The team that created the internationally heralded ‘Matilda lifestyle’ guest experience is taking its vision national in Mexico.

The team that created the internationally heralded ‘Matilda lifestyle’ guest experience is taking its vision national in Mexico. In 2013 they founded Cornerstone, a hotel management and development company that is building a Hotel Matilda-themed collection of lifestyle-focused boutique hotels in strategic destinations. Now the first new property, Hotel Cacao, is set to open in September 2014 in Playa del Carmen, with the second in Mexico City in 2015.

“At art-and-culture-themed Hotel Matilda, we elevated hospitality to the level of an innovative work of art where guests are immersed in edgy luxury and cultural experiences,” explained Cornerstone Managing Partner Bruce James. “While each hotel will have a distinctive individual personality, it is the shared Hotel Matilda lifestyle that defines the Cornerstone collection.”

At Hotel Cacao, guests will be immersed in a kicked-back, relaxed “Hippie Chic” lifestyle of sophisticated accommodations and cutting-edge dining and mixology experiences. Located on Playa del Carmen’s famous 5th Avenue, Cacao is in the heart of the destination’s chic scene of restaurants, clubs and boutiques.

The hotel will offer 60 spacious, modern rooms with every contemporary amenity. A clean, contemporary design will feature interior design with bold color accents by the Cornerstone team, and dramatic architectural elements, including a central court with a hyacinth lily pond, by architect Rodrigo de la Peña.

Mexico’s most famous chef, Enrique Olvera, who operates Moxi restaurant at Hotel Matilda, is developing his first “coctelería” (mixology) experience at the roof-top bar which has spectacular views of the Caribbean and Cozumel Island.

Hotel Cacao’s restaurant, Nibs, will be a serene, mouthwatering escape from the bustling dining scene on 5th Avenue with a protégé of Enrique Olvera at the helm.  Chef Alejandro Cuatepotzo, who was chef de cuisine at Moxi, is creating an exciting and innovative menu that taps the fresh, indigenous ingredients of the region and reinvents favorite Mexican seafood and meat dishes, such as ceviches with coconut and lime, scallops with lime pearls, lobster with green mango , shrimp burritos, tuna and beef tartare, salt-baked red snapper and conch fritters. The area’s tropical ambience will be reimagined indoors with guests dining amid an original jungle mural by international street artist Eduardo Kobra, a flowing water wall, and banana and passion fruit plants. In stark contrast to the colorful tropical atmosphere, Namuh-designed walnut tables and chairs with Italian carrera marbletops will be accented by simple white linens and china. The restaurant’s name reinforces the chocolate theme of Hotel Cacao: Nibs are unsweetened chocolate chips, created when cacao beans are crushed in the chocolate-making process.

Quirky, fun art donated by Tommy Hilfiger will bring  pleasant surprises for guests. Bathroom amenities will be by Italian fashion designer Missoni. An after-hours-style bar downstairs will have a sexy bordello look. The shops and restaurants on the street level of the building include Maíz de Mar, a marisquería (seafood restaurant) by Chef Olvera.