Fontán Reforma Hotel — Hotel in Mexico City

Location location location. This place isn’t the best hotel but it is a great hotel to stay in on a budget. It’s centrally located in the city of Mexico at the right price. “At the right price” however, comes at a cost. CHECK-IN: On the first day of our arrival they did not have our reservation which I was afraid of after reading all the reviews. We had reserve two rooms at $29usd each per night. However, my very responsible friend who reserve the rooms did not have the confirmation number either so I can’t hold that against them. They offered us a room at a higher rate of 42.50usd. They offered us 1 room with two Queen sized beds for the first night then on the next day two bedrooms with a king size bed each and they through in breakfast. So this helped remedy the issue. Although, I can’t help but to wonder if it was a scam for the hotel to “not have the reservation” considering that the World Cup was in town and all other local hotels spiked in price. Still, I’ll take the L cuz we didn’t do our do diligence. Solution: get a confirmation email and take it with you. BREAKFAST: was very simple (the one included in the cost of the room. However they do have an additional menu at a separate cost) and an all you can eat style. The first day it was really good. The second day breakfast got a little sloppy. The beans where runny, so was the egg, the juice tasted like a mix of punch and juice, and the chilaquiles where bland. It got worse as the days past. Solution: Pay only for the room and not for the room with breakfast and eat elsewhere. Your on vacation for crying out loud, act like it. ROOMS: In the bedroom with the two queen size beds the mattresses where soooooooo hard. I wouldn’t do the jump test if I where you. In the rooms with the king size beds the mattresses were a bit more forgiving. CLEANLINESS: The room had not been thoroughly cleaned in a long time. The headboard and lamps had not been dusted in a long time, let alone cleaned. The floor hadn’t been mopped because it was stinky and I could hear and feel the stickiness on the bottom of my shoe. There was even an area where I thought it might be blood. Solution: ask the room to be thoroughly cleaned. It’s not unreasonable if you kindly walk them through the things you noticed. I decided not to get my room serviced because even though I do nitpick at this stuff I really didn’t care. The rooms come equipped with a little slot where you place your key card to activate the electrical components and once you leave the room you take your card and it shuts off the room. This is kind of nice if you are energy conscious or if you are a hotel trying to save money on electricity. But it’s also a hassle if you want to leave your cell phone charging to say go to the upstairs patio for a drink or if you have some gear you want to charge while you’re outside of your hotel room. It turns out it won’t charge, as it was the case in my situation. Solution: ask for a second key, take a battery back, or charge it while you sleep. THE PATIO: was awesome. The views from there where just so cool. Specially at night. THE STAFF: was super friendly. There front door staff was very nice and attentive so was the check in staff. LOCATION: Any hotel in this area is centrally located to all the tourist areas. With in an hours drive to The pyramids of Teotihuacán, Xochimilco, Coyoacán and Chapultepec. Short Uber/ taxi ride to zona rosa, condesa, Roma. Literaly walk to centro histórico, Torre Latinoamericana, Bellas artes, and Plaza Garibaldi, and monumento a la Revolución. OVERALL: I would defiantly go again. As a matter of fact I’m already planning my next trip and I will be staying here. I see this hotel as the family in the block that is poor but making it work. But the price on this hotel was just right for my budget for the amount of days I was there (4). I pointed out things that where very obvious and can easily be resolved and they will next time I go. I think this hotel is and awesome option for those traveling in a budget or in a large group. RECOMMENDATION: YES (give...

We had originally booked the hotel for about 2 weeks, we were here for family legalities. When we were done/couldn't go forward with anymore legal matters due to Mexicos slow legal system we decided to cut our trip short and go home early. I booked through Expedia and asked if they could possibly get us a partial refund for the shorter stay. They contacted the hotel and the hotel said they would not provide us with that. What's funny is if we leave early, they're still going to book someone in our room since it is the celebration of Mexico's independence so no real money loss for the hotel. They probably need the money for the amount of repairs and updates the hotel requires. We were staying in a room with 2 queen beds. They had been doing updates on a room down the hall from us with drills early in the morning and the paint they used was extremely pungent in smell, to the point of a headache. The cleanliness was ok, they don't wash the floors of the rooms. Which is odd because its been so much rain these few days. The drainage in the shower was horrible and you would be showering with lots of water building up in the shower and God knows the condition or cleanliness of the sewage pipes itself. There was a mildew type smell when we first arrived as well. We found drain flies in our room from the sink which comes from stagnant water and built up of soap scum and bacteria. The shower soap itself seems watered down and same with the shampoo. The bed sheets had stains on them from day 1 and the walls are paper thin, you can hear people plugging in their devices into the wall. There is no sign for being quiet after a certain time so we hear people hanging out in the hallways being loud, yelling etc.. some nights were hard to sleep. The window didn't really shut completely so the noise from the street was noticeably loud. The breakfast options were decent and delicious for the most part I wouldn't recommend eating there in the evening, there are much better options in the area for price, quality and service. Now for the staff. Not all the staff were friendly. There are just a handful of them that are truly polite and sincere they are Ivan, Jesus and German at the front entrance, Paulina in the café, Brenda and Elias during breakfast these staff were exception and truly provided this as a 3 star review instead of a 1 star (their service was 5 stars though!). Some of the staff have a true chip on their shoulders. One man who works the evening restaurant and breakfast made a comment about the tip which really turned me off for the restaurant. The location itself is convenient for being close to Madero, Artisenal Market, metro and SAT if you're here for those reasons. This hotel needs a good update for the building and maybe some training in hospitality for the rest...

We loved this hotel because it was in an excellent location, had a friendly and English speaking staff and a huge room/bathroom. The room had a safe, plenty of storage and table space, a couple of chairs, a huge and super comfy bed, air conditioning, a hairdryer and plenty of bathroom counter space. Outlets and nightstands on each side of the bed along with reading lights. While there is no fridge or microwave, it did have a ceramic pitcher in the room that you could take to the elevator on your floor and fill up with drinking water. Nice not to have to lug water to the room everyday. Speedy and fairly reliable internet was a bonus. Really cute and comfortable lobby with a cafe. Excellent coffee and service as well! Rooftop bar rounds it out with a beautiful view, especially at sunset. The cleaning staff did a beautiful job each day and were never obtrusive or loud. Unusual these days in hotels. Complaints are minor, but the bathroom lighting over the sink needs to be much brighter and the showerhead should be switched from a rainshower to a regular head due to lack of water pressure. Also, the nightclubs on the corner next to the hotel pound music until 4am when they close. Recommend using a white noise app on your phone to help with this. The same nightclub area also has a sewer smell that can be pretty intense. No fault of the hotel, but be warned. Finally, the hotel floors tilt slightly making it difficult to keep the drawers in the room shut without propping a chair against them. Old buildings have their quirks, but some carefully placed shims under the dressers would help immensely with this problem. Finally, you must use your key card to gain electricity. Makes charging electronics while out of the room impossible, but a minor inconvenience. We loved that the hotel was right next to a beautiful greenspace where there was plenty of restaurants, stores, street vendors selling food and anything else you want! Hop the city bus or the metro right next to the hotel to get anywhere in the city. The metro is only 5 pesos! Or take one of the several taxis waiting at the hotel for it's guests. Would definitely return to this...