I almost didn't go to the hotel Dolores Alba in Merida due to a couple of negative reviews at tripadvisor.com. One, in particular, claimed that the pool was full of leaves, and if there was something I wanted in a hotel, it was a good pool. But then, someone in the tripadvisor.com fora recommended the hotel, and I thought I'd give it a try. I'm glad I did, as the Dolores Alba is a very nice and comfortable hotel, and we felt very much at home there.

The hotel is situated four or five blocks from the main square - not as close as I'd have wanted, but there isn't much you can do about that. It has a small, private, locked parking lot for those who, like us, are driving (and given all the ruins and sites to explore near Merida, it pays to have a car). It also has a restaurant, which we didn't try.

The hotel itself is divided in two parts. The older part of the hotel consists of two wings surrounding a central, covered patio (where the table/chairs for the restaurant are located). A newer part is made out of three additional wings surrounding the swimming pool. There are a lot of arches and iron work that help give the place a faux-colonial style. There are some plants around one side of the pool to make it look more tropical.

The pool is on the small side, and it's very popular with guests, but it's immaculately clean and my children loved it. My 7-year-old was able to touch bottom in the shallower part, but my 4-year old was not (so she floated around in her life vest).

We found the rooms to be quite beautiful. Ours had a very nice tiled floor, darkening windows (you can look out from the inside, but they look like a mirror from the outside) and some stylish features such as gorgeous painted glass night lights. The a/c worked very well, and the room had a TV with cable but no fridge. There was only a shower in the bathroom (I think soap but no other toiletries were provided).

My favorite detail from the room were the two rocking chairs placed around a small table by the windows. They were comfortable and just a tad luxurious. Unfortunately the beds were very hard, probably the hardest we experienced in this trip.

The hotel has a laundry room with rather big washers and driers. Washing and drying a load will cost your MN$50, including the detergent. There are also drinks for sale at MN$15. As the hotel is downtown there are places were you can buy anything close buy, including a very good bakery 1/2 a block away.

There is free wi-fi in the hotel, though the connection is not always great from the bedrooms.

In all, we really enjoyed our stay at the Dolores Alba and would stay here again. We made our reservation through their own website. The rate during our stay for a room with two double beds was MN$540.

Hotel Dolores Alba
Calle 63 No. 464 x 52 y 54
Merida
Mexico
(52)(999)928-56-50
http://www.doloresalba.com/