Antiguo Molino de San Jerónimo

What it is. A hotel in an old mill building in San Jerónimo, in the wooded south-west of the city — one of the original pueblos that the city reached only in the twentieth century, and which still keeps its sixteenth-century parish and its patronal feast on 30 September.

Why mills were here. The Río Magdalena runs down this side of the valley, and it is the last river in Mexico City still flowing in the open — every other watercourse was culverted and built over during the twentieth century. The mills along it worked that water. Upstream, Los Dinamos is a chain of parks along the river gorge, with genuine pine forest less than an hour from the centre.

Where it puts you. The south-west: San Ángel, with its cobbled streets and the Bazar Sábado on Plaza San Jacinto, is nearby; Ciudad Universitaria and Coyoacán are a short ride east.

Practical notes. There is no Metro in this part of the city: the Insurgentes Metrobús or a taxi from Barranca del Muerto, line 7. It is cooler and greener up here than in the centre, and the altitude is higher. Confirm what is included and whether parking is available when booking.