We'll be in Mexico City in early Feb for 4 nights, a few questions. We're in our early 70s and like quiet rooms and nearby restaurants. We can Uber to places to far to walk (for us!).
1) We've been told that Roma Norte is the best neighborhood to stay in - yes? Any other neighborhoods recommended?
2) Since it's going to be cold at night - won't we need heat? Most of the hotels and Airbnbs we've looked at say they have air conditioning, but only a few mention heat. Shouldn't I be looking for heat?
3) The prices seem to vary tremendously - from under $100 to over $500. We'd like a nice place, with some room inside, breakfast would be nice, and it has to be QUIET. I was figuring around $200 something a night, is that reasonable?
4) What are the best sites for looking? I always end up booking directly with the hotel, but what is there besides Expedia, Travelocity and Booking.com?

Thanks so much for your help. I know we're doing this a little late, but we'll be visiting friends in Florida in late January and we always like to go somewhere else afterwards, and Mexico City didn't occur to us until recently.

Alice

My experience regarding “QUIET.”

On my first month-long visit, to Oaxaca, I found a place on Airbnb that specifically mentioned “quiet.” Well, after a week enduring what was, for me, unbearable noise, especially at night, I had to leave. My host asked me why I was leaving and her response was “Mexico is noisy!”

So my point is all things are relative. And I guess her point was, for Mexico, that was quiet. After more stays now I still don’t agree with her reasoning but I have become better at choosing accommodations with the help of google street view. For any place you’re considering “walk” the neighborhood on the website. A residential area is better than a more commercial one. Buses can be loud so smaller streets without them are better. Near stop signs traffic is louder as they leave the stop than the middle of the block. Dogs can be noisy but there’s really no way to know how many are around you. So bring ear plugs in case all your best efforts are in vain.

Others here will very likely have some quiet suggestions in places they’ve stayed but, still, I repeat all is relative & some of us are more sensitive to it than others. Even reviews can be misleading for that reason. Enjoy your search & best of luck on the quiet front.

I don't think it is really that cold overnight. I was there in January a few years ago and blankets were enough.

You can look in Roma Norte, Polanco, La Condesa.

I liked Roma Norte. I don't know if any of the smaller inns that Fodorites seem to prefer would be a good choice for a very noise-sensitive person. True that there is a wide range of prices.

In a big city such as Mexico City, in high floor in a modern tower might be a safer choice than a low rise lodging. but often that means fire doors slamming in the middle of the night. I would check some of the big chain high rises to see if they have "higher floor" rates.

And then being careful you aren't near a nightclub!

I've used both hotels.com and booking.com. I prefer hotels/Expedia since they are US based and the full price should be disclosed including all taxes and fees. booking.com /Priceline is out of Europe I believe.

I've learned to sleep with my phone earplugs in to help with general street noise/barking dogs.

Uber is a blessing and you won't have any trouble finding somewhere to eat.

Just wanted to add that some Mexican hotels offer interior rooms that give onto an atrium or courtyard. You might enquire. As MmePerdu's landlady said, Mexico is noisy." One friend of mine remarked, "They seem to need noise."

I imagine a courtyard could help with outside noise, though not always, & it can magnify interior guest noise. One of the problems with the first place I mentioned was fireworks into the night. Being on an interior hallway off a courtyard didn't help much. The 2nd place was on a one-way downhill so the buses weren't accelerating uphill & that helped. I stayed in 2 places in San Cristobal, the first mostly residential away from the very center & it was quiet. I moved after 2 weeks to try something more central, on a commercial street, no buses but music blaring from speakers in front of stores every evening. I moved to a rear room on a courtyard & discovered there was a nightclub on the other side of the wall. The best of all was an airbnb in Oaxaca, residential, on a cul-de-sac. A nearby school began marching band practice at 8:00 every morning but that was fun to hear once I got used to it, my personal alarm, not too early or late.

The list of noisy possibilities is interminable but some are predictable. But for just 4 nights, bring those earplugs!

Thanks so much. We are considering a hotel that SAYS it has soundproofed rooms, has good reviews that mention QUIET. There's also an interior courtyard, and you can get a room facing that. I like to book directly with the hotel, not through any of the 3rd party sites. Oh, and free cancellations until the day before. AND breakfast. So I like to sit on it for a day (more than 1 room).

Thanks for mentioning Uber, my son did the same and said it's cheap and everyone uses it. And yes, I'm a big fan of earplugs and I have a white noise app on my phone.

Also thanks for addressing my worry about heating.

Any particular recommendations on what to do would be appreciated as well. Or particular restaurants. I know I need to book Frida Kahlo house right away, next after hotel.

Again, thanks SO much.

Alice.

I've stayed in more than one hotel in Mexico that had a mini-split a/c unit that also had heat. Our home had one, as did a condo we rented in Queretaro for a time. Because heat is not usually needed, (even in cdmx in February) hotels may not list heat as an amenity. You may have to contact the hotel directly and ask.

Good idea, baldOne. This is why I book directly with the hotel. I'll ask about heat. Several places mentioned having temperature control IN the room.

Alice

For what to do I'd encourage you to read some of the recent trip reports, including this one by reddy2go2 which highlights Mexico City in the first leg. 2.5 fabuloso weeks in Mexico City, Puebla and Oaxaca!

There is far more than you can see with only 4 nights. If you are going to the Blue House, recommend the Coyoacan central market or one of the cafes at the square for lunch. The Anthropology Museum is massive, not open Mondays, don't wear yourself out by trying to see it all in a day. One tip: Sundays are very busy at museums due to free admission for Nationals and Monday closures. I found this out the hard way...

If you can make it to the Zocalo (main plaza) I recommend the Palacio de Bellas Artes for the murals and exhibits. If your schedule permits, the Ballet Folklorico there (maybe Sundays and Wednesdays?. You can check at the ticket booth in the lobby. I bought them same day for that evening. I may have paid cash but believe there is also a credit card option. Note that it is a good idea to have some cash on hand for admissions. Sometimes you can get the "adulto mayor" discount.

PS I have also found that central courtyard hotel rooms do not guarantee a quiet stay (especially memorable the cleaning staff banging mops etc at early hours in Quito!)

I dragged up my old very brief report from Mexico City at the end of a month in Mexico and it turns out that by the time I got to CDMX it was early Februay 2020 (pre pandemic).

I wonder if the Turibus (hop on hop off) would work for you? I think I did the "South Route". The following day was my reservation at the Blue House and I used Uber so I wouldn't miss my time.

https://www.turibus.com.mx/en/

We were in Mexico City a few weeks ago and stayed in Roma Norte at NaNa Vida and loved it. A quirky, art driven place. Not for everyone but fine for us. Very quiet and a lovely neighbourhood with lots of restaurants, bars and mescalerias nearby. Used Uber and walking exclusively for getting around.

One place worth considering is https://www.theredtreehouse.com very popular. I tried to book 3 months out but no luck (but you never know).

You were lucky to get into Na Na Vida, they also sell out. IIRC this was last minute due to your flight mishap. I used to walk through the neighborhood where NNV is on the way to one of the Metro stops, it is very nice indeed.

I see several other small hotels nearby in the neighborhood on hotels.com, but do be aware that many will be walk-ups and with an elevation of over 7,000 feet it can be nice to have an elevator building.

Perhaps the OP can use that website for research even if they won't use them for making a reservation.

I noticed there was a Four Points by Sheraton right across from the Stanza "Colonia Roma". And it has an elevator and says "soundprooofed". A number of reviews mention quiet. Maybe that would work?

For what to do I would suggest getting yourself down to the Centro Historico. The huge plaza of the Zocalo, vibrant itself, is surrounded by places of interest. The ruins of the Templo Mayor and its museum are a mind-bending introduction to Aztec culture (which will be reinforced at the Anthropology Museum). The National Palace contains Diego Rivera's great mural of the history of Mexico. (Last I heard, visits must be reserved ahead of time). And of course the cathedral, settling into the lake bed. (I once heard another visitor say, "That's what happens when you let a bird and a snake do your urban planning. (Aztec myth -- check out the flag.))

"PS I have also found that central courtyard hotel rooms do not guarantee a quiet stay (especially memorable the cleaning staff banging mops etc at early hours in Quito!)"
Indeed, we once stayed at a small boutique hotel in Queretaro Queretaro in January years ago. The night clerk kept himself busy by chopping up a dead Christmas tree in the interior courtyard with a machete.

There are no guarantees.

We booked at Hotel Luca, in Roma Norte, looks very nice and gets good reviews on ALL the various booking sites. There were two similar rooms, one more expensive. I called to inquire (hablas inglese?) The less expensive one looks out out on the interior courtyard and the more expensive room looked out on the park. The man I spoke with said the park view was a nicer view, hence more expensive. He said the interior room would be quieter as there was street noise as for the exterior room. So we booked the interior one. BIG end of year sale, cancellable until 2 days before we arrive. My son stayed a few blocks away last year and liked the neighborhood very much.

Thanks for all the suggestions for things to do! I wanted to stay longer, but this was all I could talk my husband into.

NOW to book the things that need booking ahead!

Thanks so much for all the help.
Alice

If you visit Frida Kahlo's house, your ticket is also good for the Anahuacalli Museum, designed by Diego Rivera to house his extensive collection of pre-Hispanic artifacts. There are also some unfinished murals, not to mention the unique structure. Well worth a visit if you have the time. It's about 2.5 miles from Frida's house, ~10 minutes by Uber. No need to book the Anahuacalli Museum ahead -- there are far fewer visitors than Casa Azul.

We were just in CDMX for the second time in November and stayed at The Red Tree House. But as mentioned, it is very popular. I booked in January for a November stay.

Enjoy!

ms_go, I noticed that the ticket is good for the Anahuacalli Museum, thanks.

Booking that far in advance would have been a problem - we didn't decide to go to Mexico City in early Feb until a few weeks ago! Usually we plan much further ahead, but we'll be staying with friends in Florida in late Jan and we usually add on a few days somewhere. But the somewhere has generally been elsewhere in Florida. The idea of going OUTSIDE of Florida was a late brainstorm. Maybe we'll do this every year!

Alice

We'll arrive in Mexico City next Sunday. I've been planning out our days and am dismayed to find that so much is closed on Mondays - even restaurants. We can definitely do a walking tour and the pyramids (which take too much time to go see, in my opinion). But what else can we do on Monday?

Thanks SO much,
Alice

Googe says Soumayo

It is what it is but you feel that way then don’t go. We visited by public transport and managed to get there and back in half a day and thought it worth the effort. I would go early as it does get very hot. A few photos and details from our blog @ https://accidentalnomads.com/2018/11...le-of-the-sun/

Mondays can be a pain in Mexico City! I have lost count of the number of times we have tried to visit the Palacio Nacional only to find it closed (on any day of the week!) . Teoihuacan is one of the few places open on Monday so I would visit there first and take the walking tour in the afternoon or maybe just explore the Zocalo area and perhaps a couple of markets ( which, unlike many parts of the world, don’t seem to get going until mid morning.