You can sleep in a barrel in a blue agave field in Mexico and drink tequila right from the source
You may have given up on the dream of living in a house made of chocolate ― although certain Swiss people recently got one step closer ― but sleeping in a tequila barrel might be just as good.
Matices, Hotel de Barricas (literally meaning hotel of barrels) is a boutique hotel located within a tequila distillery just outside the Mexican town of Tequila, which is where the drink was invented. If you're not feeling bothered by the excessive use of the word "tequila" so far, then this hotel is probably just for you.
Matices offers visitors the chance to stay in a giant, barrel-shaped room that looks and feels just like an actual tequila barrel, all while being surrounded by a field of blue agave, the plant used in the production of tequila.
According to the hotel's mission statement, the concept "joins the alchemy of tequila with human senses, inviting you to go through the same path as an experimented tequila."
Relax in one of Matices' 30 barrel-shaped rooms or in one of the four standard Silver King rooms (with a name like that, how standard can they be?), and you might even feel a buzz.
Don't be fooled by the desert-like landscape, though, as the rooms are fully equipped with all the standard hotel amenities, from TV and air conditioning to bathrobes and mini bar, and even a private jacuzzi in the Extra Aged barrel room.
Prices for the standard Silver King rooms and the Aged King barrel rooms begin at 3,950 Mexican pesos ($180) a night, while you can pay a little extra ($200) for the luxurious Extra Aged barrel room, and live the barrel experience at its finest.
The inside of the barrel rooms looks something like this:
And like this:
La Cofradía, the property housing the hotel, boasts its own tequila distillery that produces an impressive 15,000 liters of tequila per day. Tasting sessions and guided tours of the distillery are on offer, allowing you to observe the entire distillation process up close.
Once the process is complete, the tequila rests in the property's cellar, in wooden, round barrels made from mango trees, until it's aged (or extra-aged) and ready to drink.
You can purchase your own bottle of tequila at the on-site shop or even design the bottle yourselves at Cofradía's ceramics studio.
To learn more about the history of the drink, you can visit the on-site museum or, better yet, the historic La Taberna del Cofrade, the elegant cave bar-restaurant located 4.5 meters below ground. At that same spot, tequila producers secretly distilled and sold the drink during the latter part of the Spanish rule when its production was banned.
Today, the restaurant serves traditional Mexican dishes along with a variety of tequila-based cocktails.
It's worth noting that, due to the spread of COVID-19, Mexico and the US have entered a joint initiative restricting non-essential travel along the US-Mexico land border until at least September 21, 2020. This means that travelers entering Mexico by land from the United States may be denied admission if the purpose of their visit is considered non-essential.
Although flying to Mexico is still an option, and while the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention no longer advises against non-essential travel, it does warn that "travel increases your chance of getting and spreading COVID-19."
Whenever it's safe to do so, pick a barrel and get ready for some agave-scented, tequila-fueled downtime.
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