Hostal Guadalajara

The first floor is practically a museum, and having breakfast in its inner courtyard was fantastic and unique. The whole place makes you feel like you’ve stepped into a world from long ago. I’ll stay here whenever I’m back in Guadalajara. The colonial style means the windows aren’t fully sealed, so you can sometimes hear a little from outside, but that’s fine.

The room we got was standard, even though we’d booked a superior deluxe, and nobody told us about the change. I had to raise it myself, and staff didn’t handle it well. The bed was uncomfortable, the bathroom was small, and the stay fell short of what we expected. The hotel seems to revolve around its event venue. During our visit, the same song played loudly on repeat, which wasn’t great with the paper-thin doors. I wouldn’t recommend staying at Casa Pedro Loza, though it could work as an event space.

The staff were lovely and breakfast was good, with attentive service, but there’s no fridge or tea and coffee setup in the rooms. The rooftop seemed wasted: in my four days there I think I was the only one using it, and they could consider turning it into a bar or something. I also found the neighborhood dodgy, with not much around, and the many guests coming in for photoshoots made it hard to relax on-site. It feels more suited to retirees than younger people. The hotel itself is beautiful.

The hospitality and culture Guadalajara brought to it made this probably the best wedding I’ve been to.