Hotel Isabel — Hotel in Mexico City

I really enjoyed my stay at Hotel Isabel. I am giving the service and location 5 stars and the room 4 stars. If you are exploring the Zocalo area, the location is perfect and the prices are reasonable. My room was 660 pesos or roughly $38 US dollars. You can walk to the hotel from the Zocalo or Allende metro stations, which I utilized coming and going. I chose a room with a private bathroom and upon booking, I requested a room with a view. It was on the top floor and had an incredible view of the tiled dome of Templo St. Augustin. I have added a photo of my view. I loved the historic vibe of the hotel and the neon marquee is very cool. Although I love historic hotels, they rarely have been retrofitted with central air conditioning, so my room was very hot. It was May, so to be expected, and perhaps if I had not requested a room with a view, I may have been placed on a lower floor that might have been cooler. There was a fan provided but it just recirculated the hot air in the room. The customer service in all areas of this hotel is excellent. The employees are friendly and helpful. The restaurant and bar in the hotel are great and are also patronized by guests not staying in the hotel which says a lot. The food in the restaurant isn’t anything unique, but it arrives fast, is affordable and is very convenient. Having arrived exhausted and hungry, for me it was incredible. For 120 pesos or roughly 7 US dollars, I got a 4 course meal with a delicious soup, salad, choice of 3 different entrees, a drink and dessert, plus bread. I also had an incredible time in the hotel bar. I was a solo female traveler and even though the bar was filled with older men, nobody bothered me in a way that made me feel uncomfortable. I felt very safe. A musician came in with a guitar and was extremely talented. He got everyone singing really loud and it was fun. They have some bar food available for late night snacking. I had chips and guacamole. They have a bodega where you can check your luggage for free if you arrive early or are leaving after checkout time which I utilized. It was very helpful. They also have room service from both the restaurant and bar which I did not use, but witnessed the waiters delivering food and drink to other guests in their rooms. The shower had plenty of hot water and good water pressure. I would definitely stay here again although if it was in a warmer month, I might inquire about a room on a lower floor that might be a little cooler. The only other “cons” besides the temperature in my room are that the overhead lights in the room were harsh, bright daylight bulbs. A simple table lamp with a warm, low wattage bulb and a lampshade would be nice. Also, the shower floor is level with the bathroom floor. It’s all just the same floor. This is a very typical thing found in hotels and houses all over Mexico but it does make for a slippery bathroom floor. It would be good if they provided a separate bath mat or floor towel for safety so you don’t have to use your bath towel...

This is an old hotel on a busy corner in the historical center. It is only a 7-10 minute walk to the Zocalo, and there are numerous stores, shops, restaurants, and fast-food places nearby.||||When you enter the hotel, you must stop at a small table and get your temperature checked and clean your hands with sanitizer. They then spray your luggage with disinfectant and spray YOU down with disinfectant.||||The lobby is dark and uninviting. The lights are turned off during the day even though there is little natural light. At check-in they hand you a two-page printed list with "rules" of the hotel: no unregistered guests in the room, must leave your key at the desk whenever you leave the hotel, must wear a mask and face shield while sitting in the lobby, etc. Not unreasonable, but it seemed a bit heavy-handed. ||||The onsite restaurant is currently open from 8AM - 10 PM. However, they stop serving the dinner special at 5 PM, which is awfully early. I went to the restaurant at 6:15 PM, and many of the dinner items were unavailable. ||||I had a large single room with a double bed and a balcony that faced the street. The bed was comfortably firm. The room was a bit noisy, but the noise significantly decreased after 8 PM. The room had very high ceilings, which I really liked, and which made the room seem even more spacious. There was a lot of natural and artificial light. The only outlet to charge your electronics was by the door.||||The bathroom was shower only, no tub. The shower nozzle was very small, so the shower stream was very weak. There was no separation of the shower from the rest of the bathroom, so the floor got very wet when showering. They only provided 2 bath towels; no bath mat, wash cloths, or hand towels.||||My biggest complaint was their constant spraying. They spray you down with disinfectant, your arms outstretched, every single time you enter the hotel. One morning as I was leaving the hotel I walked past the entry table, got to the doorway, realized I had forgotten my sunglasses, and immediately turned around. They insisted on spraying me down, even though I hadn't even left the hotel, and hadn't touched anyone or anything. It was ridiculous. ||||I returned to the hotel one evening around 5:15 PM. The housekeepers were just finishing cleaning my room. I picked up my nightgown, which I had left folded on the bed that morning, and it was wet. They had saturated it with disinfecting spray. Why? How is spraying my nightgown that I am only wearing in the privacy of my room a deterrent against Covid? For that matter, how is spraying my clothing every time I enter the hotel a deterrent? One day they sprayed me FOUR times. ||||I paid $31 USD for my room, including tax, which is a good price for that location. However, I wouldn't stay there again, at least not until the pandemic is over. Being sprayed like a criminal entering a prison every time I walk through the door is not my idea of a...

I am writing this long overdue review of the Hotel Isabel where I stayed twice this summer.

I have so much gratitude for the honest staff and the guests at the Hotel Isabel. They are full of integrity! Weeks after my visit, another guest found my credit card in the safe deposit box and turned it in to the front desk who contacted me in California to let me know that they had my credit card. I had not realized that it was missing! I immediately canceled my card and requested that the Hotel Isabel staff destroy it which they did, and they even sent me a video showing that they had cut up the card. Amazing! I could not believe it because 40 years before on my first trip to Mexico City as a student studying Spanish, I apparently lost my Ohio driver’s license at the ADO bus station. I did not realize this until my mother wrote me while I was still in Mexico to let me know that a kind Mexico City resident had mailed it back to my Ohio address! I love the Hotel Isabel, its guests and the residents of Mexico City. And now for the rest of my review:

Every morning I was greeted by the friendly front desk staff, the delightful restaurant workers and fellow guests who hailed from all over Mexico and were very patient and kind when I spoke my rusty Spanish. It was so much better than staying in a sterile, Ikea-furnished AirBnB in some trendy neighborhood full of expatriate remote workers. My room was clean and comfortable, included an in-room sink, an electric fan, a TV, a safe deposit box, Wi-Fi and a shared bathroom that was five steps away. The restaurant is good and economical. I stayed at the end of May when the candidates were closing down their campaigns before the June 2 presidential elections. My room had a view of the Aztlán Ferris Wheel and the Torre Latinoamericana, sporting a “VE Y VOTA” (GO AND VOTE) sign encouraging Mexicans to vote for their first woman president. I bought tasty tortas and extra water from the woman owner of the sandwich shop outside of the hotel, walked to the Metropolitan Cathedral and Alameda Central Park and had easy access to many Metro and bus stops so that I could explore the city. The hotel staff was happy to give sightseeing advice and directions and even called another hotel to confirm my reservations for the next leg of my trip. After my travels to Pátzcuaro and Oaxaca I returned to the Hotel Isabel for the last few nights of my Mexico visit. This time I got a room with private bathroom. It had high ceilings, a balcony overlooking the Republica de El Salvador cobblestone street and the famous safe...