Selina Guadalajara

The design is cool, and I liked the location in the city. The receptionists are really good, and free drinking water is provided. The bunks have curtains, and the drawers under them are handy. There's also a co-working area. The lockers inside the bunks are too big, though, and make it harder to move around in bed. I hit my knee on mine several times, and the size also makes getting into the top bunk harder. I'd remove the lockers and give the drawers locks instead. There's only one bathroom for eight people, so you might have to wait in the morning. Club evenings and nights are loud everywhere, including the library and reading room.

Wendy, an intern at the hotel, took me around the whole property and explained what I needed to know about staying in the city. I was struck by how smart and professional she was. The hotel itself is lovely, and the rates are reasonable. From check-in onward, everyone was friendly and accommodating. When my bank had shut off my card, the staff stayed patient and helped me sort it out. I’ve stayed in hotels across many countries, and the people here really stand out. I feel lucky to have found this place, and I’d recommend it to travelers who value staff who make you feel like a friend or family.

The rooftop bar TOM now makes the whole building feel like a nightclub, with bouncers everywhere and long queues of people trying to get in. Guests sometimes have to wait around 10 minutes for an elevator because both are being used by the bar. We raised it with reception, who said they would address it, but both elevators kept being blocked. We’d stayed at Selina a year earlier and had a good visit, so we booked again. That was a mistake. Music from the rooftop went on until 3 AM, and we couldn’t sleep properly. We ended up ordering earplugs and Nyquil, but even with the earplugs we could hear it all, and the music made the entire building vibrate. That’s unacceptable. I know Selina isn’t a Hyatt and caters to a younger crowd, but we paid for a decent place to stay. I don’t want to return. The quality has really gone downhill, and I wouldn’t stay here if sleep and feeling that guests are valued matter to you.

We had hoped to stay as long as two months, but after just the second night of rooftop parties disturbing us, and finding almost nothing useful in the kitchen, we decided to leave for somewhere else. We chose the Studio Apartment for privacy, quiet, and a kitchen of our own since we cook often. Our unit was on the 8th floor, right below the roof. Selina held several parties up there, with music so loud I couldn’t even take a work call in the room. It was awful. The kitchen was missing even the basics you’d expect for making an ordinary meal. It looked as if someone had been given 300 pesos to equip it. There was no pot for boiling anything and no cutting board. We had two sets of cutlery, two knives, two forks, two sets of plates, and two plastic cups, but not even one spoon for cereal. I’d wanted to try a Selina destination since 2018 and finally gave one a chance this month. I won’t stay at a Selina again.