Kinda funny that we made the same assessment of the hotel not earning a five stare status the first…read morecouple of hours upon arrival. The first major drop was when I asked the desk manager if the front terrace had wait service - response "I don't know" well do they serve tapas, " you will have to ask someone in the restaurant" ---- as I recall, " I don't know" should never be uttered to a gust at a fife star hotel who's rating is earned for it's service to it's guests. Second major clue, barman told guests the bar was closed a few minutes after one of the Easter processions ended. He had a few children with the group of four adults. The bar was NOT closed, maybe didn't want to deal with the group. Manager overhead and apologized. But that was it.... So don't expect anything to be improved. That said, is well located and reasonably well equiped. It's a solid 3 star. Price wasn't bad either. So... As long as you are not expecting five star service, its a decent stay, would give them a four star if they presented themselves as a four star hotel and be BS the public.

On the first night in Merida, the hotel we stayed at was called Merida Palace which is right by the…read moresquare. I liked it because this is a historical hotel and the rooms are very well decorated. We have two rooms which are connected. The rooms have two beds in one room and the other had a king size bed. Perfect for four people. The bathrooms are huge and decorated with local art back when it was a Palace, I guess? The room also came with a hot water kettle which allows one to get hot tea when one needs something warm. I alway bring my Trader Joe's instant coffee pack $1.99 for 10 whenever I go, so I made myself some coffee in the morning. The hotel has a nice old feel to it, it reminds me of the Steigenberger Hotel in the city center of Lepzig, Germany, or the Intercontinental Hotel in Bordeaux, or the Grand Bretagne hotel in Athens, All by the city center, and all very old and very posh. A good night stay for sure. Do not miss if you are here to visit the Roman ruins.

We ended up at Hotel Cervantes after finding "no room at the inn" at two other places in town…read more Hotel Cervantes was clean, comfortable, affordable and as we found out later to be in a perfect location to explore the town. In retrospect we were glad the other hotels were full. The room was spacious and modern and reception was quite friendly and easy. We admit we did not spend too much time in the room as we spend most of our time wandering between the roman ruins scattered around town. The hotel offers covered secure parking only a block away for a reasonable fee. We felt this hotel was a good value for the city. The bar downstairs served tasty noshes and we would not hesitate to take our main meal there. Merida deserves a full day plus to enjoy the town. We look forward to returning and when we do we hope to stay here.