YoungMem

Anybody who booked a stay at this hotel in early November needs to find other accomodations, as hotel won't be open. I was looking forward to spending time in this new Mexico City property. It´s located downtown, close to the center square (zocalo). The original opening date on the hotel was June 2002, then it was pushed back to Nov. 1. I had a reservation for the weekend of Nov. 8th. Was reassured by CSR (as early as this morning) that property would be open on the 1st. Became concerned this morning bc 1) nobody at the hotel was answering the phone and 2) *wood website would no longer take reservation for first weekend in Nov. (no availability). No reply from CSR via website throughout the day, finally got ahold of front desk at hotel this evening- after trying throughout the day. He told me that the opening date was moved to Nov. 12, and that he would confirm a room for me at the same rate ($125 at the Maria Isabel Sheraton). I´m bummed, as I really wanted to stay at this newly built sheraton- and when was i going to be informed of the change! The website still says its opening on Nov. 1!

BlueHenFlyer

Just got back from 2 sets of two day stays at the Sheraton Centro Historico (which I understand is new) right across the street from the Alameda in Mexico City.

My rooms were (1) paid (1) award (the Mrs. and the kids) and were - well spectacular is the only word in English for it. We were given adjoining rooms (a King and 2 doubles) which basically covered the entire back end of the hotel facing the Alameda and the Palacio de las Bellas Artes - on high floors with a great view. Same rooms both times.

Seemed to me (on an unscientific survey of newspapers on doors and bodies milling about) that the hotel was virtually empty - so my experience may not be duplicated.

The hotel is a bit cheap offering only a continental (which is NOT the Sheraton HKG continental) breakfast for free, which is just a glass of juice, a plate of pineapple, melon, and papaya, and a small basket of tasteless breads. You can spot them an extra $6 or so and get a buffet that really knocks your socks off.

The only other problem I had with the hotel is that they really don't have many staff with even the remotest command of English (don't start on me - this is supposed to be an international business hotel) and getting some things done tended to involve tracking down the one employee on duty (albeit it was the days before and after Christmas) who had a marginal command. It turned out that one of the bellmen had lived in the US for many years and was a far more fluent speaker than anyone in the hotel. I learned to find him and start there.

Allegedly, the hotel was supposed to have a pool (see the SPG web site, the Sheraton Guide and the hotel web site), but the pool's not finished yet (can you say depressed children) and they offer a weight room, which for my kids wasn't the same thing.

Good service and nice rooms. Hopefully the service is for all, not just Plats.

rhetor

My wife and I had a nice stay here about 6 months ago (right after they had opened) but it sounds like they are still experiencing growing pains. When I was there, the pluses were: very nice room with a GREAT view over the Almeda and an excellent buffet breakfast (though I recall I had to ask for it--I don't think they offered a continental breakfast). The negatives were: the public spaces reeked of a sulphuric odor (we were blown away by it every time we walked off the street into the lobby, but everyone at the reception desk claimed not to smell anything--we found that hard to believe) and the rather indifferent staff at the reception (housekeeping was lovely, however). We planned to stay a week but left after two days because of the smell, but we'd go back again assuming that they've repaired whatever pipe they bumped into.

sbtinme

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know there are multiple threads out there on Mexico City properties, but they're all old by now. I am in the midst of planning a 5 night getaway for fun to Mexico City in early January 2005. Planning to stay at the Sheraton Centro Historico based largely on the reviews here on FT and also on the web. I also understand that their treatment of PLATs is great!

Anyhoo, I'd really appreciate any new reports from you global travellers out there. I can almost taste the mole sauce and salsa verde now!!!

chuck1

About 4 months ago I was on the lowest weekend rate and got sort of upgraded into a large room with a big window and full size couch.

If I recall, I got a coupon for the breakfast buffet downstairs that included the cold items. I paid a supplement to have access to the hot section.

I can't recall the gift, if any.

A nice property overall.

Bostom

As good as it gets, and given my pre-trip angst re: Mexico City in general, even better.

Thanks to a number of you here, particularly SapGuy, we chose this property for our stay this past weekend (Wednesday to Monday) over the Sheraton Maria Isabel downtown and the new W in Polanco. Good advice, everybody: this is the best location to be in as a first-time tourist.

But first: a lot of what I'd heard about Mexico City just ain't so. Yes, the traffic's probably bad, but no worse than downtown Boston. It was better than New York's, to be sure. The trees have not all been chopped down: there are some spectacular parks and woodlands. Not everyone is raped and robbed and pick-pocketed. Not us, anyway. The air is probably bad some times of the year, but not last week: no stinging eyes or grimy collars. And the food - everywhere we went, anyway - was super. And no Montezuma's Revenge. But I digress.

Built on the site of the once emblematic del Prado Hotel - a Mexico City landmark damaged beyond repair in the 1985 earthquake - the Sheraton is the centerpiece of an ongoing attempt to restore the faded glory of Mexico City's 1940's, Colonial, hell; even Aztec, downtown. The Centro Historico is a public-private partnership to rescue a neighborhood in decline for years and while it's not finished, the hotel has greatly improved the area and been an impetus for safer streets and increased commercial activity.

To begin, we arrived later than expected for our five night stay (on an SPG award) as a snowstorm in the Northeast last Tuesday delayed all flights out of Boston. We rescheduled our flight early enough and had the hotel note our late arrival so the car they were to send was waiting. I got good advice here: if you can manage it, the little extra for a car and driver with your name on 'em is worth it. To fly to Mexico City from Boston took eight-plus hours and we arrived at 11pm. That's not when I want to look for a cab or fight my way through to the place where you get one.

Our (upgraded) room was a either a very deluxe room or a junior suite: it was extraordinarily deep with, as you entered, a huge marble-lined bath facing a walk-in closet; a small living room w/o windows with a sofa bed and one of the room's three big-screen TV's, and in the larger, longer room, two double beds and a full-sized living room. I'm guessing the entire room was at least 40 feet from (inside) hall to (outside) wall. Cable, btw, was great with 40-50 channels, about half in English or at least showing English-language programs dubbed (with subtitles) into Spanish. The Spanish language programming was useful - to some small degree - in allowing me to at least hear, if not fully comprehend, spoken Spanish. The Fox programming was useful in watching what weather we'd left behind even as, like their politics, they get it mostly wrong.

Check-in was courteous if not overly friendly. Perhaps because the hotel was being readied for a visit by Mexican President Vicente Fox the following morning there were some security concerns. We walked in through the metal detectors which didn't go off: funny how, either because of jet-lag or a post 9/11 mindset, it didn't seem all that odd. When they explained, it made more sense.

But bell staff, the hotel maids, the serving staff: all were exemplary. In particular, the morning staff at Los Dones, the hotel's "buffet" restaurant, were extraordinary. Breakfast coupons were given at check-in; by the second day the hostesses and wait staff knew our names and preferences. The "continental" buffet was more than adequate, if unchanging: fruits, cheese, meats, yoghurt, juices, breads and rolls, cereal and great coffee. In addition, if we forget to take the Mexican edition of the Miami Herald placed under the door every morning, they'd find another, and the local (Spanish language) newspapers for us as well.

Housekeeping was exemplary if a bit odd: no evening turndown service was mentioned (or frankly, needed: we're pretty neat) but one evening a note came under the door saying that they'd tried to provide the PM service but couldn't as we had the "do not disturb" sign out. Otherwise it was thorough, quick and invisible. We could not convince the housekeeping supervisor that we thought sugar packets would be nice: they had coffee, and cups, and a coffee-maker, but no sugar or cream. Does everyone in Mexico drink it black? Maybe...and messages always seemed to reach us a long time after they were left. We never missed anything as a consequence but we never got a message in time to avoid another phone call, either.

Next to the hotel itself is a still uncompleted Convention Center. A part of this structure will contain the hotel's swimming pool: so far, just the gym is in use now. Very, very nice, btw. The business center is modern. The shops are standard or a bit nicer: there's a florist, sundries shop, coffee bar, bank, clothing store and travel agent in the hotel itself and a small mall next door with another 4 or 5 dining choices as well. In addition to Los Dones, the hotel's main dining room is a branch of the well-known "El Cardenel" restaurant, the original location of which is only a few blocks away. Here again, food and service were exceptional. Prices seemed reasonable, given the class of the hotel and the quality of the food: we averaged $50 lunches (with drinks) and $100 dinners (with drinks and wine) for two with tip included.

The Lobby Bar swings into the night with what appeared to be Mexico City's young professionals: well-dressed and well-heeled, to be sure: a margarita and a glass of scotch came to $26...

The location, facing Alameda Park, is a perfect spot for tourists. To the left out the front door along the Ave Juarez is the Reforma, the statue of Diana, many of the large downtown offices and hotels, the Stock Exchange and the Monument to the Revolution. All lovely but a business neighborhood that looked pretty quiet on a weeknight. The park, just out the front door, is a well-known spot immortalized in Diego Rivera's famous mural "Sunday Afternoon in the Alameda Park" which once graced the del Prado's Versailles Dining Room, After the earthquake, the mural was saved and moved half a block to a small museum built to house it. The mural, summarizing the history of Mexico from the pre-hispanic to the mid-40's, is a must-see.

To the right out the front door is the Palacio des Bellas Artes; a concert hall and museum that also needs to be seen. Across the street from it, still on Juarez, is a great Sears store in a deco building from the 1930's. Check out the coffee bar on the eighth floor for a panoramic view. Around the corner you'll find both the "House of Tiles", a remarkable building owned by - and containing - a Sanborn's restaurant and the Palacio de Correros or Postal Palace, the best psuedo-Moorish PO you'll ever ogle. Down either 5th de Mayo or Francesco Madero brings you to the Zocallo, a huge open square second in size only to Red Square, or so they say. Me, I thought the Place de Concorde in Paris was at least as big but hey, I'm not walking around on vacation with a tape measure...here too you'll find the city's cathedrals - old and new - and the national palace as well as demonstrators from all over Mexico who've come to the capital to demonstrate on behalf of - or against - more injustices than we could fathom. There was also a group doing the Mexican hat dance atop a raised platform but I think they too had a beef with somebody. But it was a pleasant space: nothing menacing or disquieting.

All of which is to say there's plenty to see and do within (safe) walking distance. Ranging further afield - to Chapultepec Park, say, or Polanco or La Condessa - two swanky neighborhoods with good shopping - are best reached by the Metro or a cab, and are an easy trip in the city itself. Other areas of interest, either to north and west to see, respectively, the Shrine to the Virgin of Guadaloupe and the Pyramids; or to the south to visit the floating gardens of Xocohmilco and the Colonial neighborhoods of San Angel and Coyocan, are better accessed by car; either hired from the hotel, on a tour, or in the company (as with us) of local friends.

In fact, the only low note if it can be called that was a tour arranged by the hotel's concierge which was perhaps the worst we'd ever been on. It was endless, it was hot, it was poorly planned and even more poorly organized, the guide was clueless and the timing was not as specified. Unfortunately, we suspected the concierge was attempting to charge whatever the traffic would bear: prices quoted - but not accepted - were an order of magnitude greater than those found elsewhere. Similarly, while we paid for a sedan pickup, we were driven from the airport in a Chevy Suburban and back in a wheezing minivan. We got there and it's not a big deal, but it's also not what we paid for.

On returning from an evening out with friends Saturday night, it was clear - from both the cars waiting to be valeted and the dress of the guests arriving for a wedding reception (at 11 pm! I love Latin America...) that this is indeed one of - if not the - best hotel in Mexico City. The Camino Real maybe more architecturally distinguised, and no doubt the Marriott, Four Seasons, Gran Melia, Marquis Reforma and Intercontinental are all good hotels, but for the combination of service, room quality, and location we thought the Centro Historico was just great.

Overall, this was one of the best Starwood hotels we've stayed in lately.

sapguy

Bostom, very glad that your trip to Mexico City was enjoyable and that your stay at the Sheraton Centro Historico was a pleasant one.

I had originally read your very detailed trip report last Thursday evening while relaxing in my Jr Suite at the Sheraton Centro Historico before heading off to dinner, so I did not have time to reply until now.

So you did get a nice room with a view? I must admit that the view that I got from my room is nothing short of breathtaking. Also agree with you that this hotel's staff is superb!

Did you try the Wine Bar? I now have a completely different view of Mexican red wines now - they are simply superb! Alas, it looks like it would be very difficult, if not impossible to find them in America.

Thanks for your detailed account of your touristic activities - as previously mentioned, I come to Mexico for business, so it's work, work, and more work <sigh> Perhaps someday, I will do the tourist thing like you did ^

Telecom Dave

I am going to Mexico City next week and I have never been. 1. How is the W hotel. 2. How safe is Mexico City?

vincom

1. Every W Hotel is FABULOUS (generally speaking)

2. As long you don't go off the known path MEX has become quite the up and coming city...


-Vincent

viniosity

I have not stayed at the W but the Sheraton was great. I have a very difficult to pronounce last name but every one of the staff nailed it to perfection each time. I was just amazed.. made me wonder if they put those guys through classes or something.

Re: Mexico City, it all depends on where you are. The outer reaches (near the airport) can be a little dicey but other areas such as La Condesa and Polanco are very safe, very clean, and very trendy.

Kidz

The W is a relatively new hotel (a little more than a year old). The decor seemed pleasent. The showers weren't in the bathroom, instead there was a tub in the bedroom (off to the side) with a shower curtain around it. The W is located right next to another couple of hotels in Chapultepec park (The Nikko and Intercontinental) Many restaurants nearby. Though trafffic is pretty bad.

Enjoy your trip

snorkmaster

I'd like to give another thumbs up for the Sheraton Centro Historico. We were given an upgrade to a "junior suite." The room was pleasant, housekeeping was amazing, and the front desk staff was very accomodating (save a squirrely guy on the night shift.)

If you're going to be visiting within the next few weeks, do be advised that there is a great deal of road construction on and around Avenida Juarez. Contrary to what some taxi drivers might tell you, the hotel is accessible by vehicle...you just need to "go around the back way." Access is well signed.

On a related note, we did use the hotel's car service on a few occasions and were perfectly satisfied. The rates are far higher than what you'd pay for a sitio taxi, but some of you may feel it's worth it for the piece of mind. Sample rates are 150 MXP to Condesa and 200 MXP to the airport. A 50% surcharge applies to pick ups in the city. Our favorite driver was a younger guy by the name of Mauricio Blancarte.

Also recommended -- while I'm definitely not a "bus tour" kind of person, I would recommend the hop on/hop off Turibus for getting the lay of the land in el D.F. if you are there for pleasure -- it's currently running on the other side of Alameda (on Hidalgo), but it will run eastbound on Juarez when the street reopens. I believe the fare is 100 MXP during the week, and 115 MXP on the weekends...and tickets may be purchased on board.

Watch out for the branches if you're on the top level of the bus.

deejboram

Hi,

I'll be staying at Centro Historico this week. Does anyone have contact info (name/email) for the concierge at this property?

Thanks!

Starwood Lurker

Try [email protected].

Best regards,

William R. Sanders
Online Guest Feedback Coordinator
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide

[email protected]

gabo02

any recent stays at this property