Five centuries standing
The earliest record of the house dates to 1570, by order of Viceroy Luis de Velasco. It changed hands many times thereafter; the Metropolitan Cathedral held it for more than a century and a half, yet it never ceased to be a working country estate.
Every era left its mark on the walls. The chapel, the courtyards, and the vaults you walk through today are the same ones that watched whole generations pass, and it is that memory that now welcomes each guest who crosses the threshold.
The hacienda was founded in 1570, at the height of the Llanos de Apan's expansion. The property passed to the Metropolitan Cathedral of Mexico City, which held it for more than a hundred and fifty years.
With the secularization of the nineteenth century it returned to private hands. Between the end of that century and the beginning of the twentieth, the intervention attributed to Antonio Rivas Mercado, creator of the Ángel de la Independencia, left some of the house's most remarkable features.
Visual representation
Between the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth, the intervention attributed to Antonio Rivas Mercado, creator of the Ángel de la Independencia, refined the architecture of the house. That Porfirian elegance can still be felt in the halls and façades, and it is part of the heritage the restoration set out to protect.
In 2015 a full restoration began, led by architect Fernando Marín. It started with the chapel and took close to five years. The old granary returned as a hall, and the house recovered its form without giving up any of its history.
In 2019 the hacienda opened its doors, and the work was recognised with the Design Icons award from Architectural Digest México.
Period portrait · visual representationAt the height of the Llanos de Apan's expansion, the hacienda at the origin of the property is founded. The gateway and the layout of the house survive from that era: the date that today names everything that happens here.
Altar of the Kings · Metropolitan Cathedral of Mexico CityThe property passes to the Metropolitan Cathedral of Mexico City, which holds it for more than a hundred and fifty years. Under its stewardship the hacienda establishes itself as a pulque estate of the plains: the trade that would define its character.
Visual representationThe intervention attributed to Antonio Rivas Mercado, creator of the Ángel de la Independencia, refines the architecture of the house. That Porfirian elegance can still be felt in its halls and façades, and is part of the heritage the restoration set out to protect.
Photograph of the ruin, before the restorationThe uprising strikes the pulque haciendas head-on and Zotoluca is left severely damaged. The property’s hardest period begins: decades on the edge of disappearing.
Photograph of the ruin, before the restorationWith the land reform that followed the Revolution, the hacienda, like so many in Mexico, was broken up and left without use. Through much of the twentieth century its walls remained standing, but empty, awaiting a new life.
Julio Uribe acquires the ruined property and undertakes a full restoration that will take close to five years, beginning with the chapel. The house recovers its form without giving up any of its history.
The old troje, the hacienda’s granary, is recovered and becomes a hall. With it, the venue’s capacity for weddings and large-format events grows without touching the character of the house.
Five centuries on, the house welcomes a small number of guests and celebrates weddings, events, and the seasons of the year with the unhurried hospitality of a Mexican hacienda.
Main house, tinacal, greenhouse, gardens, troje, and more. Explore them from within, or see the hacienda in pictures.
Hacienda Zotoluca welcomes a small number of guests at a time, with the close attention of a Mexican manor house. Each stay unfolds calmly, between meals served in the dining rooms of the house and the countryside a step away.
Choose the area you need. Every message reaches the right team directly.
Or by email: reservaciones@haciendazotoluca.com · eventos@haciendazotoluca.com · contacto@haciendazotoluca.com
Hacienda Zotoluca is one of Mexico's most exclusive historic venues for private events, a boutique hotel of exceptional character and the starting point for extraordinary experiences in the Mexican countryside.
Book a stay