This hotel was a complete fraud. We had first booked one room for the long weekend of the Mexican Independence holiday and a few days later another one for our daughter. Upon arrival at the hotel shortly after 2 p.m., we were told we had no reservation, they didn't even had our name registered. As an excuse they told us they were no longer working with American travelagencies. They told us they had only one room available for one night and not the two booked and that perhaps there would be two rooms for us after 5 p.m. if the people didn't show up. They even told us that other clients from Orbitz didn't have a room even though they were in their system.

We didn't accept and asked for a complete refund which we got.

Additionally, the hotel looked pretty much run down, even the garden as the lawn hadn't been watered. Rooms are not far from one of the two main streets, so it must be very noisy at night, and it is too far from the city center, or let's say, it is 6 blocks, but very long ones and it is all down hill so getting back can be very tyring and there are no restaurants close at hand. San Miguel de Allende is such a nice town, with great places to be, and as this hotel is close to the highway, you get no impression of all of that.

This hotel is decent enough. However the description of the hotel raised our expectations unnecessarily ultimately leading to disappointment. First, the official description of the hotel states that it's just 6 blocks away from the center of the town. We have walked 6 blocks in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, etc. It only takes 10 minutes to walk 6 blocks in any of those. I don't know how they counted 6 blocks but this hotel is actually on the edge of town. It would take about 25 minutes to walk to the center of town. The highway leading to Queretaro, etc. is only a quarter of a mile away from the hotel! Having said that, you can catch a bus to the center of town right outside the hotel. Taxis to the center of town can also easily be flagged at all hours of the day and they're cheap.

A 3-star hotel should have a coffee machine in the room -- this hotel doesn't. They have room service but the service is patchy -- hot chocolate and coffee should be delivered in a small thermos so that the beverage is hot -- here they come in cups or a steel pot -- they're cold by the time they're delivered.

The lower-level staff (waiters/waitresses, maids, etc.) are helpful and friendly but usually only speak spanish. The mid-level staff, with some exceptions, are mostly incompetent and have an attitude. For example, the hotel has a miniature golf course. My son wanted to play golf so we went to the front desk to ask for clubs. We were told to return in one hour as someone had already checked out the clubs. However, no one was at the golf course. We communicated that fact to the lady at the desk but instead of saying "Let me find out why the clubs are checked out but there's nobody at the course" she glibly asked us to return after one hour. She was not interested in helping us out at all.

Another example: Our room was prepaid through one of the travel websites. While checking out we were presented a bill for our stay. We tried to communicate the fact that we were prepaid to the front desk but to no success. We asked to speak to someone who can understand english, but for some reason they did not act upon our request. Finally, we wrote down that our room was prepaid. Only then they understood. Competent staff should know which guests have prepaid their rooms (shouldn't the billing system pick this up?).

Third example: While checking in on a day when the hotel was mostly empty we asked for a room with a nice view and we were told that yes our room has a nice view. When we went to the room, it had a view -- of the garbage area behind the hotel's restaurant! They changed our room but not without asking nicely. Now, if the hotel is full and you happen to be the last person to check in, it's understandable that you'll be the one to end up with the least desirable room. But why do this when the hotel is empty? And the impunity with which they said "Yes, you're getting a nice view" !!!

There are many, many other good hotel choices in San Miguel de Allende -- avoid this one unless you have no choice.