Hotel Aitana is located on a busy one-way street leading to the Pan American Highway. Stepping outside, one experiences bus, truck, and car fumes. Location is far away from the zocolo and the streets are not well lighted after dark. Smoking is allowed in the dining area, a minus. Rooms resemble prison cells as the windows vent on to a central covered courtyard. Rooms tend to be noisy at night from guests coming in, talking on phone or playing tvs too loudly.

Nice hard comfortable beds. Great maid service and courteous friendly waitresses in dining area. The desk clerks never volunteered any extra information and acted as if they had never seen me before even though I stayed there over a week and speak reasonable spanish.

too far from the sights near zocolo. isolated, surrounded by graffiti.
not safe to walk to late at night. staff inhospitable (a true exception in oaxaca!). many better choices for $117/night. (can book online for $90, but they add the 17% impuesta when you show up)

We booked at the Aitana for a few nights, not having ever been to Oaxaca before, and leaving room to move to another hotel if we needed to.

We were happy to find that it was a wonderful place for us. It was an easy walk to the Santo Domingo square and the Alcala, where a lot of the attractions are and to the Zocalo.

It is best to have a room in the back because it is on a street that has a lot of buses, but we were never bothered.

The staff spoke English and were extremely helpful with information about the area and they were connected with a great tour company for trips to Monte Alban, Mitla, villages in the area, etc.

Breakfast was included, it was delicious and served in the interior patio that was a very relaxing place. They also had a kitchen open into the evening so you could have lunch or dinner, or a snack in your room, whenever you wanted. We liked to take our cervezas up to the roof terrace.

I really can't believe that I stayed 4 nights in the hotel without hotwater. And I spend $100 per night!They have small tank for the hot water but that's it. Every time I needed to take shower there was not hot water. When I complain they alwasys repeat same word ' wait 10 min!' and some one run to turn on the boiler. But very often there was still no hot water wheather you wait 10 min or 1 hour. Their staff are all male and very sleepy and unhelpful. The bed linens were clean but unironed so it did look like someone alreday using your bed when I went in the room on first day. I have one really bad experience while staying here that I want to tell everybody. I have book the tour from the agency I found in the town when I told this story to the guy at front desk and he become very angry. This was because I book the tour not through the hotel. On the day of the tour our driver did not turn up on time. We started to worry after 20 min and 30min later we gave them a call. And there we are told by travel agent that the driver came to pick up us but told by the member of staff that we have already cheked out.I am not sure wheather they did it on purpose or it was just a pure mistake. But I can certainly tell staff at this hotel are very dodgy and not nice. This hotel is expensive side in Oaxaca and there are so many hotels in the town, and you really don't need to saty here.