Live Aqua Monterrey

We spent seven nights here over Christmas after enjoying previous stays at Live Aqua in CDMX. The room was very comfortable and well equipped, especially the bathtub. Breakfast at the restaurant was enjoyable, and the staff were kind and helpful, particularly housekeeping, room service, and the porters. For a quieter stay, we liked the less expensive room facing the hillside neighborhood behind the hotel on our first night. The pricier room faced the mall and had a more dramatic view, but at times we could hear cars and motorcycles racing down the street. It didn’t disturb our sleep, but paying more for that view felt like a letdown. Christmas is a kind of low season in Monterrey, which usually has lots of business travelers, and some Live Aqua features seemed to be missing. The mezcal nightcap station on our floor was either absent or, when it was there, the bottles were mostly empty. The spa’s hydrotherapy area was under renovation, one of the reasons we booked, and the hotel hadn’t told us in advance. The hotel bar was closed for the holidays due to the low number of guests. The food was good, but outside breakfast the restaurant service was so slow that we gave up waiting for a server and went elsewhere. The location is handy for a quick walk to other restaurants, an Uber to other places, or shopping at the mall if that’s what you’re after.