A mansion that was once owned by the notorious Colombian druglord Pablo Escobar has been turned into an eco-friendly boutique hotel.
The 35-room mansion in Tulum, Mexico, sat empty for over a decade but has now been renovated and transformed by New York-based art dealer Lio Lamca. The hotel is called Casa Malca.
The story of Escobar's dealings as Colombia's "King of Cocaine" - who established smuggling routes into the US in the 1970s and headed up the powerful and much-feared Medellin Cartel through the '80s and early '90s - is the subject of the hit Netflix series Narcos.It is believed Escobar built the house in the 1980s, when his empire was at its peak, turning over an estimated $21.9-billion a year in personal income.
The house sits on a gorgeous, private beach on the Mayan Riviera and has a host of features befitting a 1980s billionaire, including an underground steam room, three pools and a rooftop deck.
Thanks to Lamca, the hotel is now the height of luxury, filled with paintings, sculptures and furniture by revered contemporary artists, many from Lamca's personal collection. The restaurant's fare is described as "light, local and occasionally spicy" and there are also signature tequilas and mezcal cocktails on the menu.
Rooms start from $450 a night,
Lamca first saw the property in 2003 and says he bought it "because I thought it was insane. I could not believe that in this world, a property like this still exists and hasn't been taken over by a corporation."
He started renovating it in 2012 and opened it in 2015 as a nine-room resort, mainly for friends and family. Now it has had a massive overhaul.
Tulum is the site of a pre-Colombian Mayan walled city, whose ruins are situated on 12m-high cliffs overlooking the Caribbean. With its blend of beautiful beaches and those ruins nearby, it is also a popular tourist attraction.
See casamalca.com...