Gran Plaza Hotel & Convention Center

The hotel staff were polite, and from the balcony the pool looked clean and impressive. The bed was comfortable and the pillows were fluffy, so I slept well. Still, I won’t come back unless I have no choice. The hotel should bring every room up to standard, especially if it’s aiming for five stars. I checked in close to midnight, checked for bedbugs, and went right to sleep. My cousin had stayed on a lower floor and loved her room, which had the usual amenities. Mine was room 406 on the fourth floor, where updates hadn’t been done yet. The shower had no water at all, and there was no white curtain behind the blackout curtain. No free pen or coffee pot either, though water bottles were provided. Breakfast wasn’t free. In the morning, my niece knocked around 10 to ask if I was ready to check out. I rushed to shower, but the shower still didn’t work, so I packed quickly. I left a denim jacket and cardigan in the closet and only noticed after I’d reached another state. I could have asked to switch rooms, but I was already checking out. If I’d tried showering the night before, I would’ve gone back to the front desk.

There was a price and breakfast mix-up that management needs to communicate better. On the phone, we were quoted 2500 pesos for one room for four people. When we arrived to book, the amount became 2800. We were also told breakfast was included, but the next morning they said only two people qualified for the courtesy breakfast. The other two were asked to pay another 460 pesos, a condition nobody had mentioned when we reserved.

The place is huge and conveniently located, but the pool was dirty, the food was low quality, and they don’t fix plumbing problems. When the restaurant is full, expect to wait an hour for food. Pretty crappy.

We paid a lot more for this hotel than others because of the pool, and that turned out to be a huge disappointment. The pool was filthy, and a huge boulder blocked the slide. The pictures had given me a very different impression. There was construction noise, and when I asked for a room away from it, I was told every room would be noisy, even though other parts of the hotel were quieter. Nobody was helpful. The beds were hard, the AC unit was loud, and the bathroom sink sprayed water everywhere. The shower curtain had lipstick on it, and one of the two towels provided for four people had makeup stains. Breakfast options were limited to chilaquiles or eggs. I’d paid for breakfast through Expedia, but the desk clerk said it wasn’t included even after I showed the email confirmation. He said someone else had to check, then later told me the system wasn’t updated and to come back again. Front desk service was poor. Terrible experience.