Stay & Play

La Noria Centro Histórico, Oaxaca, Mexico

Article and Photography by Steve Gillick

When Mephiboseth Padilla Villaseñor, “Mephi” for short, tells you that a stay at La Noria equates to living in a Oaxacan home, he’s simply stating fact. In the true spirit of “Mi Casa es su Casa”, the Manager at the Hotel La Noria explains that the owner didn’t want to have an impersonal hotel with numbered clients. “He wanted clients to have names”, and La Noria practices what it preaches. In his knowledgeable, affable and caring manner, Mephi took us around the amazing boutique property that had become our home in Oaxaca for three nights. He emphasized the family spirit of the establishment in noting that when the hotel had to close for six months during COVID, none of the 35 employees lost their jobs. And Mephi also related that former U.S. President Jimmy Carter chose La Noria in 1998 for a family stay and stunned the guests when he walked into the breakfast restaurant on the first morning.

La Noria is a beautiful converted home dating to 1810. The second and third floors were added, and the courtyard garden was transformed into a small deck with chairs next to a swimming pool. The name of the hotel harkens back to the early days when milk from the village of La Noria was delivered by horse to the original home in Oaxaca. “La Noria” specifically refers to a water wheel, where donkey-power drove the mechanism that drew water from a well.

Located at the corner of Hidalgo and Fiallo, the hotel is in an ideal location for appreciating Oaxaca’s historic, UNESCO World Heritage status. The Zocalo, the Metropolitan Cathedral, the bustling public square with market stalls, restaurants, bars and people watching, are only two blocks away. And the three main markets, featuring produce, goods and mouth-watering Oaxacan dishes, are also a short walk. This includes Mercado Benito Juarez, Mercado 20 de Novembre, and the sprawling Mercado de abastos.

North of the hotel, are beautiful colonial buildings, great restaurants, Mezcalerias (tasting bars), souvenir shops, art galleries, museums, the Church of Santo Domingo de Guzman, trees full of Cinnamon Hummingbirds, and more!

La Noria fits into this historic setting perfectly. Accommodations in the 50-room, 4-5 star property are spacious, with beautiful antique Mexican and Spanish furniture, comfortable beds, large bathrooms and local works of art. In fact, venturing through the colonial columns, along the tiled corridors, is a mesmerizing experience, with an art collection that includes many colourful works by Oaxacan native Fernando Andriacci. Mephi noted that “when we bought the paintings, he was a painter, now he’s a renowned artist”, and Andriacci’s art has become part of “the awe-inspiring vista of life in Oaxaca” that the hotel inspires.

La Noria is one of those special experiences; a destination unto itself, where many guests equate a return to the pleasures of exploring Oaxaca, with the comfort of a homecoming. La Noria is certainly where I will stay on my next adventure in Oaxaca.

www.lanoria.com