Can you find paradise in a former drug lord’s Tulum mansion? There’s only one way to find out.
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Casa Malca is a boutique luxury hotel located in Tulum, a popular coastal town in the Riviera Maya. But what makes Casa Malca unique isn’t its location or its collection of contemporary art. Instead, it’s the history that draws in visitors.
Before Colombian art collector Lio Malca purchased the property in 2012 and began converting it into an exclusive boutique hotel, this sprawling mansion served as a vacation home for the infamous Pablo Escobar. The estate was completed in the 1980s, fitted with bulletproof walls and a series of underground tunnels that would allow the drug lord to flee if necessary.
In fact, the mansion served as a safe haven for Escobar until his death in 1993—and some consider it haunted, despite its flashy new updo. For a decade, it sat abandoned until it was rediscovered and eventually sold to Malca.
Since its reopening, it’s become one of Tulum’s most well-known luxury properties. Would you stay in Pablo Escobar’s former estate, now turned into a 71-room boutique hotel?
Inside Casa Malca, former vacation escape for the world’s most infamous drug lord
When Malca originally opened Casa Malca in 2015, the boutique hotel consisted of only nine rooms. It was a playground for the art collector to display his works—which remains the focus to this day. If you enjoy contemporary art, you’ll have plenty to do at Casa Malca.
You’ll find massive lightbulb sculptures near the beach bar, which is Sunil Gawde’s Blind Bulbs project. You’ll find pop art from Fabien Verschaere, including 2007’s Batman. Most famously, there’s a Keith Haring Pop Shop work displayed in Haring Bar, which dates back to 1988. And that’s just the start—there are works by KAWS, Kenny Scharf, and more.
Contemporary art aside, the hotel also has three swimming pools, a rooftop spa, acclaimed on-site dining, and a private beachfront. It’s also located next to the popular Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve.
But what about the Escobar angle? Would you even realize where you’re staying if you booked Casa Malca for the tropical location and abundance of art?
You’ll notice a few features that include odes to Escobar. The bulletproof walls, for example, are still part of the hotel’s structure. The escape tunnels have been reimagined by Malca, transformed into a woven passageway called the Tunnel to Paradise that leads straight to the beach.
The top feature is the underground grotto pool. It’s a tranquil pool that comes with mood lighting. Though the grotto wasn’t built by Escobar, it’s one of many adapted spaces that Malca constructed after purchasing the rundown mansion.
To book a stay at Casa Malca, head to Booking.com, Expedia, or Hotels.com. You can also book directly via Casa Malca.