An Exclusive Way to Experience PATRÓN
La Casona, PATRÓN’s invite-only hotel, combines traditional design with thoughtful, modern details, providing guests with a behind-the-scenes look into the brand
Nestled in an arid landscape of grazing cattle, agave fields and low-slung brick buildings lies a private road. A drive down to the gated entrance reveals an unexpected paradise that highlights Mexican design and the heritage craft of tequila-making that has been a core part of the Jalisco highlands for centuries.
Rather than opening its doors to tequila-loving tourists arriving by the busload, PATRÓN instead opted for a more exclusive route. Its Atotonilco el Alto-based property, Hacienda PATRÓN, houses its vast production facility, employing over 1,800 people to create its additive-free tequila products. It’s also the site of La Casona, an invite-only, 36-room guesthouse for select clients, VIP guests and members of the global hospitality industry.
This isn’t your average hotel. At La Casona, guests have the opportunity to experience PATRÓN through a rare insider’s lens. Distillery tours show how its tequila is made. The ingredients are simple—Blue Weber tequila, yeast and water—yet the process can involve up to 60 people per bottle. Attention to quality, detail and environmental sustainability is paramount to the brand’s operation. Guests can also taste samples from the full Patrón portfolio, ranging from the Silver variety you likely already know to rarer, higher-end options like the GRAN PATRÓN Burdeos that’s aged in oak Bordeaux barrels (our personal favorite).
“When you walk through the Hacienda and La Casona, you’re not just seeing where PATRÓN is made, you’re stepping into our story,” says Roberto Ramirez Laverde, Global Senior Vice President at PATRÓN. “Every detail reflects the people, the land and the patience behind our tequila. We want guests to feel connected to that history in a real way. It’s about honoring where we started and showing that the same care that goes into every bottle lives in this place, too.”
La Casona, designed by Guadalajara-based interior architect Joaquin Homs, is built in the hacienda style that dates back to the 1700s. The space features traditional design elements like textured stone archways, central garden courtyards and tall, heavy wood doors. Warm color palettes reference the surrounding mineral-rich soil. Modern touches in the artwork, textiles, fixtures and window placement seamlessly merge the historic style with the present day.
Homs collaborated with regional artisans and used locally-sourced materials to bring a familiar sense of comfort into the private and communal spaces. Cantera limestone, clay tiles from Degollado, marble tabletops from Puebla and reclaimed Jalisco wood add warmth and texture. Every piece from the ornate room dividers, patinated room numbers and the 40-foot, handcrafted bar top at the Copper Bar was chosen for its longevity. Rather than follow fleeting trends, La Casona’s design language instead uses heritage details to “blend contemporary Mexican art and design with handcrafted, bespoke moments that give the space its character,” Ramirez Laverde says.
PATRÓN’s bee logo incorporates an agave heart—or piña, the sugary key tequila ingredient—in its center. The bee references the community aspect of the production process, since many skilled employees work together to create one final product, all using agave in its purest form. “The bee has been part of PATRÓN from the beginning. It’s a symbol of care, precision and respect for nature,” Ramirez Laverde says, adding that combining the bee and agave in the logo “is a simple way to reflect what PATRÓN is all about: craftsmanship, patience and doing things the right way.”
Throughout the space, images of the bee and agave can be seen in both obvious and unexpected places. It almost feels like a visual scavenger hunt, from the stained glass windows, guest room artwork, agave-inspired metal bird barriers in outdoor dining spaces and glass bees incorporated into the epic lobby chandelier. Ernesto Cruz, a local artist from the Tlaquepaque area of Guadalajara, used recycled glass, forged iron and mixed metals to create the showstopper that depicts bees on agave plants, as well as numerous other lighting fixtures in La Casona.
The property’s landscape design is another way La Casona comes alive. Varieties of agave are architecturally layered with highland-loving, flowering blooms like agapanthus, lavender, desert rose and Mexican petunia. The central courtyard, with its fountains and stone seating options, is a peaceful respite to enjoy a tequila cocktail from the nearby Copper Bar or to simply reflect on the beauty of the space and the magic that happens here.
The Hacienda was originally built to produce PATRÓN tequila in 2002, but thanks to the 2017 addition of La Casona (and its expansion of 16 more rooms last year), special guests now have the opportunity to further experience the brand. From artisan-crafted pieces throughout the space, robust gardens and local fare at its on-site restaurant, La Casona invites you in with open arms—and a refreshing mocktail upon arrival—for a first-hand lesson on what makes PATRÓN so special.
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