City Express Plus by Marriott Monterrey Galerias

If you’re a Marriott member hoping to earn points and room nights, be aware that City Express gives only half credit for stays. That feels like a total scam, and it falls short of Marriott’s standards. A bad addition to the portfolio.

Our room on the seventh floor was modern and exceptionally clean, with new linen, towels, furniture, and floors. Most TV channels were in English, and there was plenty of secure underground parking. The gate closes around 10 pm, but the guard can open it if you ask. Every employee was kind and helpful, and I’d go back if I had the chance. There’s still construction in parts of the hotel. You can see unfinished walls at the back and rooms with no windows, and there was hammering and electric hammer noise during working hours, though not at night. Breakfast was too crowded to find a seat. We had paid for three days but left after two, after checkout time, so there was no refund for the extra day. That seemed fair and understandable.

My partner found flies in his room, so I asked to switch. The replacement room had no hot water. Pretty depressing. The place itself felt plain and tasteless, and the rooms were very basic. Breakfast was cold and ordinary, just cereal, fruit, coffee, and the like. First and last time I stayed here.

The location is great, and I got lucky with a room on the highest floor. The views were amazing. The hotel is affordable, and I enjoyed the stay, but the food service was atrocious. The food was literally inedible: I once paid 100 pesos for French fries and got a bag of potato chips on a plate. I’m not complaining, just keep in mind you’ll be relying on Uber Eats for food the whole stay.