Three for the Luxury in Mexico, San Francisco

What recession? This winter is bringing a bumper crop of high-end hotels. Among them are two in Mexico and one in San Francisco.

The ritziest, judged by the room rates, is the 56-room Esperanza in Mexico, which opened this weekend. The hotel, perched on bluffs overlooking two private coves on the Gulf of California about four miles north of Cabo San Lucas, is run by the people who operate San Ysidro Ranch near Santa Barbara, Auberge du Soleil in Napa Valley and four other California hotels. Its restaurant is headed by French chef Jacques Chretien, former executive chef at Maxim’s de Paris in Mexico City. Also on site is a spa (opening in summer), bar and gourmet market. Rates begin at $550 per night. (866) 311-2226, www.esperanzaresort.com.

On the other side of Mexico, the Presidente Inter-Continental Paraiso de la Bonita (“beautiful woman’s paradise”) opened last month on the coast about 12 miles south of Cancun, one of several upscale hotels developed in the last few years in the so-called Mayan Riviera. Its 14 acres include a 90-room hotel, three restaurants, a bar, a swimming pool and a 22,000-square-foot spa that features thalassotherapy, which uses heated seawater and marine algae. Rates begin at $410 per room per night through April 30, then increase to $550. (800) 327-0200, www.interconti.com.

In San Francisco, the former Financial Center Building at 500 California St. downtown is being converted into a 362-room luxury hotel scheduled to open Feb. 11. The 17-story Florentine Renaissance-style structure, which dates to the mid-1920s and has been unoccupied for a decade, has undergone a $100-million restoration, a hotel spokesman said. It includes a bar, gym and steakhouse.

The Omni San Francisco Hotel is owned by Texas-based Omni Hotels. Introductory rates start at $189 through May 12; then published rates start at $439. (800) 843-6664, www.omnisanfrancisco.com.