I spent a few days in this wonderful city in the summer of 06.   To be honest, I didn't care much about this city, until that is I tried a hawaiian torta outside the "metro". This city is, in my opinion, the NY of latin America with the difference that is a lot cheaper. Great food, nice people, cheap, cheap, cheap and lots of things to see. I stayed at some hotel downtown, a couples of blocks from plaza mayor (main square) and to my surprise it was safe enough to walk out at night looking for torta stands. Comparing it to Lima, in my opinion, DF is safer. Obviously, you need to have some precautions, like you would in any other big city, but overall I had a great time without any incidents. We would walk outside at nigth, (NEVER ALONE) and I remember this band playing (spanish rock) in the outside patio of a restaurant and then all of a sudden people who were passing by started to dance, they made a circle holding hands and run clockwise, then they started moshing. The singer came out and joined, too! It was awsome!!
I used trains for most of my transportation around town, if you are familiar with this kind of systems, it's soooo easy to get around. To be honest, travel books did their part, too. The main sites I saw and LOVED, were the ruins at Teotihuacan, is better to go as early as you can since it can get crowded and bring confy shoes!! I also liked xochimilco, but the best part of all, was all the cheap food, I finally realized the best food is always the ones sold in the street!
I also venture into "el chopo", here is where all the punk kids get together, find about shows and it's also a flee market. I found this place very interesting. The national museum of antrhoplogy is also a good place to go to and zona rosa, too. As well as the basilic of Guadalupe, which is very impressive. In the same site you can find stairs that will bring you to Tepeyac, the cool thing about this is that it seems it was built on top of a ruin, so if you see closely there are some aztec statues in what looks like a fountain. It's really neat.

This may or may not be a lunch-only establishment. It's kind of a hole-in-the-wall place just east of the big shopping complex on Insurgentes. They have a full menu for ordering a la carte, but the main attraction here is the daily three-course lunch menu, which does not change from day to day. For entradas, the consomé de camarones is good, as is the "quesadilla" de cazón (which is actually dogfish wrapped in a corn tortilla and deep fried); the pescado al ajillo (for the plato fuerte) is really the star of the menu, though. Portions are kinda small, and the lunch menu doesn't include a drink, but I have yet to find anywhere else that serves such tasty seafood at such a modest price. (65 pesos for the fixed menu, ca. summer 2008.) The restaurant is pretty tiny, even taking into account the back room; service is fast and the waitstaff is friendly.

Mikasa is actually a Japanese supermarket in La Roma Norte. During lunch hours on weekdays they have a sushi bar against the far wall of the market; on weekends they have an outdoor barbecue at lunch. The sushi bar is limited (and certain items -- say, anything involving tuna -- are maybe a little misleadingly labeled), but it's solid and also includes other freshly prepared (if not homemade) items like spring rolls, kimchi, and seaweed salad. (They also have the best inari sushi pockets in the city, as far as I can tell.) If the particular roll you're looking for isn't out on the table, just ask one of the many employees behind the refrigerator, it usually doesn't take more than 5 or 10 minutes for them to fill a small order. Haven't tried the barbecue, so I can't speak to it. The supermarket is really well supplied with all sorts of Asian products, from fresh bean sprouts and lotus root to frozen edamame to fresh seafood to Ramen noodles. Prices are quite reasonable.

For 85 pesos, one cannot do better than lunch at La Rauxa. A Spanish restaurant with outdoor seating on a small street off Parque Mexico in La Condesa, the daily lunch menu includes the flavored agua del dia, soup, a salad, a choice of four entrees (which includes beef, chicken, fish or a vegetarian option), dessert and an espresso. They also have wine, beer and other beverages for an additional charge. One couldn't really frequent this place every single day as the courses don't vary too terribly much, but every single time I visit I have to order the fish. It's never been less than delicious. The service is young and friendly, the sidewalk seating can get a little cramped during the lunch rush, but it's informal and nice. This is my favorite place in Condesa, hands down, and it seems to have stayed off the beaten path (so far), despite its central location.

Contramar is somewhere one goes when one wants to celebrate. It's expensive, but worth every pesito. Not a quiet or subdued place (imagine a classy cantina), it fills up by around 2:30 each day -- weekdays are dominated by politicos and impresarios in suits; by Thursday and Friday the arty Roma set installs itself; Saturdays and Sundays it's full of families. If you show up right at 2, you usually don't have to wait; otherwise, you can expect to wait up to an hour or more for a table. I still haven't figured out their reservation system: I believe you can make one for between 2 and 2:30 only. Aside from the less than helpful door people (who, in their defense, are usually overwhelmed with people waiting to be seated), service is attentive and enthusiastic. (A bit too enthusiastic at times -- they'll replace your silverware at least twice during the course of a meal.) As the name suggests, Contramar is principally a seafood restaurant. Absolutely de rigeur are the tostadas de atun. (To give you a sense of the price range at this place, we're talking 115 pesos or so for a plate of four tostadas.) Thinly sliced raw tuna of very high quality, a light chipotle mayo, fried green onions, fresh avocado... garnish with freshly squeezed lime juice and some hot sauce and you're moments away from bliss. I'm also quite fond of the exquisitely prepared tacos de esmedregal -- tender chunks of fish coated in a spicy red adobo sauce, served with warm tortillas. The pez bruja is amazing, so long as you don't know what live hagfish looks like (or are not easily daunted). There are plenty of other delights on the menu, too many to list here. The best strategy, I've found, is to go in a group and order a wide variety of dishes to share. Two plates of the tuna tostadas, they're that good. You can get away with spending maybe 200 pesos per person if you eat lightly and refrain from ordering alcohol. Otherwise plan on dropping at least a 500 note.

Tamaulipas south of Michoacán is crowded with plenty of places to eat, drink and be merry. Sushi Shalalá is by no means an extraordinary sushi place, but it's good. Quite good, for Mexico City. (In fact, I'll go ahead and say that this place is more satisfying than any of the Japanese restaurants on Paseo Reforma near the Japanese embassy; tastier than the Sushi Kaiten and Sushi Itto chains; and less obnoxious than the Japanese restaurants I've tried in Polanco.) The menu is pretty enormous, and I can only attest personally to a small portion of it, but everything I've had has been fantastic for inexpensive-to-moderatly-priced sushi. The service is less than stellar, but what makes this place stand out in my estimation is their Paquete Vegetariano. Four small but delicious courses for around 100 pesos. As with all sushi in Mexico City, watch out for extraneous cream cheese. (?)

I usually don't stay in hotels on my travels much less one that caters to business travelers. But I was visiting Mexico City (DF) on Columbus Day weekend and traveling with my grandmother and aunt, and decided they'd prefer somewhere more comfortable. I was fortunate enough to find a package through www.Expedia.com including the flight and hotel. The Embassy Suites turned out to be one of the newest hotels in DF and it showed throughout the hotel. In fact a couple times, our taxi drivers hadn't heard of the hotel despite its unique design and its location right on Paseo de la Reforma at the Glorieta Colon (Statue of Columbus). The staff spoke English proficiently and were always very helpful. There was no extra charge to use the concierge service and it was nice having someone else deal with the logistics of organizing daytrips to places like Teotihuacan especially in a huge city like DF. That being said just about everything offered by the hotel does cost more because it caters towards business travelers or travelers wanting more comfort (although the breakfast buffet was included in our package). For example, we could've walked over to a sitio (taxi stand) and took a regular cab to Chapultepec park for about 80 pesos. However, the taxis called by the hotel were usually big American SUVs with drivers who spoke English and that same trip to Chapultepec Park was about 200 pesos. I don't think this was some kind of ruse by the hotel to rip-off travelers, again its just the hotel knows most its guests are business types who desire a certain level of service. Also, as the name implies, all the rooms are "suites" so there is a sitting area/living with a fold out sofa bed, and a separate bedroom. While the Embassy Suites is expensive compared to some of the hotels that cater to tourists along Reforma, its still not the most expensive that DF has to offer. Although located on Reforma the hotel is a bit far from the main tourist sights. About 15-20 minutes on foot to the Alameda and Centro Historico. And a 30-40 minute walk to the entrance or edge of Chapultepec Park. I walked to both areas (but I do walk fast). However, the hotel is located very close to the Revolucion Monument and there is a metro station there. My stay was very enjoyable and have no complaints about the Embassy Suites in DF. I can only wish the Embassy Suites here in the United States were half as nice as the one in Mexico City.

Fun place with shifting glass walls, huge outdoor terrace overlooking Polanco and a creative menu. Ultra chic interior in white glass, deep red leather and limestone with back lit lighting and music you would expect to find at a gay night club. The menu is pretty different with things like Mushroom and Duck stuffed cactus paddle with blackberry mustard sauce or the melon salad which turns out to be pieces of canteloupe and honeydew cut into the shape of leaves and placed on a plate with a sweet cream dressing and candied walnuts. The best though is the chocolate volcano. Stupid name but amazing dessert.

If you don't mind showing all as you take a shower then this is the hotel for you. There is a partial glass wall dividing the bedroom and "bathroom" area which is not a bathroom at all but more like a 15' x 15' shower with floor to ceiling windows overlooking the neighborhood below. There is even a hammock in the shower just incase you need a nap while you wash. The design is interesting, and functional yet the shower tends to get the floor of the bedroom a bit wet. Service was very nice and location can't be better. It is away from the major routes and the neighborhood is the most affluent in Mexico City. Get bored while you're there and you can walk twenty feet across the road and pick from a Bentley, Rolls, Lamborghini or Maserati. It's not to shabby. Totally recommended.

The Most Friendliest Dangerous City

I arrived at Toluca airport around 9PM.  I am about an hour away from Mexico City.  Normally I would not arrange to arrive in a dangerous city at night.  But, I have received pretty specific directions from Luis on which shuttle to take and which hostel to stay at.  I wait in 2 long lines to find out if this is the collectivo that will get me closest to the hostel.  No. No.  The third line is a charm.  It is the Interjet shuttle.  For 80 pesos they will take me to a fancy hotel in the Reforma area which is not too far from my hostel in Centro Historico.  I sit in the front seat with the driver, but this one isn't talking.  It is now 10:30PM.  I am getting out of this shuttle at the this fancy hotel with my backpack along with all the business travellers.  I ask the speechless driver if my hostel is in walking distance.  Luckily, Martin overheard and rushed in to help.  He lives here in Mexico City and was just getting home from a business trip in Chihuahua.  He said that it was 10 minutes away by taxi; not walking.  He said he could help me if I would first walk with him to Starbucks a few doors down.  This is the thing they warn you about.  Beware of friendly people trying to help you.  Sure!

Martin offers me a coffee and I decline.  He grabs a frappacino and takes me into the street for my lesson on taxis in Mexico City aka Distrito Federal aka DF.  He points to one and says do not get in these.  They are illegal.  Only get in taxis that have a letter in the first spot on their license plate.  Thanks, Martin!  Good tip.  He throws his stuff in the trunk of one with the letter A and I think it is time to say good luck.  But, then he puts my bag in there too. Hmmm.  Am I pushing my luck by getting in after what happened earlier with Benito?  I get in.  He explains to the driver that they will take me to Hostel Mundo Joven Catedral and then continue on to his home.  I am blown away about how beautiful this city is at night.  The lighted buildings are gorgeous!  It feels so much like Buenos Aires.  Roberto the taxi driver asks Martin what the deal is.  Why is he helping me.  Martin says that he wants to practice his English and go to California some day.  They ask about how long I will be here and what I will be doing.  I explain that I have a friend who lives here who will be showing me around.  Martin gets Roberto to give me his home and cell number just in case I need a taxi while I am here.  I am surprised when we arrive at the hostel when both Roberto and Martin refuse my money.  Martin gets out and carries my bag for me to the front door.  He then writes down his email, home and cell numbers and says to call him if I need anything while I am here.  He says that it is Saturday night and he is going out dancing.  Call him if I want to go after I check in.  It is now 11PM.  I am dead tired.  And, I know this would really be pushing my luck.  I immediatlely send him a thank you email on the blackberry.

This hostel costs $14 USD per night in a mixed dorm.  Pricey, but it is kinda like a hotel.  High security.  You get a magnetic room key and have to go through a security door to the elevators.  My room is on the 4th floor ( 2 below the terace bar with a DJ.)  I am happy to see that no one else is staying in this very small room with bunk beds for 4.  Fresh sheets!  A sink!  Hard bed!  My own bed light! I dump my stuff and decide to check things out.  The 6th floor is hoping.  This is the place to be.  I search for something to eat.  No luck.  When I get back to my room, I am bummed to see that 3 people have now checked into my room with me.  They are travelling together.  A guy and two girls.  They comment about how cramped it is in this room and how the 3 of them are not used to sleeping in separate beds.  I figure that they have been trying to save money by getting rooms with one bed.  In the morning when I come back from my shower and breakfast I find out that is not why.  They just couldn't wait for me to leave the room and get under the covers together.  I grabbed my stuff so quickly and high-tailed in out of there.  (Had to go back the next day when I realized I had left my jacket there in the rush.)

Had breakfast with 2 nice guys from...guess.  It has got to be Australia or Isreal.  That is who is out here travelling this time around.  Diego is originally from Buenos Aires, but he and Yotan live in Isreal.  They have been here 5 days and are leaving today.  They didn't intend to be here that long, but they like it.  I ran into Liz ( a dormmate from San Cristobol) and she loves it.  Everyone likes Mexico City.  Really?  It is a big city.  It is supposed to be very dangerous.  I would have been just fine avoiding this city altogether if Luis hadn't of invited me.  I am glad I came and can appreciate it now.  By the way, the continental breakfast at the hostel is very good.  They give you a ticket at check in for it, but no one even notices who turns in a ticket of not.  They also give you a ticket for dinner.  I hear the dinners are really bad though.  They run out of food quickly and end up just serving toast sometimes.

There was a major political demonstration outside my hostel in the zocolo on Sunday morning.  Thousands of people.  Can I take pictures?  Will they confiscate my camera?  Nope.  Will they steal it?  Nope.  Am I really supposed to be scared in this city?  The day was mine to wander until Luis was able to meet up with me that evening.  And, boy did I wander. 

First I went into the Cathedral after walking through more than a dozen armed police and getting my bag searched.  This was the most beautiful church, but I was really turned off by the 2 tourist trinket shops inside the church.  They sell souvenirs inside the church...while mass is going!  I watched people receiving communion, singing, getting poked by security for sleeping, and buy plastic Jesus' all at the same time.    

Next stop was Templo Mayor.  It is a very well done museum and archaeolical site.  Check out the photos of the skull wall.  It is free to get in on Sunday.  This became my requirement for the day.  If it wasn't free, it wasn't for me.  Luckily, most everything is free on Sunday.  There is so much to see here. 

There are probably 5 museums on every block.  All of them are well done.  The National Museum in Palacio National was the exception.  This place looked like they were getting ready for a garage sale.  Visible storage and construction going on everywhere.   

 I loved the Museo Archivo de la Fotografica.  Could it be my recent experience working in San Cristobol?  I happened upon it on the same street at my hostel.  It is very small. They were displaying some very powerful and controversial photos of real life in the city.

On the same block in the Cultural Centre de Espana.  Why go there?  I am in Mexico; not Spain.  It was free.  And looked cool.  I was drawn in by the video they were showing of a guy dancing the flamenco.  They had an interesting performance art video playing and a neat clothing design exhibit.

Next door to my hostel at the Galeria SHCP there was an interesting painting exhibit.  The artist was obsessed with a certain part of the female anatomy.  If you looked hard enough, every single painting had this anatomy hidden in the painting somewhere.  It was commonly disguised as flowers.

The Palacio de Correos (post office museum) was very popular.  Lots of gold bars everywhere.  The Palacio de Mineria had some gigantic meteors on display.  Museo Nacional de Arte was a nice building with great murals and other exhibits.  

Belles Artes is the most beautiful building at night.  Apparently many of the buildings in the city are sinking.  Luis showed me that this is one of them.  You can notice various buildings lopsided when you look up from the sidewalk.  Alemedo Central is a big park next to Belle Artes.  A lot going on here.  I got a monster tostado from a woman for 15 pesos.  She immediately pointed out to me that she washes her cilantro with bleach to let me know it was safe the eat!?!  There are lots of clowns and other entertainers trying to make a peso in this park.  I watched some B-boys (Isn't that what they call them on So You Think You Can Dance?) who were very good for a while.  Some boy band was also playing on stage here.  Lots of excitement and dancing going on over them.  It is in this area where I saw for the first time in 6 weeks openly gay people.  Just as I was suddenly woken up to the fact that I had only seen brown people all through Guatemala until I got to Livingston, I was suddenly realizing there was another part of the population I had been missing while travelling here. 

The Diego Rivera museum was at the end of the park.  The mural of a scene from that park is on display.  I really like that they had a legend to tell you who and what the people in the mural were.  So, I did get to at least see Frida's husband's work while here.  Never made it to their homes or to see her work.  What an interesting woman she was though!

What did I miss by being cheap?  The Torture Museum, the Caricature Museum, and the Defense Museum.  I was tired though.  I saw alot.  I deserved an ice cream with rice crispie sprinkles on it.  It is interesting to me that at farmacies, electronic stores, and some food places you have to cruise the place, decide what you want to buy, add up what it will cost you, then go wait in line at the caged booth in the back of the store to pay for it, then go wait in line again to bring your receipt to the person who has to get the items for you.  Are they trying to create jobs?  Are they scared of being robbed?  Why can't the person who scoops your ice cream also take your money?  What if you did not pay for rice crispie sprinkles in advance and then decided you wanted them?  If your receipt doesn't add up to the amount those sprinkles are, you have to go wait in line at the booth again or you are out of luck.    

I was to only stay at this hostel for 1 night.  Then I was to hang out in their restaurant lobby until Luis showed up that evening to let me know the next hotel to check into.  He didn't know the name, but knew where it was located.  So, I got a beer and scoped the place to see who I would sit with while I waited.  There were 2 victims.  Both guys were sitting alone.  Both looked like they might speak English.  I decided to pick the one whose table did not require me to hop over a few chair to get to it.  He ended up being from Spain and spoke very little English.  He said he was travelling with 7 people for the last month.  Soon 2 of his friends sat down with us and bought me another beer.  And later the rest of them joined.  Lots of tequila and beer was flowing at this table.  None of them spoke English.  In fact, they don't usually speak Spanish.  They said they are from northern Spain and speak Basc.  Great!  Where is that other guy?  I later learn he was from California.  But, I am glad I made this choice.  I spent 2.5 hours with these 7 Spaniards laughing and talking in Spanish.  The beer always helps my Spanish.  They were very kind offering to sneak me into the free dinner upstairs and trying to get me to eat their fries.  I think Luis was a little surprised when he finally showed up drenched from the rain to see me hanging out with this group who didn't speak English.  When I left him 2 weeks earlier I was too afraid to speak Spanish.

We made our way to Hotel Layfette which was about 7 blocks away.  This place cost just $10 USD per person per night.  The room was nice, but it did not have a window facing the main drag.  So, the next night the room with a window opened up.  What a mistake!  I left DF with swollen eyes again and about 25 new bites on my face and hands.  Not to mention getting stuck in the old elevator in between floors. 

For the next 2 days of touring I had a free tour guide.  Luis grew up here and kinda lives here now when he is not traveling.  Breakfasts included street atole and pan!  Love it.  We were both blown away by how beautiful the Casino building was.  I loved the Octavio Ocampo exhibit.  He is another one of those amazing artists who hide other objects within a painting of another object...except he does not have the same obsession as that other guy. 

We walked through the Reforma area and enjoyed the bench exhibit they had along the sidewalks there.  Had to sit in several of them.  Walked by another political demonstration.  This one had great drum beats going, big signs, and lots of naked bodies.  These indians were upset about their land being taken away and they were dancing along a main street to be heard. Also walked through the Zona Rosa rich tourist area.  Reminded me of 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica.

We took a bus and subway which was a nice experience.  Not scary.  No one tried to slash my purse.  The University was our destination.  This is the biggest college you could imagine.  It must have been 10 miles long and 5 miles wide.  Luis got to remincse about his days in Engineering school here.  I got to admire the cool murals and scultpure garden.  Someone has set up a nice business here where people can rent a bike to take to the next building.  You need it in a big place like this!   

The next stop was Coyoacan (coyote) which is a cute little town where one of Frida's homes is.  We did not make it there in time.  The park was being torn up, but you could tell it was a nice place.  We had a very good meal here.  Loved my torta.  Then we had the best ice cream before heading home for a nap.

Three hours later, we are out the door at 11pm looking for something to do. Coffee at the rooftop cafe overlooking the zocolo?  No, just closed.   Let's hit Garibaldi Plaza!  Now, I like this.  Mariachis line the street leading up to the plaza like transvestite hookers.  They are hoping to get business from drunk cheating men who have not been home for days and need to bring home a mariachi to serenade the wife.  This can cost up to 3000 pesos for an hour.  When you get to the plaza, there are many more mariachi bands auditioning for those who may want to hire them.  The potential customers all have drinks in their hands and are singing at the top of their lungs with them.  The other crazy thing is there are drunk guys walking around with what look like battery jumper cables asking couples if they want to be shocked together.  NO!  You could also see a few people huffing inhalents in the plaza.  Sad.  So, apparently this isn't really a safe place to be walking around at night. 

Got up at 8AM to see the raising of the gigantic Mexican flag in the zocolo.  Apparently, it is a big ceremony every morning with the Army band coming out of the Palacio.  It is an emotional experience for my "we may be a third world country, but" free tour guide.  Only thing is...we were one hour late for it.  Instead we got to see the Governor announcing the big reveal of new electric buses that will be in service for their big anniversary in 2010.  Oh well, this gave us an early start for today's museum tour. The free only if you are a Mexican student (or have a school ID from Santa Ana college in California, but who is looking that close) museum tour.  None of them cost more than 20 pesos or so. 

We hit both the Modern and the Contemporary Museums.  The difference?  Not sure.  Also saw the Anthropology Museum.   Saw some interesting stuff in all of them.  Played a little game of Guess The Name of This Painting which was fun.  "Church on Street"  "Tattooed Family"  "Businessmen on Sidewalk"  I think I won.  Then we took a little nap on a bench in the sculpture garden.  We jumped up when security came expecting to be scolded.  But, she said it was fine.  Shocking!  I had been scolded several times over the last 2 days for leaning against walls and cases to look at the contents inside.  Mind you, I was never even close to any of the art.  I was leaning against a blank wall.  The dozens of security guards who all sit in chairs guarding a couple of museum rooms really are bored.  They get a little too excited at the opportunity to tell someone to stop doing something.

We strolled alongside the Botanical Garden admiring the beautiful photos from various parts of the world.  Saying, "been there," "doesn't really look like that," " gotta go there!"  Then finally we watched the Indians do their flying pole thingy with flute music.  See the photos. 

Had a leisurely vegetarian buffet lunch before sharing a ride in an street taxi to Luis' house and the airport.  If the hotel would a have gotten the taxi for us it would have been 170 pesos.  It was just 85 pesos in this one.   And this concludes the first segment of my OMG I Am Unemployed And Can Go Wherever I Want Whenever I Want Tour.       

....so after a sad goodbye at LAX, we jumped on the plane headed south. we nervously made it thru customs, trying our pathetic best to use whatever spanish we new to get us through (none). Found a cab, then our hostel - a nice renovated hotel in the centro historico. and what made it even better was the fact it was only $10 a night!

...i´m slowly getting used to the spanish keyboards, so excuse the poor punctuation. First impressions of Mejico City are all good... when you win the game of russian roulette that is ordering from a menu the  food is great, streets are clean & it feels safe. Spent the day today checking out the museo de antropologica, zoo (i think broomy now has a crush on bears¡?), and a neat art gallery in the palacio de bellas artes where all three of us (hangin with kiwi ash again) were told on separate occasions not to take photos inside the gallery because we didn´t buy the correct type of ticket.... damn.... 

the evening we decided we´d check out a some wrestling... hilarious! we bought overpriced tickets from scalpers out the front (we´re rookies), and almost gave our camera´s to security staff forever before a girl warned us not to (even bigger rookie move), but smuggling the camera´s in, we thoroughly enjoyed the show.... apparently we missed the midget wrestling though... too late.

today we headed out to teotihuacan.... ruins of a city about 2000 years old... most of it was restored but you really got the feel for what it was. quite an amazing place. also visited some local aztec ruins and basilica de guadalupe which were also neat....

tomorrow we´re headed to Oaxaca!

If you've never been to Mexico City before, you've never had real Mexican food. For a very traditional Mexican meal, Casa Hevia hits the spot. The homemade breads and quality cheeses are a great intro when coupled with a nice glass of local white wine. The house specialty that day was spit roasted goat that was used to source some of the best fajitas I've ever had. The ambiance gives you the impression of old Mexico with its antique brick interior and exterior construction and traditional dress of the wait staff. Service was spot on and our waiter was extremely knowledgeable of the menu. If you're staying at the Marriot, you're in walking distance. Remember, the big meal in Mexico is lunch, so save lots of room and always finish with flan. Highly recommended.

That hotel fantastic ... should live in a place like this! This is one of the hotels in the W line of Starwood, the brand for the modern audience. Located in the neighborhood of Polanco, and with a design that takes care to the last detail, the hotel offers a customer service really amazing and very modern facilities, stressing the rooms above everything. As a negative point are the salons. Emphasize that there are also the atmosphere in the bar, where people gather every night in the area to have a drink and have fun.

In a very nice part of the city, this hotel is expertly located, especially for the business traveler. For the tourists, you are very close to Chupultapec Castle, which is one of the premier sights in the city. As my Mexican friend says, the hotel is in the Mexican equivalent of Beverly Hills. As such, you are in one of the safest neighborhoods and a great restaurant is only a short walk away. When I was there back in January the executive lounge was being refurbished and the temporary one was sub-par. However, I would imagine that the new one is quite nice as is typical with J.W. Marriots around the world. As always the food in the attached restaurants was fantastic.

Portuguese in Mexico City? You bet!! And good too. Start with a bottle of Green Wine, pick just about any entree on the menu (I did) and you can’t go wrong, fish dishes in particular. Finish with some flan and Madeira Wine and you will either be ready to out for the night, or for a nice nap. Highly recommended for lunch as you can sit right on their patio and people watch in a very nice area of the city. For a group of 4 looking to have some drinks during the day and an early good time, this is the choice for you.