If you are looking for a unique incentive company trip or sales meeting location, consider the town of Parras de la Fuente in northern Mexico, near the city of Monterrey. 

It is one of the Pueblos Magicos, a recent identification for certain cities in Mexico, with a current count of 111 Pueblos Magicos.

To obtain the Pueblo Magico label, the city must meet certain criteria, including having its own unique gastronomy, history and culture.

The city must also have a certain population size to be able to handle visitors to the area. Parras is located about 3 hours drive west of Monterrey, in the state of Coahuila, with breathtaking mountains among the amazing scenery.

And, with great places to stay and play, your organization easily can do an unforgettable corporate event, whether it is for a sales meeting or a team-building trip.

Getting in:  Monterrey International Airport is a mere hour by plane from either Dallas or Houston, with many flight options available. From the airport, you can either hire transportation to drive to Parras or simply rent a car and take the scenic drive yourself.

Where to stay: There are a couple of interesting properties in Parras for lodging options. If you wish to go the traditional route and stay in a 100-room hotel, be sure to check out the luxurious Rincon del Montero. The 50 year-old hotel is the most popular hotel and largest in Parras. It has two tennis courts, a 9-hole par-3 golf course and provides 5 meeting rooms ranging from 80-400 square meters in size (262 – 1312 square feet). Some guest rooms are equipped with kitchenettes, boasting 32 sq. m. (105 sq. ft.) of space, including a living area and vaulted ceilings. Families easily can stay on the property with larger grass areas for play and suites set up as small casitas.

If you are looking for something more intimate and steeped in history, stay at La Casona del Banco. This property, built in 1893, originally was a Hacienda estate that had livestock and grain storage. The walls are several feet thick to protect the estate from attacks, and the original tracks that would carry the grain to storage are still located on the property. There are 24 rooms, each unique in its décor and furnishings, and one presidential suite that is located in the original grain storage area (and has the original floors). Each area of the estate has interior courtyards and in one section, you can find the original stables and a large meeting room that has been refurbished from being the cattle stalls.

What makes this property an interesting choice is two-fold. First, 10 rooms are the minimum to be rented, but when you do, the entire property is then yours and no other rooms will be rented. So, you can have a smaller group for your corporate event or incentive trip and have the privacy of the entire Hacienda. The hotel provides catering and the staff leaves the property in the evening, so it truly feels like you have your own estate in northern Mexico. Secondly, since the walls are very thick, the WiFi signal cannot penetrate the walls, making the rooms truly technology-free zones. If guests need WiFi access, they will have to be in one of the many courtyards or in the open-air dining area. This makes sure your corporate staff is truly resting in the rooms and are ‘incentivized’ to be out of the rooms and in the common areas.

Where to play: The area around Parras is well known as wine country. There are a couple of amazing wineries to visit. The Parras Winery was founded in 1597, and is the oldest winery in the Americas. There is a tour of antique equipment in the museum and amazing wines and brandy available for tasting and purchase. If you are looking for a fun team-building activity, you can request to ‘stomp grapes’ or perform other activities in the wine making process. And this winery is located a stones-throw away from La Casona del Banco.

Vinedos Don Leo also is in Parras and the long drive down a two-lane gravel private road where you will pass both horses and cattle is worth it (be sure to move slowly past the longhorn bulls). This winery has been in business since 2000 and grow 9 varieties of wines, including the only Pinot Noir in Parras and one of the limited few in Mexico. This winery uses naturally occurring spring water from the lower elevation for its drip irrigation and focuses on organic growing methodologies. And they are the first winery in Mexico to make a kosher wine.

You can enjoy a private wine tasting with Francisco Rodriguez, an internationally renowned wine maker and the top wine maker in Mexico. The intimate cellar wine tasting room also houses several barrels of wine, making the experience memorable and cozy.

Explore the city of Parras de la Fuente and see why this Pueblo Magico can provide the backdrop for an amazing and inspired corporate event.