El Marques Hacienda

The restaurant food was good, though service dragged with only two servers looking after at least ten tables. We spent four nights in a cabaña and never got cleaning service. It was dusty, with spiders, rock-hard mattresses, and dirty pillows, sheets, and towels. The place seems neglected and short-staffed. Wi-Fi was unreliable and there was barely any signal. It’s a bit far from the city center, and you can’t really walk around outside the hotel. Do yourself a favor and find somewhere else.

I chose this place for a nature-focused break, so being outside Guanajuato city suited me. Other nearby cities include Silao, León, and Irapuato, but you need transportation to get around. I visited beautiful Guanajuato twice. The shuttle was suspended because of pandemic health recommendations, and I hope it comes back. For now, reception can help arrange a taxi. I paid 100 pesos, under 5 US dollars, to get to the bus station. The hotel feels like a Mexican Hacienda, with trees, wide green spaces, falling leaves, birds, and picturesque paths for a relaxing walk. There are play areas for kids and a little corner with farm animals. The manager introduced himself and kindly showed me the small farm, where he spoke about the animals like dear characters. We also talked about the trees and their labels, and I learned to tell them apart. There are bikes, a pool, courts, and a chapel. My room looked out over a wooded area and was cleaned every day, with fresh sheets and towels. It had two beds, two chairs, a desk, a table, a night table, TV, Wi-Fi, an iron, hair dryer, mirrors, shampoo, soap, bottled water, and a coffee maker. Compared with a city hotel, I felt I could live there. You can hear birds. If a rooster waking you early would bother you, ask for a room farther away. It’s just a matter of distance. Reception and restaurant staff were always helpful. The food was okay, and the complimentary breakfast wasn’t enough for me. I would have liked more fruit and vegetables. The menu is nice, but vegetables would have made a healthy addition. I’ve read reviews from a year ago that I disagree with. Maybe there were problems then, or maybe things have changed. I only saw the rule against bringing your own food near the pool, but ask if that matters to you. It was a beautiful experience.

The room next door was easy to hear, and if you’re a light sleeper, a rooster and maybe a goat can keep you awake. Cars pass all night too. Getting a taxi out here can be hit or miss because it’s so far away. There’s no cell service, and the Wi-Fi is terrible. The location is poor, though the pool area is great, so I’d only consider a day pass. I’ve never stayed somewhere that wouldn’t let guests bring food or drinks in. You might expect that rule because there are lots of restaurants, but there’s just one, and service is painfully slow. A drink took 20 minutes. The soup, which usually just needs to be served, took 30 minutes. I was leaving breakfast an hour after ordering when the server came out holding my green juice. She asked, “oh they didn’t bring you your juice?” and didn’t apologize. The food itself is good, maybe a 4 out of 5, though not amazing. I wasn’t expecting much, but the service was mediocre. To be fair, customer service in the region seems lacking in general. Our cabin bathroom was dusty, the faucet didn’t work right, and the shower head felt like something from a $1 store. The floors were dirty, and the white towels were stained. We asked to have the room cleaned and got confirmation from the cleaning staff, but came back to find it exactly as we’d left it. We booked multiple rooms, and everyone said theirs hadn’t been cleaned. We also didn’t have enough toilet paper or hand soap. Reception wouldn’t give us one extra towel, insisting we had enough. I’ve never had a hotel count towels like that. The place doesn’t offer basic hotel amenities. I could go on, but I’d never recommend staying here. It felt more like an inconvenience.

The grounds have a lovely hacienda design and a green, forest-like feel around the central square. That’s about all I liked. The cabins were just okay, dusty, and still had empty beer bottles and wine coolers left by previous guests. Food nearby was terrible. We couldn’t eat at the on-site restaurant because it was only open for breakfast. Breakfast was included, but it was just yogurt, cereal, toast, and coffee. Overall, it wasn’t worth it.