My wife and I stayed at this hotel for 3 nights whilst on vacation during June 2007. Please find my feedback / comments below:
Booking
We booked on hotelclub and got very reasonable rates (+- USD 130 pn without breakfast) that had left us quite excited. Confirmation process was smooth.
Check-in
We arrived late at night after a flight delay. Staff on hand were friendly and polite and processed our check-in pretty quickly.
Room
The bedroom was comfortable - the size you'd expect for this type of hotel, although the bathroom could be a little bigger. The bed was comfortable and the air-conditioning worked fine. The fridge was very small, not allowing us much space to store things we had purchased. Our room was serviced in the late afternoon which annoyed us as we'd make early starts and want an afternoon nap prior to heading out for the evening.
Concierge
This was a huge let down for us and has significantly pulled down this rating. We requested concierge to book a tour for us (three weeks prior to our arrival) for the first day we were there and get some museum / entrance tickets for the second day. We had confirmation emails indicating both would be done.
The first day tour was not booked at midnight when we arrived. They managed to scramble to get us sorted out by the morning, but we were not impressed as it had been confirmed 3 weeks prior. They managed to obtain one set of tickets (not both) after telling us there would be no problem (this was halfway through day 1). The worst bit is the service fees - we were charged a fee (which wasn't indicated to us) for a service they could not even provide. This did not excite us. Pay pay pay.
Meals
We only ate breakfast at the hotel, which was reasonably priced by world standards, although once again, there was some confusion caused by our meal voucher. You'd think they'd handle this seemlessly in a hotel claiming to be 5-star. We didn't bother with other meals at the hotel after the concierge experiences and found very good restaurants located close by. We are big fans of fresh fruit and found the fruit presented to be quite tasteless.
Business Centre
Upon check-in, I was informed that I would be able to use the business centre at my leisure - there was no mention of cost. I was horrified, after using the Internet for approx an hour, to have a 200 peso charge awaiting me. The facilities are of a decent standard, but incredibly expensive.
Location
This is probably the best thing the hotel has going for it. The hotel is located in Polanco which is walking distance from Chapultepec Park (including the Museum of Anthropology, the zoo and the Castle) as well as many good restaurants. A taxi from the hotel to the airport is 260 pesos (why didn't concierge tell us this on the way in where we paid more with a booked transfer)?
Touring - not a reflection on the hotel, but worth a mention
We had booked tours (in addition to what concierge was supposed to book) that used Grayline as a local operator. Stay away! The airport transfer was overpriced and the tour didn't cover all the places it was supposed to (instead we got dumped at a souvenir trap for an hour so the guide could maximise his kickbacks). We were also told English would be the primary language for our tour, but we wound up being the only English speaking participants and suffered for that.
Other facilities
We didn't use other facilities of the hotel.
Overall
The hotel is clean and comfortable, but their add-on costs and efficiency of concierge are a big big turnoff. I would not recommend it and would not stay there again.
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Would I recommend this hotel to my best friend?
no way!
I recommend this hotel for:
A romantic getaway, Girlfriend getaway, People with disabilities, Older travelers, Families with teenagers, Tourists
I do not recommend this hotel for:
Young singles, An amazing honeymoon, A romantic getaway, Girlfriend getaway, People with disabilities, Older travelers, Great pool scene, Pet owners, Families with young children, Families with teenagers, Tourists
I selected this hotel as a top choice for:
Museums / Cultural / Historical sites