A Perfect (Donkey) Sanctuary (La Mansio del Burro Azul (Queretaro, Mexico))

Member Name: zoe_page_1

Product:	La Mansio del Burro Azul (Queretaro, Mexico)
Date:	12/02/09 (210 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Wonderful, sweet hotel, and cheap as chips

Disadvantages: No restaurant or bar on site

I was looking on Expedia for somewhere to stay in Querétaro
and came across La Mansion del Burro Azul, or the Blue Donkey Mansion. Liking the name, I googled it, found the website

www.de-paseo.com/Burroazul/MansionBurroAzul.htm

and fell in love - have you ever seen such an adorable place? I booked based on the website and on the name: quite frankly I liked the idea of staying in a donkey mansion


I arrived in Queretaro late morning and spent a few hours wandering around before going to find the hotel - I had the address, the fact it was 3 blocks from the main square and my newly acquired tourist office map, and found it easily. The hotel is located on an otherwise mainly residential street, and looking up or down it from one end it would be easy to miss. However, as you get closer, the blue donkey mounted above the entrance just leaps out at you. I arrived at about 3pm, assuming this was reasonable as no check in time is listed on the website. I was met by a young girl who called for her mother - this is a real family run place - the latter appearing promptly. My room was not quite ready but she invited me to help myself to the complimentary coffee and sweets at reception, and left it up to me whether I wanted to hang out there, or just leave my bags and come back later.

I really can't overemphasise how adorable this place is - the courtyard, for example, was brimming with character. It has a fountain, some comfy outdoor sofas (the kind normally reserved for posh country houses), a sun lounger, umbrellas. It was small but not cramped, and I was the only person around so I curled up with my magazine to wait. About 15 minutes later (sooner than the 30 mins stated) I completed my check in and got my keys. The check in included a list of rules that needed to be signed - a bit like in a hostel. These included things like the cost of keys if you lost them, and the need to be quiet after 10pm.

Looking at the website it would seem no two rooms are identical, and all have different decor, which adds to the individuality of the place. Mine seemed to be designed with the hotel name in mind, as it had a clear blue colour scheme, and even the walls were painted a swirly blue and white pattern. All the rooms face onto the courtyard, and mine was at the top end. All the 11 rooms are on the ground floor and therefore reasonably suitable for those with mobility problems, though a step up into my bathroom might have caused a few issues. I'm not sure if this was the same in every room. My room was small but sweet, and included everything I was expecting - a large bed with blue bedspread, cable (though the smallest TV I've ever seen in a hotel), a free-standing , carved wood wardrobe, bedside table and en suite. The first thing I did was take off my shoes, which was a mistake as someone had just been mopping the (blue) carpet, and it was rather damp. They clean in strange ways here in Mexico...

I headed to the bathroom. There is no denying this - it had clearly been made by sectioning off a corner of the room, and for some reason its corrugated tin roof didn't meet the ceiling of the room, which was a bit odd. The bathroom was actually a shower room, with a massive shower area but no shower curtain, though it was big enough that the toilet and your towels actually didn't get wet while you showered. The only window in my room was in the bathroom, but my door was glass (and covered by a long curtain - blue of course) so I got some natural light in the room. The washbasin was in the bedroom, not the sectioned off bathroom, and came complete with a massive mirror and beautiful ornate wood frame. The sink itself was patterned porcelain - not something I would want in my own home, but perfect for the room. After a couple of cold-water weeks in Costa Rican hotels, my expectations for cheap lodgings have been lowered, however here the problem was the opposite - the water was extremely hot, and it took a few minutes to juggle the two taps to get to a temperature that wasn't scalding, while keeping the lovely powerful pressure.

That night I slept wonderfully. The room was quiet and the right temperature, though a fan was also provided (here, you're always more likely to be too hot than too cold, even in January). The bed was comfy and even though I felt like I was sleeping next to my French doors at home, I felt perfectly safe in the room. I booked a double room for single use, but they also have king size rooms, and two types of suites including small kitchenettes.

A list of add-on services are available at the hotel, as the basic rate is room only. You can pay a little extra for breakfast, for babysitting, for a laundry service. I didn't take advantage of any of these things but I did pop into the large, sunny kitchen available for guests to use. This was very well equipped and beautifully clean. They provided unlimited free drinking water, so you don't have to drink from the tap (though you can, and it won't kill you to do so, sometimes angling your bottle into the sink to fill it up is difficult). Next to the kitchen is a sort of dining room / study. It had a large wooden table and chairs, a bookshelf overflowing with books, and a single computer with internet, again for guests to use (wifi is also available throughout the property). I was impressed by this, but not by the book selection. The English ones had clearly been left by pseudo-intellectuals, and the one thing I cannot stand is people who read posh books to imply they're clever, when if they were clever they would be reading something a lot better. There was no chick-lit, but also no classics, nor business books, nor anything else worth picking up, just all sort of weary books of the type where you always assume the author must have a close relative in publishing and/or slept with someone in order to have got their rubbish released. The magazine selection at the entrance was better - I got the latest Cosmo, and they also had Business Week style things - but these were in Spanish only.

I only had contact with two members of staff, the owner(?) on reception, and one of the maids, but both were friendly and helpful. I asked for, and received, clear directions, right down to which bus to catch, and where to catch it from, but had no other real need to ask for assistance during my stay as everything went to plan - I had enough towels, the room was clean, the TV worked etc etc. Their claim is "A 3 star hotel with 5 star service" and from my limited experience, I would agree with this. I felt at home immediately, and never a bother or a burden. This seemed to be the kind of place where they actually liked having guests...

The hotel's location is excellent. It is less than 10 minutes walk from most of Querétaro's attractions including the central plazas, the aquaduct, the convent and the art museum. It is near the main park, all the main bus routes (including to / from the bus station) and number of shops (pharmacies and convenience stores). There is a wide variety of nice restaurants in the city, and almost all of these are within a few steps of the hotel. Most importantly, there's an ice cream parlour just along the street, that seemed to be open around the clock. Despite this, being located on a cobbled, pedestrianised, residential street the hotel is wonderfully quiet throughout the day and night, and you can easily forget you're in one of Mexico's most visited cities. It really is a sanctuary in the city.

I've left the best bit until last: the price. I paid an astonishingly low £19.85 for the en-suite room, getting 10% Quidco cashback, booking a week in advance on Expedia. For a hotel in a major city, that is an unbelievable bargain, all the more so when you consider the location, add in the included extras and consider that TWO people could have stayed for that price.

This is definitely my favourite Mexican hotel so far, because it combined a lot of useful but unusual elements for a hotel. Really, it was like a lovely, grown-up hostel, but with all rooms private and en-suite and no curfew or noisy guests. I've regularly paid more for less in the past, so this place stood out a mile. For under £20 per night you couldn't really complain about anything anyway, but with the added bonuses (internet, water, coffee, magazines and albeit boring books) and an authentic Mexican feel, you have no choice but to sing its praises. It honestly felt like a home away from home, which is rare in my experience. Highly recommended.

At the moment you can book through a website like Expedia in pounds or direct with the hotel and pay pesos on arrival -the better price depends on exchange rates.


La Mansion del Burro Azul
Ignacio Altamirano Sur #35
Centro Histórico,
Querétaro

Summary: An adorable boutique hotel - go and stay with the Blue Donkey, pronto!