A Look Inside Pablo Escobar’s Mansion

You don’t even need to step inside this gorgeous hotel to mistake it for a museum! Casa Malca also known as the mansion of the world’s most notorious drug lord, Pablo Escobar. (You’ve heard that right Narcos fans!) Pablo Escobar’s Mansion is now an art-filled boutique hotel located in Tulum, a prime beach destination in Mexico! Pablo’s mansion was abandoned in 1993 when his empire came to an end. It was empty for over a decade until it was restored by Lio Malca (a prominent New York-based contemporary art dealer) in 2012. Malca has decorated the upscale hotel with whimsical art pieces and sculptures at every turn!

If you appreciate the finer things in life like Pablo Escobar, or you’re looking to escape to a jungle beach oasis, than let’s look closer at having a fabuloso stay at Casa Malca!

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Casa Malca

📍Carretera Fed.Tulum, Av. Boca Paila km 9.5, 77780 Tulum, Q.R., Mexico
🖥 http://www.casamalca.com/en/
📞 +52 984 215 9076 
💲Prices: ~$509-$924/night

We decided to walk to Casa Malca from a nearby hotel. Even though we had our GPS to guide us, it was kind of hard to find. We actually ended up walking a few blocks past the hotel because the entrance is disguised with no obvious signs telling you you’re there (it’s pretty well-hidden from the main road). The best way to find it is to look for a palapa hut and a faux train crossing sign. Since Pablo Escobar’s mansion is a trendy hot spot for photos, there is a food and drink minimum spend, which is 1000 pesos or $50 USD per person to go in if you’re not a hotel guest!

Once we made it in and walked towards the grand entrance, we passed by an enormous amount of extravagant tropical plants and sugar white sand stairs to the front steps of Pablo Escobar’s Mansion.😍

The grand entrance of the building is covered in tree bark, it feels like you’ve discovered a jungle castle in a secret garden.🤩🌴🍃 Just from walking up, the double doors reveal a picture perfect view of the ocean so clearly in the distance. You’ll also find gorgeous sequined curtains draping down giving it such an elegant effect. It feels like you’re in a jungle fairy tale and we haven’t even stepped through the front door!

We sat comfortably on their swinging tufted sofa and one of the servers came over to take our drink order. Before we went to Tulum we had heard that it was hard to get photos at Casa Malca (that they didn’t allow tripods or professional cameras) so we were nervous that the staff would give us a hard time about taking some photos, but to our surprise they were very welcoming and chill! One of them even took us up the white winding staircase to the rooftop! From the top of the tower, we saw the most incredible, serene views of the ocean!😍 The water was a gorgeous ombré mix of blue and turquoise, along with a 360-degree view of the Caribbean sea and jungle on the other side. During our visit they were in the middle of construction, and we were told that they were working on a rooftop bar/lounge. So we’ll definitely have to come back for, you know… research purposes. 😉

Inside Casa Malca is where you’ll see many contemporary art pieces among jewel colored vintage furniture. There’s even a mickey mouse inspired art piece in the front lobby! It really has a luxury feel yet gives very cool and casual vibes at the same. It wasn’t very busy around the time we were visiting so it felt very secluded and private.

We loved the bar area, it has this really crazy black and white graphic wallpaper. And right outside they have some cool swings, which make for a good photo op!

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Next to the bar is their chandelier room where you’ll find photographs of stoned sculptures among a bountiful amount of stunning chandeliers.🤩✨ This is one of our favorite spots at Casa Malca! There’s not really much of a function other than to sit and enjoy being around all the glitz and glam of the crystal chandeliers, but something about it is also very regal yet peaceful.

We didn’t get to spend as much time as we wanted on the beach, but we did take a quick walk around where we found colorful hammocks hanging between palm trees, tropical huts, and cabanas lined up along the beach. Now we wish we were there relaxing and enjoying the ocean breeze!

Staying at Casa Malca

Casa Malca offers an eclectic mix of 71 suites and beach rooms. There are four room types: Junior Suite Garden View, Junior Suite Oceanfront, Master Suite Garden View, and Master Suite Oceanfront. With the white-walled rooms decorated with prominent colorful pieces, it feels like you’re spending the night at a modern contemporary art museum!

The hotel also offers a few luxury accommodations for their guests like massages and yoga classes. And there are three swimming pools, one which is underground! 

Casa Malca offers complimentary Mayan inspired breakfast for hotel guests. But for visitors, there are two bars and three restaurants to dine at! We wanted to eat at Philosophy, we heard their breakfast is amazing! They have a great fusion of international dishes to enjoy on the beach with the most incredible views of the blue sea! You’ll find traditional American breakfast items like egg whites and pancakes as well as Mexican dishes like Chilaquiles and Rancheros. Philosophy does have a romantic and artistic look but don’t worry about leaving your shoes behind, it has a very laid back luxury vibe!

Philosophy is open daily from 8am to 10pm and they accept reservations!

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This place should absolutely be on your must-see list when you visit Tulum! We were in awe of all the gorgeous art throughout the hotel, and although the $50 minimum will raise eyebrows we think it’s totally worth visiting! Especially since the cocktails were so good, we could have easily doubled the minimum.😋 Whether you’re a Narcos fan or a lover of all things modern and lavish, Casa Malca is truly an Instagrammer’s dream!

**Check out our Ultimate Girls’ Guide to Tulum in our blog post here!