Fiesta Inn Merida

We stayed just one night, and having a Starbucks and restaurant downstairs was really convenient. I’d definitely come back.

This will probably be my last update. I fell asleep briefly after finally finding coffee, then my phone rang at 9 a.m. It was the phone that neither I nor the staff could get working around midnight. Now they needed me to move my vehicle. They had parked it in the wrong space, and I’d driven it out at 2:25 a.m. to buy cough medicine, then returned it to exactly the spot the night staff told me to use. I’ve had one problem after another since checking in late last night: the room key, the phone, the free Wi-Fi, the free in-room coffee, and now the car. I’m staying in Mérida at least two more nights, but I don’t expect to spend them here. Earlier this morning, after driving to the nearest pharmacy for cough syrup, my key wouldn’t let me use the elevator to my floor. The lobby desk gave me a replacement that worked in the elevator but wouldn’t open my room. I was exhausted and coughing, so I collapsed once I got inside. Four or five hours later I woke up and tried to make the promised free coffee. The bag had sugar and creamer but no regular or decaf coffee. At the desk they gave me two or three single-cup coffee bags. My key got me back up to the floor, then failed at my door again. I had to go back down for a third key that worked for both. I travel a lot for work, and I won’t use this hotel again. I couldn’t get Wi-Fi, couldn’t reliably get into my room, and had to hunt down coffee. Avoid this property at all costs. The location isn’t bad if you have a car, and the staff themselves weren’t the issue, but the service was just horrible. I booked a Jr. Suite and arrived after 9 p.m., tired and hoping to finish some work on a project due the next morning. They said I could use the room number and other personal details to get online, but repeated attempts didn’t work. When I tried calling the desk, the cordless handset was either uncharged or broken. The AC cooled the area over the entry door, but by the bed it was still over 34. I walked down to the desk, and they sent three men up to deal with the Wi-Fi and other issues. By 12:45 a.m., only the AC had been fixed. The Wi-Fi and phone never worked. I’d considered staying several nights, but without internet or a working phone, I don’t see how that would be possible.

The hotel is in a quiet area near several malls and a supermarket. The buffet was fresh, though it could use more variety. There’s a nice gym, a clean pool, and the staff were polite and friendly. At 1 a.m. the AC wasn’t cooling, so we had to move to another room.

The location is pretty good, close to the Mayan museum and Galleria Mall, and the hotel has a nice modern deco style. Still, the water pressure was horrible, and the room’s electricity only worked with a key card in the slot. The sink light shared a circuit with the bedside lights, so reading in bed meant turning on that bright light too. The restaurant was just so-so. The food was okay, not good, and the price didn’t match the value.