Gran Real Yucatan

We found what we wanted here: a place close to the center with A/C, WiFi, and secure parking. It’s a lovely old Merida hotel, with great staff and clean, comfortable, spacious rooms. The garden and pool area are beautiful, and most of the places we wanted to visit were an easy walk away. We’d definitely come back.

We had breakfast, which was acceptable, at this nice historic hotel near the city center. It has a small pool, but our room was missing a shower head and the hair dryer was broken. We’d already unpacked and were only there for two nights, so we didn’t switch rooms. We asked for another glass, but it never came, and the staff weren’t very friendly. Next time we’ll choose another hotel in the city center.

The young desk clerk was friendly and helpful, and the room and common areas were very clean. The building itself is beautiful and well maintained, though the pool needed cleaning and was very cold. There was a constant sewer smell nearby, and the bathroom water had a sulfur odor. The A/C dripped if we ran it for more than a short time, and the TV was hard to operate. The linens were poor quality and the bed was hard. They provide two small bottles of water a day. Oxxo sells bottles twice the size for what the hotel charges. The restaurant closes at 3pm, the food was poor, and the bar was badly stocked, without even a decent chelada. Some of the other staff weren’t as helpful. It’s three blocks from restaurants, but the nearest block felt a little sketchy, and I wouldn’t walk there at night. We left early, and a refund for the unused nights still hadn’t come through. The operation seemed underfunded apart from building maintenance.

The room locks kept malfunctioning, the TV had only a few local channels, and the WiFi was awful, constantly cutting out and never faster than 5 or 6 MB/second. We booked two nights, then extended for two more, but staff made us pack up and move two doors down to an identical room for no good reason, even though the rooms on the 3rd, 4th, and 5th floors were all empty. The new room was next to one under renovation. For several hours early in the morning, they dragged furniture across the floor, like fingernails on a chalkboard. This happened two mornings in a row. I wanted to like this old colonial hotel, but the so-called restaurant was only open until 3pm and didn’t have air conditioning, so it wasn’t worth trying. At market rates for a supposed 3.5-star hotel, it was no bargain and an extremely frustrating stay. I’d never stay again or recommend it. Avoid it.