Just came back from a two day stay at the Hotel El Carmen and I have mixed feelings.

The Good:
- Location: This hotel has just about the best location in Morelia. It is two blocks from the cathedral, close enough to walk in 2 mins but far enough to be away from the traffic and the crowds and to find parking on the street.
- Price: I did my research, and this hotel is less than half the price of other hotels that are within walking distance of the Cathedral. I paid less than 25 USD per night for a single room (and this was for a busy holiday weekend in Mexico).
- Cleanliness: they really do a good job of keeping the rooms and common areas clean.

The bad:
- Noise: It was hard to find a quiet moment in this hotel. First of all, the rooms are tiny and very close to each other. Even though the walls are concrete, I could still hear my neighbor snore and even go to the bathroom (yuck!). Also, I had a room in the ground floor in the corner as far away from the lobby as possible, but I could still hear anytime people were talking in the lobby. Since most, if not all, of the rooms only have windows that face the inner court yard, I'm sure almost all the rooms have this problem. On saturday night at 3am a group of guests came in and stayed up talking and listenting to music, and since I could hear pretty much everything I had a hard time sleeping.
- Age: Like I said, things are kept clean, but the hotel is staring to show its age. I had to use bottled watter to brush my teeth because the water coming out of the tap tasted like rust (and I'm usually not picky about those kinds of things).
- Room size: I personally didn't mind this, but the rooms are tiny. They very much have a european feel to them, including the bathroom which in my case did not have a separation between the shower and the toilet.

Overall: Given the price and prime location, the qualms I have with the age of the hotel and the room size are something I can definitely live with. The noise I'm not so sure about, so I would have to think twice before staying in this hotel again.

Hotel El Carmen is a very inexpensive hotel located in the historic center of Morelia within walking distance of almost everything. We had a basic room with one double bed for two people for about 35.00 per night. The first room we looked at was directly off of the lobby, in fact the door to the room opened into the hotel entry. We rejected this one, though it was quite large, because we could hear people talking in the lobby via an air duct and the windows opened directly onto the street, which would not be quiet either. The other rooms in our category were upstairs and to the back which was ok with us. This room was quiet and we were able to sleep well, which is the most important function of a basic room, but it was one of the smallest rooms I have ever seen and had character to be sure. The oddest bit was the window in the bathroom, which when opened allowed you to look directly from the shower stall into the hallway. There were just a couple of rooms beyond ours, so this was not a busy hallway but this took a little getting used to. There was also a window from the room entrance into the hallway. Both windows had bars on them, so it was secure to leave windows open to get some air or to let steam out of the bathroom. This room made me a bit uneasy at first, but somehow grew on me as days rolled on. I much prefer a bit of curiosity in a room to a generic hotel.

There is a pretty square, Plaza del Carmen, in front of the hotel with a convent across the street, a large church in view up the street as one looks right, and the cathedral up the street behind the hotel. Because these churches all have bells it is possible that this is the greatest source of noise in the neighborhood.

The room and hotel were kept very clean. People at the desk were helpful but English speaking was spotty.

Stayed three nights in January '06. Very friendly, accommodating staff. 300 pesos/night for two in a double bed. Good location in that it is a few blocks from the main street. However, the big problem for us was the noise from the street - cars (with loudspeakers), horns, bells, at all hours of day/night. If you can, try to get a room that does not look over the square. However, there are some rooms without windows at all...we saw them and they seemed pretty grim.

This little quiet hotel, nicely decorated with Mexican tile, is just two blocks from Morelia�s majestic cathedral and the city�s main drag. There are 30 rooms, color TV, off-street parking available. This is a no-frills spot, but clean and nice. The location is primo.

It is located directly across the street from the Casa de Cultura. Address is Calle Eduardo Ruiz No. 63 in El Centro. Phone is (---). Email is (---). However, it has been my experience that Mexican hotels often ignore their email. Part of local "color."