...At the other end of the scale is the peaceful and unassuming, four-room Posada Las Golondrinas. The inn, a 15-minute cab ride from the center of Tepoztlan, features a magnificent if small garden, tiny swimming pool, and an honor-system bar. Rooms are decorated with the artwork of owner and innkeeper. The daily rate for a double room has spectacular breakfasts included.
My first stop was Las Golondrinas, a B&B so off the beaten track that even cab drivers have trouble finding the place -- on a dead-end dirt road 10 minutes east of the cathedral. It's a minor inconvenience for such an oasis of charm and quiet. Owner designed the house themselves; three of the four guest rooms open onto a wraparound terrace that overlooks the garden, a small pool, and the Tepozteco mountains beyond). Breakfast -- served on the terrace amid rampant bougainvillea and giant noche buena (poinsettias) -- is a wholesome affair of fresh fruit and juice, whole-grain breads, and, on the weekend I visited, delicious vegetarian tamales. (In the area behind Ixcatepec church; tel. 739/395-0649; ...Ask for a card with the hotel's address and a small map, to show your taxi driver. Cab rides cost 30 pesos/US$2.75 each way.)