Saturday, July 5, 2025

Tulum property owned by Colombian drug lord to become luxury hotel

A house in Tulum once owned by Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar will soon be turned into a luxury hotel.

New York real estate investment firm Thor Equities Group expects the former cocaine kingpin’s notorious reputation to appeal to the young, hip crowd that has taken over tourism in Tulum in the last decade, a phenomenon that led New York Magazine to call it the “Williamsburg of Mexico” after the young and fashionable community in Brooklyn, New York.

The firm bought the house for $17.5 million and plans to invest around $100 million developing it into a 40-room luxury hotel with a spa and upscale shops.

Previously the site of an “eco-chic” yoga retreat resort, Casa Magna is currently unoccupied. Another property once owned by the notoriously murderous drug trafficker on the same beach, Casa Malca, has been turned into an art gallery.

Tulum’s rise to fame among the jet-setting party crowd from New York may be reaching a saturation point, but Thor expects the property and its history to succeed in a luxury tourism environment where hotels can charge as much as $2,000 a night.

“Tulum is the most stylish and now destination in all of Latin America,” said Thor chairman Joe Sitt.

The company’s luxury hotel portfolio in Mexico includes the Thompson Playa del Carmen, the Montage Los Cabos and the Ritz-Carlton in Mexico City, scheduled to open in 2020.

Source: Bloomberg (en)

CORRECTION: The previous version of this story identified Williamsburg, with which Tulum is compared, as a tourist destination in Virginia that probably has nothing in common with the Quintana Roo beach destination. A full reading of the New York Magazine story reveals that Williamsburg in this case is a community in Brooklyn. Mexico News Daily regrets the error.

Have something to say? Paid Subscribers get all access to make & read comments.
News quiz

The MND Quiz of the Week: July 5th

1
Floods, football and fiscal responsibility: Have you been following the news in Mexico this week?
Jake Paul points at boxer Julio César Chávez Jr

Boxer Julio César Chávez Jr., facing organized crime charges in Mexico, is detained by ICE

1
The former world boxing champion faces accusations of arms trafficking in connection to the Sinaloa Cartel.
people walk through mexico city with umbrellas, with the latin america tower in the backgound

An unusually rainy June brings drought relief and flooding to Mexico

2
Mid-way into the rainy season, Mexico's reservoirs are 45% full on average — a big improvement over last month, but still less than historical norms.
BETA Version - Powered by Perplexity