A visit to Mexico City should of course not be missed during a trip through South America. The capital of Mexico and its immediate surroundings have a lot to offer. This summer I had the opportunity to stay at the renowned Alest Hotel. This small luxury hotel is an oasis of peace in one of the most popular areas of the city. In this review you can read all about my experiences at The Alest Hotel Mexico City.
Location in Mexico City
The Alest Hotel is situated in the affluent Polanco neighborhood. This area is very popular with wealthy families and expats. The hotel is a 30-40 minutes drive from the international airport of Mexico City (MEX). A taxi will cost you about $ 10 to 20 (i.e. with Uber or Cabify). Be mindful that traffic can be pretty hectic in Mexico City, so the drive may take more time depending the hour of the day. It’s also possible to take public transport, but this trip is much longer unfortunately.
In the direct surroundings of the hotel you can already find some nice spots to visit, like the leafy Parque Lincoln. A walk of about 15 minutes will bring you to the popular Bosque de Chapultepec. This huge park spans more than 700 hectares and is really a must visit. Among others, there’s a zoo (free admission), several museums and the Castle of Chapultepec. The castle houses the National Museum of History and you can enjoy a great view of the city here as well.
Welcome at The Alest Hotel
It’s nearly midnight when we arrive at The Alest Hotel. A member of the hotel staff promptly takes care of our bagage. Check-in is super efficient, which makes sense as we’re the only guests checking in at this time of day. The receptionist personally escorts us to the room. We also get a short explanation of the facilities of the hotel and the room amenities. Only minutes later, another staff member delivers our bags to the room.
The rooms and suites at The Alest Hotel
The luxurious Alest Hotel describes itself as a ‘high-end boutique hotel’. And with only 19 rooms, the hotel can offer a lot of privacy to guests.
The rooms come in three types. The standard is a Superior Room with a Queensize or Kingsize bed. This room is also available with two separate beds. The second room type is called a Deluxe Room. It’s slightly bigger than the Superior and has a Kingsize bed. The Grand Deluxe Room offers even more space. It even fits up to two Queensize beds or a Kingsize bed and a small seating area. Rather stay in a suite? The Alest has you covered with three suites: the Alexander Grand Deluxe Junior Suite (55 m2), Estefania Grand Deluxe Junior Suite (55 m2) and the Alest Grand Deluxe Junior Suite (78 m2).
You can stay at The Alest Hotel from a little less than $ 300 for a Superior Room. The Deluxe Room is available from $ 470. Grand Deluxe Rooms start at $ 520. And a Suite is at least $ 930. All rooms offer free WiFi, parking, a fully stocked minibar and breakfast.
The Alest Mexico City offered InsideFlyer a one night stay in a Superior Room and in this review I will share everything about my experience here.
The Superior Room
After check-in we were escorted to our room to the very kind receptionist. You can use the stairs or a small lift. Once in the room, it’s clear that the luxury design has also been extended to the hotel rooms.
In the front of the room there is a seating area with a low sofa and table. Opposite the sofa you find a large cupboard containing the TV, coffee and tea facilities, the minibar and a wardrobe. The contents of the minibar are included in the room price. So you don’t have to worry about the exorbitant prices that some hotels charge for this. The minibar offers water and soft drinks, as well as beer and wine.
There is also a luggage rack for suitcases or bag. On a table there’s a nice basket with Mexican snacks and a bottle of Aqua di Panna with two water glasses. The table can also be used as a desk.
A large double Kingsize bed occupies the rest of the room. There is a nice bedside table on both sides of the bed. A telephone and the room service menu are placed on the right. Sockets and USB ports are placed on both sides (i.e. to charge your phone). Next to the bed is a window with a French balcony. You have a view of the hotel courtyard.
The bathroom
This Superior Room also has a good size bathroom. It’s nicely finished with marble tiles and gold design accents. On the left are two separate sinks that are concealed in a custom made marble worktop. The large mirror covers the entire back wall.
On the other side of the bathroom you can find the toilet on the right and a spacious shower on the left. In the shower you can use both the hand and rain shower.
The bathroom offers more than sufficient amenities. Most are from the Le Labo brand. For example, you can use shampoo, conditioner and shower gel from La Labo Santal 33 in the shower. There are also more than enough towels in different sizes.
Comfort of the room
In this review about The Alest Hotel in Mexico City, I will also cover the comfort of the room. Although this Superior Room is not very big, it does feel very comfortable as the design of the room is well thought through.
For instance, The seating area in front of the bed is really nice to enjoy a cup of coffee or tea whilst watching the news on the TV. And the minibar provides the necessary refreshments. Much thought has been given to what guests may need during their trip. There is also a small clothing steamer in the wardrobe, which I gratefully used.
Furthermore, the bathroom is equipped with everything you need, including luxurious care products from Le Labo. The large rain shower is also a very pleasant delight after a long flight.
The climate control in this room is easy to adjust. The operation of the light buttons however is not very intuitive. Most lamps have a dim functionality and they can only be switched off by pressing and holding the button for a relatively long time.
Breakfast at 45 Restaurant
In the morning we enjoy an a la carte breakfast in the hotel’s 45 Restaurant. As usual in Latin America, we were first offered a fresh fruit salad. Fruit juice and tea/coffee are also served. After this nice start we chose a main course from the menu. There is a choice of well-known dishes such as omelettes, but there are also some Mexican specialties. The hot cakes with fruit were very nice! Although the portions are on the small side, the quality is very good.
The service in the restaurant is personal and fast. The staff speak excellent English (this is certainly not the case everywhere in Mexico).
Facilities of the hotel
The Alest Hotel Mexico City is a small hotel, so there aren’t that many facilities, but I will discuss them in this review.
The hotel has its own restaurant and bar. We already covered our breakfast experience, but you can also have lunch and dinner there. The Alest Bar – 45 is the cocktail bar. The names of the drinks are inspired by famous citizens of the Polanco area and the rest of Mexico City. Opposite the reception there’s a nice lobby with comfortable seats and sofas. Recently, the hotel opened a new special room which can used for private events and private dining.
Rather enjoy your meal from the comfort of your room? Room service is available every day between 8 AM and 11 PM. You can find the menu next to your bed.
The Alest does not offer its own spa, but you can arrange to have a treatment in your room. A fitness room is also not available. The hotel does offer bikes for the guests to explore the area.
Finally, the hotel has its own Lincoln Navigator Reserve, called ‘The House Car’. To be used for private transfers to and from the airport or any other location. Reservations can be made at the reception after booking a room.
Source pictures Review The Alest Hotel Mexico City: InsideFlyer – Christian. This review is translated from the original version on InsideFlyer.nl.
