Flavia Hotel

The view and drinks at the bar were great, but the food and the way our complaint was handled were disappointing. I went with friends to celebrate a birthday. One person ordered strawberries with parmesan cheese and hated it. A few of us tried a tiny bit and agreed it tasted like wet dog. We told the server, who took the dish away and said not many people order it, but didn’t apologize. When the bill came, the full charge was still there. Nobody ate the dish, and we’d taken less than two bites. They said it was policy: we’d ordered it, so we had to pay. This wasn’t about the money. It was about customer care. I’ve worked in restaurants and hospitality for over 25 years, and I’ve never heard of a 5-star hotel standing behind bad food like that. I later checked the reviews and found consistent criticism of the food. Something doesn’t seem right in the kitchen. They should listen to guests instead of making them pay for the chef’s ego. I tried to follow up the next day, but the website contact form didn’t work, the email was incomplete, and they ignored my message on Facebook. Oaxaca has so many wonderful places with great food and views. Don’t waste your time and money here, only to get subpar food and bad service. It’s out of the way, so it needs to offer more than a view to make the trip worthwhile.

The restaurant view is nice, but I’d skip a night here. The rooms are bad, and there’s no air conditioning, despite what some websites and reviews say. There’s no sound insulation, and the amenities are very limited. The pool seems meant for photos rather than swimming. For a place billing itself as a five-star hotel, it’s a hard pass. Come for a photo, not an overnight stay.

We just had an incredible stay at Flavia. The rooms were impeccable and gorgeous, with AC, and the service was fantastic, especially at the restaurant. The food wasn’t the best in Oaxaca, but we enjoyed the meals we had there. A couple of things went wrong during our stay, but the staff were willing to help and really did their best. I’ve stayed at 5-star hotels all over the world, and Flavia ranks among the better ones.

The view was spectacular, and the rooms were very clean with excellent room service. The location is 20-30 minutes from downtown, which we knew and expected, so that was fine. Staff were helpful when I asked for things, though they could use more professionalism and hospitality training. The restaurant food could be better, especially at those prices. The major problem was the noise. I stayed five nights and had many sleepless ones. There’s no soundproofing in the doors, windows, or balcony. You hear everything inside and outside the hotel, including footsteps, dogs barking nonstop through the night, and even fireworks at 4 AM that made me jump out of bed. That was disappointing and unexpected from a high-end hotel. Management said they plan to improve the soundproofing. Honestly, they need to, or I can’t imagine guests coming back after reading about the noise.