­I am not a big fan of bed and breakfasts. The forced intimacy, the preponderance of armchair doilies and “adorable” toilet roll covers, the fact that the bed and the breakfast both invariably suffer…it all combines to create awkwardness and disappointment. Imagine my surprise when I walk into Villa Ganz  in Guadalajara. Yes, it felt like walking into someone’s house—but what a house!

I’ve arrived at the correct address, but there’s no sign of one of the hippest hotels in Mexico.  Literally, NO SIGN.  No arced driveway, no milling staff and no grand façade either.  Created in a sleek and modern home previously owned by one of the hotel owner’s grandfathers, Clarum 101 looks, from the outside, like an ultra-cool apartment building. 

Push the discreet buzzer next to the non-descript gate and you are granted entry into an equally cool hotel with a surprisingly warm and welcoming staff. Instantly it feels like you’ve arrived home, only while you were out some generous interior decorator has transformed your previously boring space into the architectural embodiment of hip.