oaxaca Hotel
Otro Oaxaca
Owned by the same property group (Grupo Habita) as Escondido Hotel, Otro Hotel was designed by local architect Joao Boto Caeiro, who has mixed traditional Oaxacan textures and gives homage to Zapotec archaeology. The hotel has a rooftop pool with a view of Church of Santo Domingo de Guzman and an underground spa that makes you feel like you’re in a cenote.
Check out Travel & Leisure’s review of Otra Oaxaca.
Book here
Photos courtesy of Otro Oaxaca Hotel
Eat
Levadura de Olla Restaurante
Female head chef Thalia Barrios Garcia creates an unforgettable culinary journey at Levadura De Olla. This Michelin star restaurant showcases traditional Oaxacan recipes where fresh vegetables take priority. This comforting meal is set within a courtyard that allows guests to view live tortilla making and a tableset with fresh rotating vegetables (most famously known for the tomato spread).
Favourite Dishes: Tamale de barbacolita, Tomato plate, Guava cornbread
Alfonsina
Off the beaten path, Alfonsina is hidden 30 minutes away from the city and feels like an invitation to someone’s home. This restaurant has a traditional tasting menu that is hearty and rich.
Experience
Tour an Agave Farm & Enter the World of Mezcal
Enoy artisanal mezcal culture through a visit to an agave farm where you can learn the history of mezcal and taste the different varieties. The heartwarming part of this experience is getting to meet the local families that own these mezcal businesses.
The specific tour I embarked on was in Santiago matatlan; known as Mezcal’s World Capital. I learned everything from the way agave is harvested to distillation and distinguishing one mezcal from another.
My highlight was knowing that mezcal makers are predominantly men and only show their own name on each mezcal bottle, never their wives or families. The mezcal master we met decided to leave his brothers to start the business with his wife, and included her on the bottle to show his love. You can learn more about their family heritage of mezcal here.
After the tour you get to visit a traditional Oaxacan restaurant where they serve famous pink mole!
Traditional Oaxacan Cooking Class
Take a vegetarian cooking class with Etnofood that allows you to truly experience the making of a traditional oaxacan meal from the market to the lunch table. We met new friends from all over the world and had the opportunity to cook a beautiful community meal together - name a better afternoon? The head chef Victor Hugo specializes in sustainable gastronomy and builds experiences through recipes developed with local products.
