Gran Hotel Ciudad de México — Hotel in Mexico City

This hotel is BEAUTIFUL, a real Art Nouveau gem. From the moment you enter the unimposing street entrance, scale the marble staircase, and enter into the lobby you know you are in a special romantic place. The lobby opens up into a glorious moment in time, somewhere in the late 1800's. You can feel the Old World Charm oozing from everywhere. But, stand for a moment before you walk over to the registration counter for a moment... Drink it in... From the ornate light fixtures, wrought iron work, gilded details, and let your eyes slowly rise to the incredible Tiffany Glass roof, one of the largest in the world. Stunning! Special! Unique!

You stroll towards registration, and you are immediately greeted by Bowler hat wearing, Victorian uniformed staff, and handed a glass of Champagne. And while I'm mentioning the staff, all I can say is Wow! They could not have been more gracious, charming, humorous, and helpful.They make you feel like you've been there before, and are welcomed back like an old friend! I wish I could remember all their names, but the gentleman I had most interaction with was Jose Luis our Concierge, but we were made to feel welcome and coddled by everyone.

Our room 304 was charming, and had a balcony which had a view to the side street, and a slice of the Plaza De La Constitucion, often referred to as the Zocalo. I imagine there are rooms at the front of the hotel with a better view of the plaza, but really, it's probably a little quieter on the side of the hotel. One of the best features of the room was the electric black out curtain, which at the touch of a button descended to make the room private and dark enough to sleep soundly. The room was clean, in good condition, and the water bottles and coffee are replaced daily (and you can ask for more if you need them, and outside in the hall was a table with fresh fruit and water any time you want them).

But you are here to experience Mexico City, and from this location, that's just what you'll do! Turn to the right out of the hotel to find more shopping than you'll know what to do with! Turn left and you are steps away from the Plaza, and stunning historic buildings, including the Templo Mayor (highly recommend). Everything seems to be a short walk away. We found restaurants which are now our favorites, everything from "Street Tacos" to fine Mexican Cuisine (and yes, it is VERY fine!). Oh, I nearly forgot the roof top restaurant at the Gran Hotel! We had an very nice meal there, but it's the view you go there for! You feel like you are "living large" as it is an exclusive location. We had a table right at the railing, and overlooked the Plaza, wonderful. And having the salsa made table side to our tastes (they have a selection of chilies and other ingredients to choose from) makes it feel special and individual. We found the service to be good, and the food to be good, but not exceptional. What is exceptional is the view, and ambiance.

We took several trips to interesting places, Teotihuacan Pyramids (highly recommend), Xochimilco Canal boat ride (highly recommend), and you'll find your favorites too.

All in all, I'd have to say that our trip couldn't have been better, and a big part of that is having a great place to call home! And the Gran Hotel is just that, a home from home. If you love stunning, REAL, historic architecture, amazing service, comfortable rooms, in a great location, you simply can't go wrong!Show less Date of...

INCREDIBLE HISTORIC HOTEL RIGHT ON THE ZÓCALO!!!!

I can't imagine a better option for your stay in Mexico City. I'm in love with this historic, beautiful hotel. That being said, I have a great passion for history and architecture. There are surely more modern places to stay in CDMX, and it depends on your personal taste.

The beauty of this hotel is its history. As a new guest, you feel like you've stepped into a by-gone era. You are greeted with a tall glass of champagne!!! 🥂 The bell boy will give you a brief historic overview of the building (it started as a retail establishment, like an early mall, around 1899). Then you will get a fabulous ride up to your room on the iron lift (featured in one of the James Bond movies). You can only use the old lift with an attendant, otherwise there is a modern elevator or stairs for you to use for the rest of your stay.

The rooms were updated and had very large, comfortable bathrooms. We had a balcony on a side street, and we enjoyed watching the performers and hearing the live music from the street every evening. Everything quieted down at night. I'm a very light sleeper, and I slept just fine! Also, there are block-out shades so you can sleep in complete darkness -- YAY!! This is something I GREATLY appreciate. I see it in Europe, and enjoyed it here. The USA really needs to get with the program in that department.

The morning buffet is the BEST EVER!!! So many wonderful options -- both American and Mexican (and French, Italian, and a little of everything...). We couldn't get enough. The rooftop restaurant/buffet area has a fabulous view of the Zócalo. The only draw-back is that, if there is any protest going on, it will happen here and may disturb your breakfast/dinner. We put up with it one morning, and it was entertaining, but I wouldn't want to have that every day. On Sunday mornings, you have the option of mimosas. In addition to the amazing variety of the buffet food, there is also an area where you can custom-order tacos, omelets, etc. It's all so delicious!

We had no need to rent a car. We walked to all the tourist destinations and restaurants nearby, and for the destinations farther out, we just grabbed a cab. We left CDMX without quite enough time to view all the sites near the Historic Center. We got a cab right in front of the hotel to go to Chapultepec Castle and Frida Inmersiva (both fabulous). This is a great place to stay if you're into...

Stayed in this hotel for 3 nights- had no issue with the hotel or room service- that was great. It was a beautiful hotel and a great location. However, I stayed here for 3 days because my stepson was getting married and I caution anyone before booking to get married here. I am detailing below the issues that we had and the response from hotel management. The hotel books more than one wedding a day, at a time- which is fine, so long as they are able to manage this. In our case, the event planners double booked the ceremony room, causing our wedding to have to be moved to another room- the guest lounge (not the room that was agreed upon when the venue was booked and the contract was signed). In addition to this, the venue did not order the flowers that were supposed to be ordered, which caused the bride and her family to have to find and purchase flowers the day before the wedding. The wrong tablecloths were on the tables in the reception room, no petals around the centerpieces, as agreed on, and individual name cards were done incorrectly. The wedding party was told that lighters would be provided for the candles, then were charged for the lighters. Finally, the wrong dinner entree was served. All of this caused much frustration. A wedding day is already stressful enough, but this venue, unfortunately, caused much more frustration. My husband and the bride’s mother spent intermittent time during the wedding reception speaking to the event planner and general manager. They were apologetic but not willing to give the family reimbursement for all of the mistakes and frustration. They offered things such as, extended reception time, as a means to make up for all of this, which was not acceptable.

Brides, Grooms, families, this is your special day. There is already so much planning and decisions and stress that goes into making it a memorable and beautiful event. Our step son and his new bride still have some wonderful memories and they had plenty of support to defend them in these mishaps- but, these mistakes should not have happened- and when they did, those responsible should have bent over backwards to make it right and fix things, but unfortunately...