Date: July 24, 2007
Reviewer: Chicago, Illinois

I just got back to the U.S. from my destination wedding in Guanajuato, Guanajuato, Mexico. My now husband and I wanted a breathtaking (and affordable) place for our guests to stay in and for our wedding ceremony to take place at and I must say Quinta Las Alondras was a great choice. I contacted the general manager of the hotel and he made everything so possible. He had his personnel set up everything beautifully, all of exquisite and excellent choice in one of their balconies. I did not have to worry about a thing because everyone employed by Quinta offered exceptional service and were always delightful and attentive to every single one of us. My guests were all pleased with the superb service offered by the hotel.

I was very impressed with every single corner of the hotel. Overall, it is an EXTREMELY clean hotel with an awesome gigantic swimming pool and great taste in decor. The rooms are very spacious and they do not feel cluttered. I would describe their room to be simple but very elegant. We had their extensive choice continental breakfast every morning for the entire week we were there and the food was always fresh and delicious. My sister and other guests had a chance to book with the spa in the hotel and they said that it was an "awesome experience."

The hotel is located about 15 minutes away from the main plaza but paying an average of about $3.50 for a cab ride was not at all a big deal. It is all worth it if you are planning a fun, relaxing (and quiet), stress-free vacation experience.

I do not have enough words to describe the exceptional experience, great service and good hospitality that was offered to make our special day(s) so magnificent. I definitely recommend this hotel to everyone wanting to visit Guanajuato.

As a world business traveler, I usually check TripAdvisor first to help me choose a hotel. So for this family vacation to Mexico, I did the same. The previous review was pretty accurate except that I did not find the rooms so "plain" - it is just typical Mexican architecture. In general, the hotel is very beautiful and refreshingly different from others belonging to international chains.

Although both my husband and I speak Spanish, neither of my children do and had no trouble communicating with the staff they came into contact with. Most guests did seem to be speaking Spanish so I'm not sure how many Americans frequent the hotel.

The food in the restaurant is great (don't miss the breakfast buffet!) and the wait staff very attentive.

We arrived mid afternoon on a Sunday and left the next morning but never saw the outside bar/snack bar open. This would be convenient for those using the pool. As a matter of fact, even the indoor bar we never saw in operation but perhaps it was because it was a Sunday evening.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this hotel to anyone who doesn't want to stay in a typical chain hotel and wants to get the feel of Mexico.

My boyfriend and I live in Mexico (he is Mexican), and we have traveled extensively throughout the country. I am concerned that this review will sound like "the ugly American" talking, but I want to be clear... there are amazing and wonderful hotels in Mexico, and this is simply NOT one of them. Typically we stay in more rustic places, and occasionally we try to stay somewhere a bit more luxurious (we thought that was what we were getting here). We wanted this trip to be a romantic one, and the Quinta Las Alondras looked like a good choice from what we saw on the website. WRONG.

We stayed here for four nights around the Christmas holidays, and although we will surely return to Guanajuato, we will not stay at the Quinta Las Alondras again. The building is beautiful, indeed. However, the service was unacceptable. WIth the exception of one lovely young man who was the bellboy when we arrived and our waiter on Christmas Eve, every person who we spoke to was either rude or completely clueless (or both).

When we arrived, we were told that they did not have any record of our reservation... annoying, but not really a problem, since the hotel was virtually empty. They asked to see our expedia paperwork so that they could decide how much to charge us. We were supposed to stay three nights in a regular room, and then the last night in a junior suite with a jacuzzi, according to our reservation on expedia.

Our regular room had some issues... for example, when I tried to take a bath, the tub wouldn't hold water (it drained slowly the whole time) but whenever either of us took a shower, the drain clogged up and we ended up ankle-deep in water. Also, the "central heat" felt more like air conditioning... we were warmer without it. No matter how we tried to adjust it, the air that came out was cold. We asked the management to please check these problems FOUR times. Nothing changed, nothing was fixed. The manager told us that yes, the drain was broken (but it didn't get fixed) and told us that we just didn't know how to work the thermostat. (It was pretty self explanatory - heat, high, set the temperature where you want it... nothing but cold air comes out. I have a masters degree - I know how to set a simple thermostat. We didn't appreciate the insinuation that somehow it was our fault. He really was very rude about it.) We also ran out of toilet paper, and asked three times for a new roll. The next morning we received two new rolls of toilet paper, after our third call (we were almost out of kleenex too, at that point).

Finally, the manager offered to let us move into the junior suite for the last two nights instead of only one night. He showed us to the room, which according to Expedia was a "Junior Suite with Jacuzzi." The room didn't even have a bathtub. Instead, the shower had a massage showerhead. I didn't want to be a pain, but seriously... I don't have a bathtub at my house, and one of my favorite things to do on vacation is take baths instead of showers. I showed him the paperwork I had, and that it clearly said "with jacuzzi." He took us to the presidential suite (the only room in the hotel with a jacuzzi) that goes for over $300 a night. It had no windows, and the whole room was just strange except for this great tub. The room was located behind the front desk, and the bathroom had a locked door that apparently went out to the front of the hotel - you could hear the street traffic through the bathroom door. Sorry, not interested.

We moved to a different regular room for the rest of our stay. The tub was fine, the "central heat" was still pretty cold in my opinion.

On Christmas Eve, we had dinner at the hotel. The service was lovely (I wish I had asked for that young man's name - he was SO nice!!!) but the food was horrible, cold, and overpriced. It seemed like the "chef" had left plates of food that could be microwaved when people arrived, or something... it was not tasty at all. The "invitation" that had been delivered to the room that morning said that there would be live music starting at 10:00 PM. They played a DVD of a Robbie Williams concert. I suppose that was live music for the people who attended the concert, but it isn't really live music according to the definition that I understand.

We were also looking forward to the possibility of a spa treatment (we were thinking massages) while we were there. It was one of the main reasons I wanted to stay here in the first place. The spa was closed indefinitely, but nothing about that was mentioned on the website.

One other thing to note about the hotel - just a personal thing I noticed. The pool is GORGEOUS, but one side of it is a glass wall, so basically everyone sitting in the lobby of the hotel can see underwater... so if you're planning to swim, just know that the whole world can see your butt underwater. Interesting and a bit weird.

Guanajuato is an INCREDIBLY beautiful and romantic city, filled with history, color and life - we highly recommend visiting the city! Be sure to walk up to El Pipila, and visit the Mercado Hidalgo. Sit and watch the street performers for a while. Eat dinner at Frascati - the food is terrific. Go on a callejoneada - we recommend the "Tuna de Oro." They are so talented. Visit the mines, and El Callejon del Beso. Bring comfortable shoes and be prepared to walk and walk and walk... but it is wonderful!!! WE LOVE GUANAJUATO!!! But don't stay at Quinta Las Alondras!!!