Mexico City Hotel Catedral review
Nov 13th, 2007, 10:21 AM
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Mexico City Hotel Catedral review
I recently stayed for 5 nights at the Hotel Catedral and wanted to post a fairly comprehensive review b/c I really appreciate all the help I've gotten from these forums in the past!
The rooms are by no means luxurious, but for about $50 a night, there wasn’t much to complain about. I will say that the beds are extremely hard (my friend, in a different room, compared it to sleeping on a set of 2 boxsprings, but I wouldn’t say it was that bad) and the pillows very uncomfortable. I was never sore from the bed, but the pillows were another story.
The rooms were cleaned well every day, and the front desk was always helpful and friendly whenever approached. If you want to stay in the Centro, then you pretty much can’t beat the location of the Catedral. It was so easy to walk to many things, and to go further afield, the Turibus stops at the Zocalo, as does the metro. Piece of cake. Breakfasts each morning were good – if you opt for breakfast there, you go to the front desk and request your breakfast coupon, then take the coupon into the hotel’s restaurant, present it to the waiter, and order what you want from one section of the main menu. There's a choice of maybe 12 things. It was a decent enough variety and they had a nice mix of breakfasty items like eggs and pancakes mixed with more lunch-type fare of chicken tacos and the sort. Fresh-squeezed orange juice and coffee were also included. Another nice thing was that they didn’t stop serving the free breakfast/brunch until noon, so there was no rushing around in the mornings, trying to get downstairs by the typical 9am deadline.
The hotel also offers 2 computers with internet access for a nominal fee + currency exchange at the front desk at a surprisingly decent rate + a taxi service. There’s a travel agency right in the lobby as well, though I don’t recommend using them (more on that in a sec). All in all, a nice stay and a great price. BUT, there are some caveats…
The negatives: I found a roach in my bathroom on the first night, and was quite upset about that. By the time I found a shoe to kill it with, it was long gone and I had to worry about it running free in my room all night. In fairness, I didn’t see another roach for the rest of my visit, but then, I also slept with the lights partially on all night long to discourage any, so…
If you get a cathedral-facing room, don’t expect there to be any nice view at all. You may see the top of the Catedral poking up from behind the building directly beside you, but most of you view will probably be of the tenement building just next door with missing walls and re-bar everywhere. Definitely not nice to look at, but I didn't care at all.
If you go on a Friday or Saturday, expect the nearby disco/night club to keep you up unless you are an easy/deep sleeper or bring earplugs. I can’t wear earplugs, so I was up until at least 2:30am until I finally was exhausted enough to fall asleep. Don’t underestimate how loud it can be. I was really surprised given that the club wasn’t *that* close to the hotel. I could feel the vibrations of the base and in many songs, could even make out which song it was.
Finally, the travel agency. This one bothered me a lot, so it's going to be a long rant so that you'll know what to expect if you book a tour with them. We wanted to go to Teotihuacan and the travel agency set us up with one of their tours for $25 each. She said that the tour included transportation (in a van) to and from Teotihuacan along with the entrance fee into the sight, but that lunch would be “on our own”. We asked her how much time we would have at the site, and she said around 4 hours. The tour left at 11 and returned by 5, so that seemed to make sense given that it would be an hour’s drive. Everything sounded fine. Here’s what actually happened:
The guide picked us up and after waiting around awhile gathering more people (which was fine, and expected), we set off for the pyramids. When we got to Teotihuacan, they stopped off at a tourist souvenir trap. We listened to a brief lesson on how pulque is made, and then were shown around the different stations where men were making obsidian figurines. After the tour we were brought inside a *huge* store selling tons and tons of stone figures, chess boards, jewelry, blankets, tequila and pulque, etc. It was very high-pressure sales, and you could tell the items were greatly overpriced even without having some other experience to compare it to. Luckily our actual travel agency guides were not putting pressure on us to buy things, but the guides at the ranch who’d given us the tour of their facility were constantly hovering. I didn’t buy anything, but my friend gave in and got a couple of the smallest, least expensive items they offered.
After this 45 minute stop, we finally were on our way to the pyramids. (It had been frustrating seeing the pyramids rising in the distance but being stopped for 45 minutes at the tourist trap.) Our guide started to lead us around Teotihuacan, which we hadn’t expected. Apparently he would guide us for awhile and then we would have some free time to explore on our own. The problem was, we were running out of time. His guiding took too long and we knew if we didn’t break off, we wouldn’t have enough time to climb the pyramids (slowly, because of the altitude’s effect on us!). Why? Because we didn’t have 4 hours there; we had about 2 hours there. We had been told to meet the van back at 3:15 for lunch, which was a big surprise. We’d thought that lunch “on your own” not only meant that we’d pay for our own lunch, but would be free to actually find it on our own as well. Nope. When we only had around an hour and 15 minutes left, we broke off from the guide and started our free time a bit earlier than the rest of the people. We climbed the Pyramid of the Sun, enjoyed the view awhile, walked around a bit more and peeked at the souvenir shops by each gate, and then it was time to go. Oh, and those souvenir shops? They were selling many of the exact same things that we’d seen earlier, only for much lower prices! It made me wonder if they even made anything at that place, or if they just had machinery out and hired people to look busy when tourists came, meanwhile re-selling things that they themselves probably bought from elsewhere, like China.
Lunch was of course at a very mediocre, fairly overpriced place the guides shuffled us to. They didn’t eat, probably because of the cost/quality, all the while getting a kickback from the restaurant. In the middle of our meal, we were “entertained” by an “Aztec” dancer and drummer. Please. After lunch, we were taken back to our hotel and arrived there by 5:30. We did not tip our guides. We figured they’d probably gotten enough tips from the places they’d brought us.
My conclusion: avoid the Hotel Catedral’s tours at all costs, even if you have to pay more. The Turibus offers a tour to Teotihuacan for $45, substantially more expensive, yes, but at least we would have had enough time there and not had souvenirs and bad food pushed upon us. Even a private driver doesn’t cost that much. One of the Catedral’s drivers charged 100 pesos an hour with a 200 peso minimum. That’s about $10 per hour.
If you can deal with the negatives, then the Hotel Catedral is well-located and a good value. Personally, I would not stay here again.
The rooms are by no means luxurious, but for about $50 a night, there wasn’t much to complain about. I will say that the beds are extremely hard (my friend, in a different room, compared it to sleeping on a set of 2 boxsprings, but I wouldn’t say it was that bad) and the pillows very uncomfortable. I was never sore from the bed, but the pillows were another story.
The rooms were cleaned well every day, and the front desk was always helpful and friendly whenever approached. If you want to stay in the Centro, then you pretty much can’t beat the location of the Catedral. It was so easy to walk to many things, and to go further afield, the Turibus stops at the Zocalo, as does the metro. Piece of cake. Breakfasts each morning were good – if you opt for breakfast there, you go to the front desk and request your breakfast coupon, then take the coupon into the hotel’s restaurant, present it to the waiter, and order what you want from one section of the main menu. There's a choice of maybe 12 things. It was a decent enough variety and they had a nice mix of breakfasty items like eggs and pancakes mixed with more lunch-type fare of chicken tacos and the sort. Fresh-squeezed orange juice and coffee were also included. Another nice thing was that they didn’t stop serving the free breakfast/brunch until noon, so there was no rushing around in the mornings, trying to get downstairs by the typical 9am deadline.
The hotel also offers 2 computers with internet access for a nominal fee + currency exchange at the front desk at a surprisingly decent rate + a taxi service. There’s a travel agency right in the lobby as well, though I don’t recommend using them (more on that in a sec). All in all, a nice stay and a great price. BUT, there are some caveats…
The negatives: I found a roach in my bathroom on the first night, and was quite upset about that. By the time I found a shoe to kill it with, it was long gone and I had to worry about it running free in my room all night. In fairness, I didn’t see another roach for the rest of my visit, but then, I also slept with the lights partially on all night long to discourage any, so…
If you get a cathedral-facing room, don’t expect there to be any nice view at all. You may see the top of the Catedral poking up from behind the building directly beside you, but most of you view will probably be of the tenement building just next door with missing walls and re-bar everywhere. Definitely not nice to look at, but I didn't care at all.
If you go on a Friday or Saturday, expect the nearby disco/night club to keep you up unless you are an easy/deep sleeper or bring earplugs. I can’t wear earplugs, so I was up until at least 2:30am until I finally was exhausted enough to fall asleep. Don’t underestimate how loud it can be. I was really surprised given that the club wasn’t *that* close to the hotel. I could feel the vibrations of the base and in many songs, could even make out which song it was.
Finally, the travel agency. This one bothered me a lot, so it's going to be a long rant so that you'll know what to expect if you book a tour with them. We wanted to go to Teotihuacan and the travel agency set us up with one of their tours for $25 each. She said that the tour included transportation (in a van) to and from Teotihuacan along with the entrance fee into the sight, but that lunch would be “on our own”. We asked her how much time we would have at the site, and she said around 4 hours. The tour left at 11 and returned by 5, so that seemed to make sense given that it would be an hour’s drive. Everything sounded fine. Here’s what actually happened:
The guide picked us up and after waiting around awhile gathering more people (which was fine, and expected), we set off for the pyramids. When we got to Teotihuacan, they stopped off at a tourist souvenir trap. We listened to a brief lesson on how pulque is made, and then were shown around the different stations where men were making obsidian figurines. After the tour we were brought inside a *huge* store selling tons and tons of stone figures, chess boards, jewelry, blankets, tequila and pulque, etc. It was very high-pressure sales, and you could tell the items were greatly overpriced even without having some other experience to compare it to. Luckily our actual travel agency guides were not putting pressure on us to buy things, but the guides at the ranch who’d given us the tour of their facility were constantly hovering. I didn’t buy anything, but my friend gave in and got a couple of the smallest, least expensive items they offered.
After this 45 minute stop, we finally were on our way to the pyramids. (It had been frustrating seeing the pyramids rising in the distance but being stopped for 45 minutes at the tourist trap.) Our guide started to lead us around Teotihuacan, which we hadn’t expected. Apparently he would guide us for awhile and then we would have some free time to explore on our own. The problem was, we were running out of time. His guiding took too long and we knew if we didn’t break off, we wouldn’t have enough time to climb the pyramids (slowly, because of the altitude’s effect on us!). Why? Because we didn’t have 4 hours there; we had about 2 hours there. We had been told to meet the van back at 3:15 for lunch, which was a big surprise. We’d thought that lunch “on your own” not only meant that we’d pay for our own lunch, but would be free to actually find it on our own as well. Nope. When we only had around an hour and 15 minutes left, we broke off from the guide and started our free time a bit earlier than the rest of the people. We climbed the Pyramid of the Sun, enjoyed the view awhile, walked around a bit more and peeked at the souvenir shops by each gate, and then it was time to go. Oh, and those souvenir shops? They were selling many of the exact same things that we’d seen earlier, only for much lower prices! It made me wonder if they even made anything at that place, or if they just had machinery out and hired people to look busy when tourists came, meanwhile re-selling things that they themselves probably bought from elsewhere, like China.
Lunch was of course at a very mediocre, fairly overpriced place the guides shuffled us to. They didn’t eat, probably because of the cost/quality, all the while getting a kickback from the restaurant. In the middle of our meal, we were “entertained” by an “Aztec” dancer and drummer. Please. After lunch, we were taken back to our hotel and arrived there by 5:30. We did not tip our guides. We figured they’d probably gotten enough tips from the places they’d brought us.
My conclusion: avoid the Hotel Catedral’s tours at all costs, even if you have to pay more. The Turibus offers a tour to Teotihuacan for $45, substantially more expensive, yes, but at least we would have had enough time there and not had souvenirs and bad food pushed upon us. Even a private driver doesn’t cost that much. One of the Catedral’s drivers charged 100 pesos an hour with a 200 peso minimum. That’s about $10 per hour.
If you can deal with the negatives, then the Hotel Catedral is well-located and a good value. Personally, I would not stay here again.
Nov 13th, 2007, 02:42 PM
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Your tour experience sounds fairly typical. This kind of thing can also happen with a driver, unless you are firm. It's one of the reasons I don't like tours, especially in Mexico, where you can usually find someone to drive you for not a bad price, and get a guide at the site. Or, if you've hired a more expensive driver, he will usually provide on-site guiding and protect you from the worst of the sales people, demonstrations, etc.
Nov 13th, 2007, 02:47 PM
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Sorry to hear you didn't really enjoy the Catedral. We stayed there a few years ago and really enjoyed it. I agree it is by no means 5** but all things considered we thought it was good. Our guide book warned us to take a room on the opposite side of the hotel from the Cathedral and we didn't have any night club noise but that may be something that has happened since we we there.The girl in the travel agency always looked so bored and disinterested that we booked elsewhere....a good move it seems.Thanks for your update, places can change very quickly and that is what this forum is all about.
Nov 14th, 2007, 05:44 AM
#6
Thanks for sharing your experiences. Your trip to Teotihuacan is fairly typical. Last time we went we used a private driver, explicitly told him we were not interested in the tourist shops, and he still tried to get us to one . . .
How did you like the restaurants in Mexico City?
How did you like the restaurants in Mexico City?
Nov 14th, 2007, 07:56 AM
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I'm not sure how to take Suzi's comment. The Catedral is by no means a barebones budget hotel in Mexico City. And it's definitely way nicer than what you get in PV for that price 
- at least in my opinion.
- at least in my opinion.
Nov 14th, 2007, 11:47 AM
#11
Truly, that's all I meant. If it's an infestation or roaches, that's another thing. But one lonely cochroach in a bathroom... I just felt tara was slamming the hotel mostly because she was unhappy with how the tours turned out, which didn't really seem fair to put out there.
Nov 14th, 2007, 12:59 PM
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I'm booked into the Hotel Catedral tomorrow for the weekend so I'll report back! Have to say that I avoid organised tours under most circumstances so won't be trying their travel agent. Last time I went to Teotihuacan on a tour from a different hotel, it was exactly as the OP said. Never again.
Nov 14th, 2007, 02:20 PM
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Though it might have sounded that way, I don't blame the hotel itself for the travel agency tour - it's just that the agency is located right in the hotel lobby, by the front desk, and it's so convenient for guests to use that I want to warn future guests about the sorts of tours they book. I had read that tours could be like that; I guess I just didn't expect to be openly misled (i.e. 4 hours at the site instead of 2).
As for the roach, I'm sorry, but ew. Yes, I know they are common in warm climates (I'm originally from South Carolina; if you want to get grossed out, google 'Palmetto Bug') and I know we didn't stay at one of the more expensive places in DF. That said, it wasn't a bare-bones hotel and it *did* gross me out. It was a "single" sighting, as pointed out, but I slept with some lights on for the rest of the time, so..? Overall I think I was pretty fair in my assessment of the hotel. The positives (location, friendly front desk, price, good breakfasts, internet access, taxi and currency exchange services, etc.) more than likely will outweigh the smaller negatives (a single roach-spotting, hard beds, the possibility of lots of noise only 2x/week) for most people. It's just that I, personally, can afford to stay at a somewhat more expensive hotel and if I had it to do over again, I would have. That's all.
As for the roach, I'm sorry, but ew. Yes, I know they are common in warm climates (I'm originally from South Carolina; if you want to get grossed out, google 'Palmetto Bug') and I know we didn't stay at one of the more expensive places in DF. That said, it wasn't a bare-bones hotel and it *did* gross me out. It was a "single" sighting, as pointed out, but I slept with some lights on for the rest of the time, so..? Overall I think I was pretty fair in my assessment of the hotel. The positives (location, friendly front desk, price, good breakfasts, internet access, taxi and currency exchange services, etc.) more than likely will outweigh the smaller negatives (a single roach-spotting, hard beds, the possibility of lots of noise only 2x/week) for most people. It's just that I, personally, can afford to stay at a somewhat more expensive hotel and if I had it to do over again, I would have. That's all.
Nov 18th, 2007, 11:21 AM
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Eight of us...count 'em eight, stayed last February at the Marco Polo for 4 nights and used 'Willy', who works out of the Hotel as our driver/tour guide for two separate days. All was great. He was wonderful, had great tour guide experience and I found both the hotel and Willy on Fodors.
The Hotel was in a wonderful location, had a decent breakfast and was very helpful. I would do it all again. Just thought I'd add my dos pesos in.
The Hotel was in a wonderful location, had a decent breakfast and was very helpful. I would do it all again. Just thought I'd add my dos pesos in.
Nov 19th, 2007, 03:31 PM
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OK here goes.
Not a roach in sight, very clean, nice big room. Lots of hot water in the shower, nice white fluffy towels. I had asked for a quiet room and we were in 702 on the top floor at the back opposite side from the cathedral and the noisy disco, though we heard that as we came in at night. My husband said there was a security alarm going off all night but I had ear plugs and didn't hear a thing. Had the best couple of nights' sleep for a long time. Beds and pillows were fine. I asked for extra blankets (yes, I know, I'm a cold mortal) and they arrived within 5 minutes.
Outside 702 was a quiet terrace with good view of the north side of town. There was a terrace on the south side too with a view over the cathedral, but not the most scenic.
Breakfast was good, lots of choice and nice staff. We had the fresh fruit plate one day and the eggs and bacon with refried beans the next! Lots of delicious bread and jam.
Staff were very helpful and efficient. Only minor niggle was that when we came in after a day on the town, our key card didn't open the door. We had to go down to reception for it to be reprogrammed. This happened twice, and we saw someone else in the same predicament. Quite a trek from the 7th floor.
Didn't go near the travel agent, though we saw plenty of people who did. We bounced about on the metro (cheap and wonderful, built by the French, I almost thought I was in Paris). Saw museums and art galleries, had a fantastic day in Coyoacan with Frida, Diego and Trotsky.
The first day we were there, there was a naked protest in the Zocalo involving lots of indigenous people without clothes on, dancing and drumming. Very exciting, all to publicise the plight of the campesinos.
As we checked out of the Hotel Catedral, the bill was 1400 pesos for 2 nights. A bargain we thought. If we had paid in $$ it would have been $148. 10% discount for pesos.
Any questions?
Not a roach in sight, very clean, nice big room. Lots of hot water in the shower, nice white fluffy towels. I had asked for a quiet room and we were in 702 on the top floor at the back opposite side from the cathedral and the noisy disco, though we heard that as we came in at night. My husband said there was a security alarm going off all night but I had ear plugs and didn't hear a thing. Had the best couple of nights' sleep for a long time. Beds and pillows were fine. I asked for extra blankets (yes, I know, I'm a cold mortal) and they arrived within 5 minutes.
Outside 702 was a quiet terrace with good view of the north side of town. There was a terrace on the south side too with a view over the cathedral, but not the most scenic.
Breakfast was good, lots of choice and nice staff. We had the fresh fruit plate one day and the eggs and bacon with refried beans the next! Lots of delicious bread and jam.
Staff were very helpful and efficient. Only minor niggle was that when we came in after a day on the town, our key card didn't open the door. We had to go down to reception for it to be reprogrammed. This happened twice, and we saw someone else in the same predicament. Quite a trek from the 7th floor.
Didn't go near the travel agent, though we saw plenty of people who did. We bounced about on the metro (cheap and wonderful, built by the French, I almost thought I was in Paris). Saw museums and art galleries, had a fantastic day in Coyoacan with Frida, Diego and Trotsky.
The first day we were there, there was a naked protest in the Zocalo involving lots of indigenous people without clothes on, dancing and drumming. Very exciting, all to publicise the plight of the campesinos.
As we checked out of the Hotel Catedral, the bill was 1400 pesos for 2 nights. A bargain we thought. If we had paid in $$ it would have been $148. 10% discount for pesos.
Any questions?
Nov 19th, 2007, 08:22 PM
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gertie, I was there, staying at the Hotel Catedral at the same time w/my 16 yr old son. On your first day in Mexico City, which must have been Monday Nov 5th, we drove by the Palacio de Belles Artes at about 5 pm in a bus and saw the naked protest also!
We got to the DF on Fri. 11/2/07, day of the dead. The zocalo was just amazing Fri. - Sun., full of activity and crowds and altars for day of the dead from each region in Mexico. Incredibly colorful and vibrant. On Sat. a.m. Nov. 3rd around 10-11 am, there was a procession of about 15-20 people from each region of Mexico in their area's indigenous dress, heading into the cathedral. It was the most colorful and spectacular parade of indigenous dress that I have seen anywhere in the world.
We loved Hotel Catedral. Our 1st time there, and I have stayed at the Sheraton Centro Historico before. I much prefer the Hotel Catedral for location, and for the price it was great. I requested a quiet room and got 409, which had no view to speak of, and faced an inside area. But there was a window and that was great, as along w/the ceiling fan we had some good air circulation going, and we had natural light coming in the rm.
The room was VERY QUIET. It was incredibly clean, I could not believe how clean it was, esp. the sanitized bathroom- and I loved the purified water tap next to the sink. We used that to fill up our water bottles for 5 days and had no stomach problems. We saw no bugs at all.
I am picky about beds but I had no problems w/theirs, although the pillows were firm, but I was so tired after trucking around all day and evening that it didn't matter much.
I loved the service at the hotel. The restaurant service was great. Although they do not advertize it, you can get room service any time the restaurant is open. Two nights we were just too tired to go out and we did that, once for dinner and once for a 10:30 pm snack- both were great, arrived hot and served us well. Breakfast in the restaurant was good, and I had such great service from my waiter the 1st day that we made it a point to have him every day.
Internet in the lobby was convenient and cheap, although there is also free wireless internet in the rms, and how many hotels do that?
I also appreciated the bar behind the front desk. A few nights I just wanted a glass of wine while my son read or watched TV, and I'd take my book down to the bar. Again, great service there, and you can order food there also.
We did take the tour to Teotihuacan from the hotel on Mon., 11/5. It was just right for us, as I had fallen down the stairs in the airport when we arrived and thought I had twisted my ankle (it turned out when I got back that I found out I had broken two bones in the foot!). Although I walked on it all weekend and we did everything else independently, I did not want to have to take it the subway to the north bus station and then have to get the bus to the pyramids, etc.
It was very conventient to take a tour right from the htoel and we met some nice folks in our van. I didn't mind the stop at the rock/shop place as we got water and some snacks from the vendors outside, and we actually enjoyed having our guide take us to the temple of Quetzalcoatl before we explored the temples of the moon and sun on our own. When we got to the restaurant (same one you went to it sounds like) we asked to see the full menu and ordered something reasonably priced instead of the higher priced specials they pushed. The food was pretty good. And the drive back was relaxing. I guess we could have done a private tour but the one from the hotel worked well for us, and I usually hate tours and avoid them.
We went to a lucha libre match on Friday night, to Coyoacan on Sat., and to the Museum of Anthropology, the Ciudadela market, and a bullfight on Sunday. Those, combined w/the zolcalo day of the dead activities and just being in such a great location-- esp. for shopping as the national pawn shop is right on the zocalo, and the jewelry shopping is great in that area, I got some great vintage Oaxacan filigree earrings at a great price), and our very good stay at Hotel Catedral, made it a great long weekend.
I suggest forgetting the view and getting a quiet rm. at this hotel. You are so close to the zocalo and cathedral, you'll see it when you step out the door and go around the block. Instead, get some peace and quiet.
We got to the DF on Fri. 11/2/07, day of the dead. The zocalo was just amazing Fri. - Sun., full of activity and crowds and altars for day of the dead from each region in Mexico. Incredibly colorful and vibrant. On Sat. a.m. Nov. 3rd around 10-11 am, there was a procession of about 15-20 people from each region of Mexico in their area's indigenous dress, heading into the cathedral. It was the most colorful and spectacular parade of indigenous dress that I have seen anywhere in the world.
We loved Hotel Catedral. Our 1st time there, and I have stayed at the Sheraton Centro Historico before. I much prefer the Hotel Catedral for location, and for the price it was great. I requested a quiet room and got 409, which had no view to speak of, and faced an inside area. But there was a window and that was great, as along w/the ceiling fan we had some good air circulation going, and we had natural light coming in the rm.
The room was VERY QUIET. It was incredibly clean, I could not believe how clean it was, esp. the sanitized bathroom- and I loved the purified water tap next to the sink. We used that to fill up our water bottles for 5 days and had no stomach problems. We saw no bugs at all.
I am picky about beds but I had no problems w/theirs, although the pillows were firm, but I was so tired after trucking around all day and evening that it didn't matter much.
I loved the service at the hotel. The restaurant service was great. Although they do not advertize it, you can get room service any time the restaurant is open. Two nights we were just too tired to go out and we did that, once for dinner and once for a 10:30 pm snack- both were great, arrived hot and served us well. Breakfast in the restaurant was good, and I had such great service from my waiter the 1st day that we made it a point to have him every day.
Internet in the lobby was convenient and cheap, although there is also free wireless internet in the rms, and how many hotels do that?
I also appreciated the bar behind the front desk. A few nights I just wanted a glass of wine while my son read or watched TV, and I'd take my book down to the bar. Again, great service there, and you can order food there also.
We did take the tour to Teotihuacan from the hotel on Mon., 11/5. It was just right for us, as I had fallen down the stairs in the airport when we arrived and thought I had twisted my ankle (it turned out when I got back that I found out I had broken two bones in the foot!). Although I walked on it all weekend and we did everything else independently, I did not want to have to take it the subway to the north bus station and then have to get the bus to the pyramids, etc.
It was very conventient to take a tour right from the htoel and we met some nice folks in our van. I didn't mind the stop at the rock/shop place as we got water and some snacks from the vendors outside, and we actually enjoyed having our guide take us to the temple of Quetzalcoatl before we explored the temples of the moon and sun on our own. When we got to the restaurant (same one you went to it sounds like) we asked to see the full menu and ordered something reasonably priced instead of the higher priced specials they pushed. The food was pretty good. And the drive back was relaxing. I guess we could have done a private tour but the one from the hotel worked well for us, and I usually hate tours and avoid them.
We went to a lucha libre match on Friday night, to Coyoacan on Sat., and to the Museum of Anthropology, the Ciudadela market, and a bullfight on Sunday. Those, combined w/the zolcalo day of the dead activities and just being in such a great location-- esp. for shopping as the national pawn shop is right on the zocalo, and the jewelry shopping is great in that area, I got some great vintage Oaxacan filigree earrings at a great price), and our very good stay at Hotel Catedral, made it a great long weekend.
I suggest forgetting the view and getting a quiet rm. at this hotel. You are so close to the zocalo and cathedral, you'll see it when you step out the door and go around the block. Instead, get some peace and quiet.
