Don’t let Mexico City’s historic façades fool you. It may be the oldest capital in the Americas, the center of Aztec civilization, but it remains firmly in the vanguard. Its food, art and architecture push boundaries, and each visit reveals something unexpected. On my latest trip, I wandered the tree-lined streets of Coyoacán, toured the sweeping modernist campus of the Universidad Nacional Autonóma de México and spent a day in Jardines del Pedregal, where a Luis Barragán-designed house plays with light and shadow. Over the course of a week, we stayed in three very different hotels in various neighborhoods, focusing on properties with fewer than 30 rooms. Each of these hideaways had appealing qualities, but only one earned my recommendation.

Casa Polanco

The most elegant quarter in the capital is Polanco, just north of the vast Chapultepec Park. Developed in the 1930s and ’40s, it’s often compared with Beverly Hills. Both are exclusive enclaves within an otherwise sprawling city, anchored by a posh shopping street and dotted with neocolonial-style homes. High-end boutiques line Polanco’s main artery, Avenida Presidente Masaryk, and Michelin-starred restaurants add to the polish.

The 19-room Casa Polanco has pride of place in the neighborhood, situated behind a wrought-iron fence across from quiet Lincoln Park. The welcome we received was decidedly more civilized than the near-standstill traffic we battled to get there. The staff presented us with flutes of Champagne and offered seats in the library, its spring-green furnishings echoing the gardens visible through a window in the bookcase. As we filled out paperwork, it struck me how at home I already felt. The library’s complimentary bar would enhance that sense later on.