Gran Hotel Ciudad de Mexico Zocalo View

The view of the plaza and the cathedral from the terrace made breakfast memorable. The hotel feels like stepping into a fairy tale, with chandeliers, a beautiful glass ceiling, and a grand interior from what used to be a luxery mall. There’s even an antique wrought-iron elevator featured in a Bond movie. We arrived during the riots and couldn’t get to the entrance, so the sweet porter Yael came to meet us two streets away. The staff were very friendly. Our room was spacious and could be darkened, and the lounge had coffee and sweet treats available around the clock.

The location, lovely interior, and friendly, helpful staff were all wonderful when my wife and I stayed in late November. Their English was much better than my Spanish, thank God! Everyone was great, but Octavio stood out. He waited on us a couple of times at the wonderful breakfast, took care of the usual things, and answered all our questions with helpful suggestions. He was friendly and professional, and seemed to truly enjoy his work. A very genuine person and a great representative for the hotel. I’m sure he’s received compliments online before, and he’ll get more. I hope the hotel knows what a great employee he is. Make a point of staying here. You won’t regret it. And when you have the wonderful, bountiful breakfast, look for Octavio. He’s the best!

The architecture is majestic and the location very central. My Junior Suite with a Zócalo view was fine, but the celebrations in the square brought significant outside noise into the room, especially during events after midnight. It made it hard to rest. The worst part was the front desk. I asked about extending checkout and made clear I was willing to pay a reasonable amount, even for just one extra hour. I spoke with three staff members and got contradictory answers. One never replied, another asked for $1,000 USD, and others claimed the hotel was sold out even though rooms were available on the website. The booking went through the Special Events department, but the person who sold me the package never answered my request. Both the morning and afternoon front desk staff were rude and dismissive. I stayed at two other Mexico City hotels during the same vacation, and their warm hospitality and excellent service were completely different. The contrast made this stay especially disappointing given the hotel’s level and architecture.

This was my second stay at this legendary hotel, and I slept well and enjoyed how quiet the room was. It does need some modernization, and the lobby is a bit of a visual overload. Housekeeping came to freshen the room, but it wasn’t cleaned very well on any of those days.