24-Hour Room Service: Villa Montaña Morelia, Mexico

Villa Montaña is in the Santa Maria hills overlooking the perfectly formed 16th-century colonial city of Morelia. Passing through the hotel's wrought-iron gates, a sense of calm is instantly tangible.

Surrounded by four acres of terraced gardens, the red-walled hotel artfully mixes the area's colonial legacy with its indigenous Purepécha culture: 14th-century European antiques and Renaissance-style oil paintings blend seamlessly with local folk art and Aztec sculptures.

It's easy to get intoxicatingly lost. The meandering paths, lined with tulip trees and vivid floripondium, may take you to a secluded, sculpture-filled garden, the newly opened spa or even the pool with its breathtaking views of the city. They rarely seem to take you to your room.

The property's original owner had an eccentric policy of selling anything and everything on display in the hotel - resulting in hilarious anecdotes about guests returning to their rooms to find the furniture had vanished. The current owners, the aristocratic Europeans Count de Reiset and his wife Eva, reassure bemused guests that today this no longer happens.

LOCATION

Villa Montaña, Patzimba 201 (Colonia Vista Bella), Morelia, Michoacan, 58090 Mexico (00 52 443 314 0231; www.villamontana.com.mx). The hotel is 10 minutes from the historic centre of Morelia.

Time to international airport: the 35-minute taxi journey to the airport

should cost little more than US$15 (£8).

COMFORTABLE?

Owing to its hillside setting, almost all the 36 rooms and suites boast stunning views over the city as well as giant fireplaces for the chilly winter months. Cavernous and individual, each room is filled with exotic flowers and has beamed ceilings, stone columns, carved woodwork and European antiques as well as indigenous artefacts.

An ecclesiastical mood prevails in many of the rooms, with domed ceilings and religious icons - such as the giant glass crucifix in room 136.

For a two-bedroom suite, complete with a red-walled terrace filled with orange trees, try number 105. Walk past the stone sculptures of fish, wolves and elephants to suite 137, which is home to a magnificent wood-panelled bedroom and an upstairs room for the children.

But to experience life at its most regal, check into the Presidential suite. The heavy, carved doors open on to a sitting room and dining area, complete with imposing antique furniture. Best of all is the tiered terrace that offers first-class views of the city, with the baroque cathedral taking centre stage - the perfect setting for a civilised sunset tequila.

Freebies: Neutrogena toiletries.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Suites range from US$211 (£117), excluding breakfast.

I'm not paying that: Try Hotel Valladolid, Portal Hidalgo 245, a colonial hotel near the cathedral. Double rooms start from Mex$600 (£29) (00 52 443 312 0027, www.mexonline.com/valladolid-morelia.htm).