Why do I Always Get The Dud Room? (Hotel Santa Lucia (Merida))

Name: Essexgirl2006

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Product:	Hotel Santa Lucia (Merida)
Date:	05/10/07 (144 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Some lovely rooms, great location and reasonably priced

Disadvantages: Not all rooms as nice, noisy air-con

I did not choose this hotel, as it was part of my holiday package. When I found out that this was to be my first destination on my travels around the Mayan World I quickly looked into it. It had a good write up in the Lonely Planet and on Trip Advisor where it was described as clean, with a nice pool.

Merida is the capital of the Yucatan state, and as well as being a pleasant Spanish colonial town in its own right, it is a good base for exploring Mayan sites such as Chichen Itza and Uxmal. On weekend evenings (the time we were staying) there is often live music in the streets and on Sundays the streets around the main Plaza are closed to traffic and there is a small market and cultural events happening. I caught the end of the local dancing during the late afternoon.

The hotel is located just three short blocks from the Grand Plaza, meaning it is close to restaurants, bars, internet cafes and shops as well as the smaller, but pleasant Santa Lucia Plaza. The airport is just outside town, and takes about 15 minutes by taxi. The bus terminal is a five minute taxi ride away.

We arrived late at night, so I didn’t really get the feel for the hotel until the morning, where it turned out to be a more attractive hotel than I realised. Most of the rooms assigned to my traveling companions overlooked a pretty little plant filled courtyard or the pool. My room overlooked a corridor! This, of course, hindered the natural light in the room as there was no other window other than a tiny one in the bathroom. The room was simply furnished with a tiled floor, solid beds (one single and one double) with wooden frames, a bedside table, desk, TV and some open shelves and a rail. Overall it gave the feeling of being neat, clean and spacious, if a little basic. The small bathroom had a shower, WC and sink with a complimentary bar of soap. As is typical of most Central American hotels, you only get one bath towel and no hand towel.

Although the room had an air conditioner (it was 35C) is was an old noisy, rattelly thing that made it impossible to sleep. Fortunately the room had a fan, but the noise of the air-con from the room next door could still be heard. Throughout the region the plumbing is poor and cannot handle toilet paper in the system, so you are asked not to throw any down the pan but to use the waste bins provided, this is all well and good but there was such a weak flush in this loo that barely flushed at all.

Unfortunately I did not get chance to use the pool, which although small was clean and well maintained. Although the hotel has a small coffee shop that could provide breakfast it does not open on Sundays. This is not really a problem as there are a number of small cafes and supermarkets in the locality.

The advertised rate on their website for a double room is 400 Mexican Pesos, which is just under £20.00, but I expect that price could be beaten on the web. There is also a hostel with the same name on the same street, I don’t know if they are connected, but if you are booking it is probably worth checking what you are booking into. According to their website private parking is also available.

Although I was disappointed with my room, I would still recommend this hotel, as it is clean, well located and represents good value for money. But it is worth checking which room you get if you have the opportunity.

Calle 55 No. 508
(entre 60 y 62)
Colonia Centro,
Merida, Yucatan
C.P. 97000
Tel. (999) 928-2672 / (999) 928-2662
Fax. (999) 924-6233 / (999) 924-6375

http://www.hotelsantalucia.com.mx/

info @hotelsantalucia.com.mx
reservations@hotelsantaluc ia.com.mx

Summary: Great located hotel in Merida, Yucatan.