The Throwback Hotel

We stayed a few days at the out-of-place-and-time Hotel Victoria--anachronistic because it had a grand 1950s Miami feel like nowhere else in Oaxaca, and placed on the side of a hill above town, had wide views of the Oaxaca valley and the mountains beyond. (Most rooms I've seen in Mexico open onto courtyards.) With signs of wear (some peeling paint, a rattling van that made round trips to the Centro), the hotel has an unpretentious feel, and with a big sparkly pool, it provided a nice mid-century interlude. 

My favorite bit of mid-century architecture was the massive spiral staircase.