Brick Hotel

A Building That Arrived by Ship

Roma Norte has accumulated its share of century-old mansions, but the provenance of C. Orizaba 95 is harder to match. The bricks used to construct this Belle Époque building were shipped from England in the early twentieth century, ordered specifically for the custom-built residence of the head of the Bank of London and Mexico at a moment when imported materials signalled a particular kind of institutional authority. The ceramic tiles underfoot in the lobby came the same route. The building later passed into the hands of one of Mexico's presidents before spending decades in a kind of architectural limbo, which makes its current incarnation as a 17-room luxury hotel feel less like renovation and more like repatriation.

That historical arc matters because it shapes the way you experience the hotel. Roma Norte's small-luxury segment has expanded considerably over the past decade, with properties like Casona Roma Norte and Casapani converting colonial-era homes into intimate stays. Brick sits at the upper end of that cohort, with a rate around $967 and an amenity stack that includes a spa, gym, and multiple food and drink venues, placing it closer in competitive terms to the large-format luxury hotels in Polanco than to its residential-block neighbours.

Interiors Built Around Restraint

The name is something of a misdirection. There is not much exposed brickwork inside. The renovation took a different direction: a neutral colour scheme throughout, parquet floors, Deco-influenced full-length mirrors, and floor-to-ceiling windows that treat natural light as the primary decorative element. The result is a Belle Époque shell filled with contemporary calm, which is a more disciplined approach than the maximalist historicism that characterises some heritage hotel conversions in Latin America.

At 17 rooms, Brick operates on the logic of deliberate scarcity. That scale, common to a cohort of design-led small hotels across Mexico City, from Casa Polanco in Polanco to CASA TEO elsewhere in the city, prioritises atmosphere over throughput. The two-level Rooftop Suites, with their private patios, represent the hotel's most emphatic statement: they are the rooms that make the building's verticality legible from the inside.

The Ritual of Dining Here

For a property of this size, the food and drink program is notably articulated. Three distinct venues operate under the same roof, each pitched at a different register of the day and appetite. The Cerrajería handles the upscale end: a formal dining room format suited to the kind of long, considered meals that Roma Norte's restaurant culture has made a neighbourhood habit. The Orizaba Terrace offers a more casual counterpoint, the sort of outdoor setting that makes sense in a city where good weather is a baseline expectation for much of the year rather than a seasonal event. And then there is the Embury Speakeasy and Lounge, which positions itself within a specific cocktail culture lineage.

The speakeasy format has had a complicated run in the past decade. In many cities, it calcified into a formula: hidden door, low light, prohibition-era cosplay. What separates the more considered examples from the merely theatrical is whether the bar program has genuine depth or is simply wearing a costume. Embury, named after the mid-century American cocktail authority David Embury, signals an intention to anchor the program in something more specific than atmosphere alone.

The rhythm this creates across a stay is worth noting. Breakfast or a morning coffee on the terrace, afternoon ease in the common spaces, drinks in the speakeasy before or after dinner in Cerrajería: that sequencing across three venues gives a 17-room hotel the texture of a much larger property without requiring the operational footprint. Mexico's finest small-hotel experiences, from Casa de Sierra Nevada in San Miguel de Allende to Chablé Yucatán, have shown that intimate properties can support complex hospitality programs when the physical layout and team depth allow it. Brick makes the same argument in an urban context.

Roma Norte as Setting

Neighbourhood location is not incidental. Roma Norte has spent the last fifteen years becoming one of Mexico City's most concentrated zones for serious eating and drinking, with a density of independent restaurants, coffee bars, and cocktail programs that competes with any comparable area in the country. Staying within it rather than commuting from Polanco or the Centro changes the experience of the city meaningfully. The large-format luxury hotels, the Alexander model, the international brand addresses in Polanco, offer their own logic: scale, pooled services, address recognition. Brick trades those for neighbourhood immersion, and Roma Norte is one of the few parts of Mexico City where that trade is unambiguously worth making.

For comparison outside the capital, the small-luxury properties that have defined Mexico's high-end hotel conversation in recent years, Hotel Esencia in Tulum, Maroma in Riviera Maya, One&Only; Mandarina in Riviera Nayarit, are all resort-format propositions built around natural settings. Brick makes a structurally different argument: that a city address, the right neighbourhood, and a building with a documented history can carry the same weight as a beach or a jungle canopy.

Wellness and Practical Considerations

The spa is compact, with a sauna and steam room, positioned as an amenity rather than the hotel's central offering. The gym adds fitness classes and personal training, which is a more committed setup than many properties of this size provide. Together they keep Brick competitive with larger city hotels on the amenities checklist without overstating the wellness angle. Properties like Campos Polanco and Chaya B&B; Boutique operate in Mexico City's boutique accommodation tier without that level of amenity depth, which is part of what separates Brick's positioning from the broader category.

At a rate of approximately $967 per night, Brick sits above the mid-range boutique hotels in Roma Norte and below the headline rates of the Ritz-Carlton or St. Regis in Polanco. That price point buys 17-room intimacy, a historically significant building, and a multi-venue food and drink program in one of the city's most walkable neighbourhoods. The address, C. Orizaba 95 in Roma Norte, places guests within reach of the neighbourhood's leading restaurants and coffee bars. Booking in advance is advisable at a property of this size, where room availability tightens quickly during Mexico City's peak cultural calendar. See our full Mexico City guide for neighbourhood context and broader dining recommendations.

For travellers considering Mexico City alongside the country's resort destinations, the comparison set shifts considerably. Zadun in Los Cabos, Las Ventanas al Paraíso in San José del Cabo, and Four Seasons Punta Mita all offer resort logic at comparable or higher price points. Brick offers something different: a city stay in a building with a verifiable history, in a neighbourhood that rewards walking, in a format where 17 rooms is the whole offer rather than a VIP tier within a larger structure.