New hotel Casa Fayette has opened in Mexico’s Guadalajara, taking over a 1940s Art Deco mansion.

Hoteliers Carlos Couturier and Moisés Micha – the founders of Grupo Habita – enlisted local architects Estudio 5 to transform the building and design a neighbouring high-rise to house the hotel’s 37 rooms and suites.

Grupo Habita, whose burgeoning cache of hotels includes Condesa DF in Mexico City and Hotel Americano in New York, tasked Milan-based Dimore Studio with capturing ‘a return to retro’ with the interior design.

‘We asked them to convey the Guadalajara colour palette, as well as its vibrant art scene,’ says Couturier.

Influences from Mexico’s Jalisco region, including textiles and ceramics, are mixed with glossy finishes and mirrored surfaces. Glass screens inspired by the work of architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh give a nod the building’s early 20th-century roots.

The hotel, which comes equipped with a bar, spa, terrace, restaurant and swimming pool, is a new bolthole in the Lafayette neighbourhood of Guadalajara.

‘Since opening the Habita Hotel in October 2000 [in Mexico City], Grupo Habita has realised that hotels must become communities, not only showcases for design and hospitality,’ says Couturier.

Guadalajara is known for its mariachi music, tequila and growing art scene. ‘This city has a unique lifestyle that has not been reproduced in other parts of Mexico,’ says Couturier. ‘It is a large city with the rhythm of a small town.’

Artists and chefs make up a sizeable chunk of the community. ‘The younger generations are global and creative but still quite local. This mix makes the city appealing for a Grupo Habita hotel.’