Waking Up Inside an Image: A Surrealist Guesthouse, Restaurant, and Bookshop in Mexico City

The most striking aspect of Pensión, the Mexico City guesthouse by Rafael Prieto and Bernardo Dominguez of Savvy Studio, is that it looks unlike any other design-forward hotel on your Instagram feed. It feels as though it were conceived entirely outside of the internet design vernacular. Salmon wall-to-wall carpet, large-scale photographic wallpaper, a bathtub in a bedroom—there are unexpected twists and surprises at every turn as Prieto and Dominguez subvert your expectations.

What began as a small three-room project has recently expanded to ten rooms, each with its own distinct design that feels like a little private world, alongside the launch of Café Ideal, a restaurant-bar on the ground floor with a menu by Prieto’s friend and frequent collaborator (and Remodelista favorite) Laila Gohar. On the second floor is Prieto and Jorge de la Garza’s bookstore, Librería, where you can pick up rare art books from independent publishers.

Eat, sleep, and shop all under one (sublimely designed) roof. Here’s a tour of the three spaces.

Photography by Ricardo Acuña, except where noted, courtesy of Rafael Prieto.

Cafe Ideal

Above: The new Café Ideal is set within an early-1900s Porfirian mansion on a quiet, tree-lined street in Mexico City’s Roma Norte neighborhood. The arched windows, iron Juliet balcony, and cantera stone facade are distinct architectural details of the period and place.
Above: The dining room at Café Ideal is an homage to 1970s Mexico City. Powder-blue archival fabric forms the pinch-pleat wall curtains, adorned with antique marble cameo portraits.

Pensión

Above: The reception room at Pensión features a linen pendant light by Marrow Project, marble plinth bench, antique plaster bust, and cheeky teal accent color. The wall-sized mirror imbues the space with a slightly off-kilter, surrealist feeling.
Above: The guest rooms are designed with a unique photographic wallpaper using analog photos taken by Prieto in collaboration with Wallpaper Projects. “The intention was really to give each room its own emotional backdrop, something immersive rather than decorative,” Rafael tells us. “A photograph carries memory and time in a way a pattern can’t. You’re not just waking up in a room; you’re waking up inside an image.” Photograph by Max Farago.
Above: A warm and inviting guestroom with a rug from Prieto’s Swimming Pools collection for Christopher Farr. The pinch-pleat wall curtains recall the ones in Café Ideal. “We approached each room with the instinct of a collector rather than the logic of a hotelier,” says Rafael. “Everything was chosen by someone who cared about it.”
Above: A guestroom bathroom with an original porcelain sink. When asked about the process of restoring a century-old building, Prieto said, “You work slowly, you listen to what’s there, you try not to force it. Patience and respect for the detail that already exists.”

Bookstore

Above: The second floor bookstore, Librería, with rare and independent art books. The modern books set against the backdrop of the Belle Époque stained-glass windows make for a brilliant contrast. Photograph by Adrianna Glaviano.
Above: Librería’s collection spans photography, architecture, design, decoration, ceramics, the culinary arts, and artistic monographs. Photograph by Adrianna Glaviano.

More standouts nearby:

• Rosetta: Mexico City’s Most Beautiful Restaurant?
• The Artisanal Apartment: Laura Aviva Creates a Mexico City Showcase for Her Design Collection
• Utilitario Mexicano: A Mexico City Shop Devoted to Useful Wares Only