Belmond Casa de Sierra Nevada

This time we brought another couple and both had suites in the pool area. Service is absolutely first class. Super clean. We even had a small heated pool and private outdoor shower. Love their room service breakfast-especially huevos rancheros. Staff is extremely helpful, especially Zara. New GM, John, is planning significant upgrades. Location is just perfect-close to the Cathedral and dozens of shops and restaurants. We stayed a full week and had so much fun it was a true delight. The bathroom is huge-very large tub, walk in shower (+exterior shower), two copper sinks. Cleaning service is twice/day.

First, keep in mind that you are staying in a very historical part of town. Old things have their quirks. Curb appeal has no meaning in this area. They say to keep your wealth on the inside and not flash it on the outside. We opened the door to our casa from a rather humble looking exterior, enter the courtyard and were greeted by the aroma of jasmine and the sound of tricking fountains. Every room is different and our was quite nice. Plumbing and electrical quirks seem to be the norm. We had two sinks, but one would just dribble until you turned on the other one for a moment, then it worked fine. Water pressure would go up if we turned on the lights. The restaurant was nice the food was good, but the menu was rather limited and after 5 days breakfast was boring. Great location with old, cobbled streets that can be a bit ankle twisting. Church bells and fireworks go on all the time. Don't expect a lot of peace and quiet as there is always a celebration of something going on and they really, really want you to go to church.

Stayed @ the Belmond for almost a week during July 2017. Such a lovely hotel and the staff was wonderful! I normally shy away from the hotel breakfast but they had a nice menu with good variety and affordable/reasonably priced. The pool area is charming! Not very large but a great place to read a book and relax. As other reviews have said the hotel is in multiple buildings but it's not hard to figure out or get around. The hotel staff will walk you to the building you need (i.e. spa services) but there is also a sign on each building. The hotel bar is worth visiting too - small and quaint but a good place to get a glass of wine or cocktail. Loved the location (maybe a 3-4 city block walk) to the main square area. There is a wide variety of room choices so keep that in mind - would recommend calling the hotel versus booking through a travel website - you also get a discount for calling directly as stated on their website. I only mention this because we moved rooms a couple times due to space within the room not because of the room itself. We arranged our transportation to/from the airport/hotel through the hotel as well which was easy but maybe not the cheapest option. Enjoy your time in San Miguel!

Without a doubt, this hotel is beautiful. Nevertheless I was disappointed that the stay was really rather underwhelming -- I felt like a product tester rather than a guest. But first of all some practical points: - the hotel is on a flat-ish stretch of what is otherwise a surprisingly steep cobbled road (Hospicio) --- bring firm footwear! - the casas are all next to each other/across the road, except Casa del Parque (see attached map). Casa Principal and Casa Caballo are next to each other, and Casa Limon and Casa Palma are all in the block across the narrow road. Casa del Parque is a few minutes walk away. - in the casas I have seen, the rooms are arranged around interior courtyards. Each seems to have something unique and special about it, and everything is framed by beautiful plants. - All except Casa del Parque are just a block away from the Zocalo and the church, which chimes during the night -- light sleepers beware - the valet parking is about 10 minutes away, plan for this when your need your car back. The cost per night is approx MX$200 (~US$10), which can be added to the bill What I liked: - beautiful rooms, and it would be hard to be closer to the centre of town - the toiletries smell divine! - breakfast is delicious and the staff are most attentive What I didn't like: We had a series of "little things" that went wrong, and there was no coordinated response. Our niggles included: - our room had a roof terrace. It was not possible to lock the door to the terrace and it would have been possible to walk across other rooms to get to our terrace. - we didn't stay in the casa with the pool, so it would have been nice to have a shower after swimming -- but the showerhead in the ladies' shower was so full of lime scale that it didn't function. There was also no hot water or soap - when I then had a shower in our bedroom, there was also no hot water. I mentioned this, and it was fixed, but it would have been nice if the person I spoke to in Reception had been a little bit empathetic, I had just had a cold shower after all! - the alarm went off in our bedroom at 6AM on our first morning. This must have been set by a prior guest --- would have been nice if the maid had turned it off. - the Wifi didn’t work at all for a whole day. I reported this and was told it would be fixed. It wasn’t and noone came back to me. When I asked again later in the day I was told it was an “issue outside�. This is understandable, but given that I had asked, it would have been nice to get back to me without me having to ask again - the battery for the fire alarm in our bedroom was low, leading to very loud beeping. I reported this and it was fixed. After the third or so time of walking over to reception I mentioned I felt we were a bit unlucky with our room – the response was to offer one further away from our children’s room, which would not have worked (and I also don’t see how it would have improved things). My recommendation to the hotel would be to check items like fire alarms regularly, to make sure that all showers function before guests might use them. Also, if the hotel could establish a system where communication with guests is logged, to avoid lots of little things becoming a bigger thing, that would enhance guests’ experiences.

After not originally booking this hotel, my fiancé and I came to stay here in May due to an unexpected cancellation from our original choice. All I can say is: thank goodness. The Belmont was outstanding. The hotel itself is absolutely gorgeous and the rooms are luxurious, but the service is what sets it apart. After our fiasco with our other hotel, Andres (the concierge) welcomed us and proceeded to go out of his way to help us find a room. He spoke directly with the booking company on our behalf, calmly reassured us that everything would be ok, and made us feel so much better. He was able to find us the last room in the hotel and warmly, kindly ensured we had everything we needed. I couldn't recommend this hotel highly enough!!