In short… Housed in a beautiful heritage structure—the second-oldest textile factory in Mexico—Hotel Hércules combines old-world charm with industrial chic, creating an otherworldly adaptive reuse complex that also includes a craft brewery, boutiques, and artist studios and workshops.
The surroundings… If you love a pink hotel moment, the 40-room Hotel Hércules is worth traveling for. Located in the town of Hércules, 15 minutes from downtown Querétaro, a UNESCO World Heritage site, it makes for an easy weekend escape. Three hours north of Mexico City and 90 minutes from San Miguel de Allende, the colonial city’s most notable landmark is a towering, 74-arched aqueduct built in the 1800s that runs along the eastern edge of the historic downtown. Should you care to explore Querétaro, you can visit a regional museum housed in a 17th-century monastery and check out the emerging culinary scene. When I told a friend who lives in Mérida about my visit, he was quick to share that many creatives from Mexico City have been moving here. It’s also less than an hour from Mexico’s oldest wine region, with over 50 vineyards. Known for their sparkling wines and rosés, many of the wineries and area restaurants specialize in barbacoa, making it a popular weekend outing for wine tasting and long lunching.
That said, it’s easy enough to check into Hotel Hércules and never leave, which is what we did on this first trip to the region. My daughter and I flew from L.A. through Dallas (but there are now direct flights to Querétaro on Volaris, which has me plotting a return trip). At the airport, we grabbed a cab for the 35-minute ride to the hotel, along a meandering road that wound through the countryside, a few hillside villages, and the city outskirts before arriving at the hotel’s iron gates.
The backstory… In 1846 Cayetano Rubio, a pioneer in the Mexican textile industry, opened the Hércules textile factory and gave the neighborhood its name. Operational for 165 years, in 2011 Cerveceria Hércules, a microbrewery dedicated to making beer with local ingredients and revitalizing age-old traditions, opened in a wing of the factory. GOMA, the architectural firm known for site-specific projects, is also located on the property and oversaw the additions of a beer garden, studios, and event spaces. Patricia Hirschfield of El Urdido design firm, also located on site, worked with GOMA to develop the hotel, which opened in 2023. Together they drew on existing materials, and the design flows harmoniously throughout, a blend of old and new. With 40 rooms, two restaurants, a spa, swimming pool, volleyball court, gym and various courtyards, one can easily get lost. Beyond the hotel and still within the factory walls, you’ll find the brewery, a beer garden, a textile design workshop, art studios and shops featuring artisanal products.
The vibe… The dust from the gravel road hadn’t even settled before a doorman greeted us at the curb and led us through massive wooden front doors of the stately Rubio home, now the main hotel. He disappeared with our bags, returning with two small glasses of golden Lagermaiz, one of Cerveceria Hércules’ signature beers, made with native corn that they plant and harvest themselves. Crossing the threshold, you find yourself in a world of magical reuse realism, and soon discover the grounds go far beyond the entryway. Tile lovers will especially appreciate the main floor’s rustic cement gold-and-brown patterned floor, a color scheme in keeping with the golden beers and dark woods found throughout the original building. On the ground floor is Comedor, the hotel’s fine-dining restaurant, with a comfortable sitting area for a pre-dinner drink and the hotel gift shop featuring jewelry and clothing designed by Caralarga, another tenant of the Hercules complex. High ceilings and large windows fill the rooms with light and spaces are decorated with a mix of traditional and midcentury wood furniture hailing from Mexico City antiques markets.
A looming statue of Hercules dominates the courtyard, with rows of rooms in the subtle signature dusty pink on either side. On the far side, a three-story clocktower with a thoroughfare takes you to the pool, an al fresco restaurant, the Buenavista, and the hotel spa. Make time to explore the clocktower, where you’ll find two floors with eclectic living rooms, each with a balcony facing the hotel. Velvet settees, wooden gaming tables, and antiqued mirrored walls provide the perfect spot for a quiet coffee or a card game, or two. A back street behind the hotel leads to a row of artisanal shops and the inviting beer garden, Jardin Hércules.
The rooms… We stayed upstairs in the original house in Room 18, which felt like a bit of kismet as we were there celebrating my daughter’s 18th birthday. A high-vaulted brick ceiling made the room feel especially spacious. With a balcony above the hotel entrance, the room overlooked the treetops and street below, a reminder that there was a world outside. The decor is a mix of antiques and sculptural accents designed by Caralarga. In the rooms, pine door frames and simple wooden headboards with cream-colored embroidered bedspreads pay homage to the house’s colonial past, while the bathrooms feature gold fixtures and contemporary tiled double sinks.
Food & drink…Our introduction to the hotel’s culinary delights was at the Buenavista, the hotel’s casual outdoor dining spot, with a long bar and tile-topped tables near the pool. Beer-battered fish tacos came with dollops of smoked oyster mayonnaise and arugula, and the margherita pizza was baked in a pizza oven across the lawn. A Greek salad of lettuces and curly kale tasted as if it had just been picked.
At Jardin Hércules, it was easy to blend in with the many locals who had chosen to visit for the day. It’s a festive scene with groups in the garden, posted up at the outdoor bar or at long tables near the open kitchen. Dishes are Mexican and German-inspired: guacamole and fried plantains and bowls of currywürst came out of the kitchen at a steady pace, clearly house favorites. We sampled pretzels and went with the local cheese plate since we knew we weren’t going to make it to the region’s Ruta de Queso on this trip.
At night, we had leisurely dinners at Comedor. A tangy Caesar salad tossed in an anchovy-forward dressing, a sublime mushroom risotto, and house-made profiteroles were a few of the highlights. Here, too, we sampled a few of the local area wines showcased on the menu.
One could easily become a beer drinker here. Cervecería Hércules specializes in aging wild beer, and it was fun to sample one-of-a-kind beers developed in the giant fermentation tanks on site.
The wellness… A tiny sign in the hotel’s inner courtyard leads the way to the spa. Open to hotel guests at any time, the spa provides yet another surprise-and-delight moment. Entering a doorway nearly hidden in plain sight, it took a minute for our eyes to adjust to the dimly-lit cavelike reception area. Local products and bundles of dried herbs on display makes it feel as if you’ve entered a witch’s lair. This is in stark contrast to the next room, an expansive outdoor labyrinth of sorts—open to the sky, high walls separate the men’s and women’s changing areas, with hydrotherapy pools at either end. Another doorway leads to the relaxation room, where lounge chairs sit alongside old textile machinery. Blissed out after our massages, we left with hibiscus tea and ripe nectarines and moved to the hot and cold plunge pools. From the pools, the views of the old factory walls still retain some of their painted signage, and patinated blue-and-white cement columns contrast with the lush greenery thriving throughout the space.
Be sure to… If you’re ever going to eat churros, this is the place to do it. Look for the tiny stand up a few stone steps near the entrance of Jardin Hércules. One of the shops along the stroll to Jardin Hércules is Oliva60, an artisanal candle and handmade soap shop that also produces some of the hotel spa products. We fell in love with the cactus flower and jasmine candles wrapped with satin ribbon.
Parting words… We wanted an easy weekend away that would be restful and inspiring. Hotel Hércules delivered on every level. It is one of those places you miss before you’ve even checked out. Future visits will include some time in the wine country and a hike up La Peña, the third largest monolith (i.e. a large single upright block of stone) in the world. I definitely plan to spend more time in Querétaro, and may start with a culture and food tour with Explore Querétaro.
Date of Stay… February 2025
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