Tucked away off the main avenue of Mexico City sits a small hotel that’s easily overlooked but worth finding. A half block from Paseo de la Reforma, the Volga Hotel is a boutique luxury hotel catering to the LGBTQ+ community.
The hotel is a stunning example of brutalist architecture with plenty of secrets—including a speakeasy in the basement. Take the twisting stairway to find the meditation garden, the only part of the building that can be seen from the outside.
Volga was conceived as an immersive hospitality experience with music, art, and food as grounding elements. It hosts small, intimate concerts and art shows, and exclusive mezcal and wine tastings are a weekly event if you’re quick enough to score a spot; only about a dozen people can participate.
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The hotel seeks to distance itself from the main luxury competitors on the tourist strip. While the nearby chains like the Ritz-Carlton and St. Regis offer hundreds of rooms for anyone who can afford them, the Volga’s intimate and personalized experience makes it a unique and specialized stay for LGBTQ+ travelers.
During check-in, guests are welcomed with a cocktail, glass of wine, or other beverage. Once in your room, grab a free sampling from the room’s minibar while you enjoy a delicious welcome amenity, like a chocolate and fruit torte.
While Volga is open to everyone, the queer community has embraced the hotel and been adopted in return. One staff member said that about 80 percent of the current customers are from the queer community, and the hotel offered numerous activities for Pride month along with deep discounts for queer guests.
On a recent visit, Sales Director Yolanda Cornejo proudly showed a video of the staff’s setup for a surprise wedding proposal. They lined entire stairwells with rose petals, prepared a playlist of the couple’s favorite songs, and helped calm a young woman’s nerves as she waited on the rooftop for her lover to arrive.
“Her partner was in a Zoom meeting,” she told GayCities. “We positioned a maid in the hallway, and she was able to tell us, ‘She’s on her way up!’ so we were ready to light the candles, turn the music on, and get out of the way.”
World-renowned chef Edo Kobayashi’s restaurant and the hotel’s bar are at the bottom of an open-air atrium; the chef prepared a special meal for the two lovebirds. On a recent weekend visit, the entire stylish noshery was filled with groups of gay friends and queer couples.
Three dozen rooms and 16 luxury suites line the atrium inside, with balconies looking down on the plaza below. On the roof, a swimming lane, an outdoor pool, and a yoga space offer stunning panoramic city views.
The building is accented with raw materials, like the large-scale lava, stone, brass, and travertine artwork by sculptor and visual artist Perla Krauze, which dominates the hotel lobby. The suites feature smoothed concrete tables with wooden benches, and the closets have leather straps for handles. Turkish marble dominates the large bathrooms alongside the burnished metal faucets and accessories.
Even the hotel’s smell has been customized to delight gay men with a masculine and virile scent.
Grab cocktails at the hidden club downstairs. With all rooms and floors soundproofed, you won’t even know you’re close to a live DJ and large bar until you stumble upon the door and a staff member ushers you in the door.
When you return home, you can tell all your friends about the hidden queer getaway you found. But be sure to act worldly soon because this secret will explode once the word gets out.
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