Hotel Araiza Mexicali

We had brunch at the restaurant, and it was great again, with tasty food, lots of choices, and good service. We stayed overnight for a couples retreat. The room looked beautiful despite a few minor cosmetic issues, and the bed was so comfortable I could sleep there forever. We love coming back.

Parking is tight if you’re driving a larger vehicle. The beds were good, but the living room and kitchenette were smaller than the photos suggested. Be careful on the upper floors: the hallway rails are low and could be a safety hazard. A stumble, missed step, or being intoxicated could mean falling over. The rooms themselves were great, though the door locks gave us trouble. I had to slide the key card in four times before the door opened. There are gaps all around the door, including a big one underneath, and it looked easy for someone to work a tool around the door or lock. The website made things look great, but check-in quickly went downhill. I was sent to the concierge desk to help the front desk, and the person there was slow, repeatedly calling someone for help and asking if she could do it on her computer. Other guests who arrived after me were checked in and shown to their rooms while we waited. I had to explain several times that we had multiple rooms, not one. I spoke to her in Spanish and she said she didn’t understand, so I got her to look at me and repeated it in Spanish, and then she understood. This happens to me a lot in Spanish stores and when traveling, people assume I don’t speak Spanish. We finally got checked in 45 minutes later.

The room was small, with one king bed, and cost 128 dls. I’m glad I didn’t pay more, because it felt like I got what I paid for. The parking lot was too tight too. While backing into a spot, my tailgate hit a tree that stuck out too far and dented my car, even though I hadn’t reached the concrete stop. I’m very upset about that. I used to think of this as THE luxury hotel in Mexicali, so when I came to visit family, I chose it to show my wife how nice I remembered it being. Seeing how worn and dated it is now was disappointing. The rooms were clean but old, and the musty smell hit us as soon as we entered. The furniture is falling apart, corners are damaged, fixtures are worn out, and the bathroom looks old and worn too. The walls had stains and grime, and an insect had been killed and left uncleaned. We could hear the elevator and people walking past our room. I’d considered a newer Fairfield or even a holiday inn, but chose nostalgia. Araiza used to mean luxury, many, many years ago.

We had no hot water for a day, and nobody told us in advance. The restaurant also quoted us one price, then charged a higher price when we registered, so we ate out each time. Fortunately, there were places to eat very close to the hotel.