Casa Ex Templo — restored stone vaults of a former sacristy — Casonas MX, Campeche
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UNESCO World Heritage since 1999

For Travelers Who Read Architecture

Houses restored with rigor, internationally documented in press, inside one of the best-preserved Spanish walled cities in the Americas. For people who travel for the matter, not just the postcard.

Summary

Casonas MX restores 18th- and 19th-century heritage homes inside the UNESCO walled city of Campeche, Mexico. Four properties stand out for cultural travelers — historians, architects, photographers, conservationists: Casa Ex Templo (Honor Mention, XV Bienal de Arquitectura Yucateca 2023; former colonial sacristy), Casa Japa (18th century, Michelin Guide), Casa Verde (19th century, ArchDaily, Trasmuro), and Casa Zotz (Maya-inspired renovation in ancient stone). Rates from $200 USD per night.

Why Campeche

One of the best-preserved Spanish walled cities in the Americas.

1686

Wall construction begins

Construction of the original wall began after the pirate assault of 1685. By 1704 it was complete with its eight bastions — one of the most sophisticated civil defenses of the Spanish Caribbean.

1,000+

Historic buildings

More than a thousand catalogued historic buildings survive within the walls — houses, churches, convents, bastions, urban former-haciendas. The highest density of colonial architecture in southeastern Mexico.

1999

UNESCO inscription

Listed for its complete urban ensemble, not isolated monuments. This means serious restoration restrictions — projects like Casa Ex Templo or Casa Verde are only possible under SECULT regulation and heritage oversight.

A curated selection

Four houses with documented press, registry, and restoration.

Each of these properties has been published in specialized architecture media and restored under heritage guidelines. For historians and architects, before/after plans and project memoirs are available on request at check-in.

Casa Ex Templo — restored vaults — Casonas MX, Campeche Bienal Yucateca 2023

6 guests · 2 bedrooms · From $220 USD/night

Casa Ex Templo

A former 18th-century church sacristy restored with absolute respect for the original stonework. The barrel vaults were rehabilitated piece by piece; the walls retain traces of colonial polychromy in some areas. Honor Mention at the XV Bienal de Arquitectura Yucateca 2023. Featured in Bloomberg, Amazing Architecture, Inside Spaces. The adjacent bell tower is visible from the property's terrace.

  • Former 18th-century sacristy
  • Restored barrel vaults
  • Honor Mention, XV Bienal Yucateca 2023
  • View of adjacent bell tower
View Casa Ex Templo →
Casa Japa — colonial arched courtyard — Casonas MX, Campeche Michelin Guide

10 guests · 4 bedrooms · From $350 USD/night

Casa Japa

An 18th-century mansion, among the most imposing in the walled city. Central courtyard with restored arches, original quarry-stone columns, hydraulic-tile floors with 19th-century geometric motifs recovered during restoration. Listed individually by the Michelin Guide, featured in Bloomberg and Architectural Digest. The yellow-painted facade is referenced in studies of Campeche's historic chromatic palette.

  • 18th-century mansion
  • Original hydraulic-tile floors
  • Listed in the Michelin Guide
  • Featured in Bloomberg, AD
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La Casa Verde — restored long lap pool — Casonas MX, Campeche ArchDaily

8 guests · 3 bedrooms · From $280 USD/night

La Casa Verde

A 19th-century colonial home whose restoration was documented by ArchDaily, Trasmuro, Bloomberg, and Amazing Architecture. The intervention preserved original pasta-tile floors, beams, and roof tiles, and added a long lap pool in the interior courtyard — an interesting exercise in respectful contemporary insertion. For architects and students, project documentation is available on request.

  • 19th-century home
  • Preserved hydraulic-tile floors
  • Published in ArchDaily
  • Architectural documentation available
View La Casa Verde →
Casa Zotz — original beams and ancient stone walls — Casonas MX, Campeche Maya-Inspired

6 guests · 3 bedrooms · From $250 USD/night

Casa Zotz

An ancient stone house renovated in dialogue with Maya architecture — the name Zotz means bat in Yucatec Maya, a symbol present at sites like Edzná. Original century-old wooden beams, raw stone walls left exposed where the restoration project chose to honor the honest material, a pool inserted into the original courtyard. Solar-powered.

  • Ancient stone house
  • Original century-old beams
  • Exposed stone walls
  • Solar power · sustainability
View Casa Zotz →
Cultural experiences

Curated for travelers with a notebook.

Private architectural walking tour

A three-hour walking tour through the walled city with a local architect — reading facades, bastions, chromatic palette, contemporary interventions, and current conservation issues. Not the standard tourist tour.

Edzná · quiet archaeology

A Maya archaeological site less crowded than Chichén Itzá, an hour from town. Five-Story Plaza, ball court, pre-Columbian hydraulic system. Specialist guide available on request.

Gastronomy as heritage

Private dinner with a local chef who explains the place of Campeche cuisine in intangible heritage — the origin and migration of pan de cazón, papadzules, panuchos; the Gulf's role in colonial diet. Not a tourist dinner; a dinner with context.

Calakmul · Maya city in the jungle

A four-hour excursion (overnight recommended) to the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve — one of the largest recorded Maya cities, in Mexico's densest jungle. UNESCO mixed cultural and natural heritage since 2014.

Traveling for fieldwork, a book, or documentation?

For historians, architects, editorial photographers, and research teams: we offer special rates on documented stays, access to restoration plans, and connections to local heritage authorities.

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