Overview:
The Condesa df is an excellent concept that falters with disappointing execution and inconsistent service. Behind an unassuming exterior lies a pervasively contemporary and cosmopolitan design. The lounge / restaurant area on the ground floor is all cool tones and clean lines. Walking through the common areas is to glide through a landscape of hip furniture and accessories that all share a relatively limited palette of smooth, solid colors. And it works. You feel soothed, and cool.
Image Source: stylehive
Encouraged by a strong first impression, my wife and I had high hopes for our 5 night stay this past March. But we soon got off to a bad start that only signaled the beginning of a consistent string of challenges and disappointments. I can almost understand how Condesa df's management might believe that the environment and atmosphere could lead their guests to overlook the occasional inconvenience or disturbance. But so many piled up for us that my memory of Condesa df will be of a place with great but unfulfilled potential.
Highlights / Low Lights:
What was great
- Location. It is embedded within a relatively quiet, residential area, yet has great proximity to the restaurants, bars and shops of the Condesa neighborhood
- Food. When they got the orders right, the food was terrific. Both in the restaurant and for room service.
Image Source: A TripAdvisor Member
What wasn't so great
- Not getting the room we had reserved. We booked a 'Patio' room via Expedia, but were told no 'Patio' rooms were available when we arrived. They put us in a 'Balcony' room and assured me it was an upgrade, but wouldn't allow me to actually see an example of each room. They were not very apologetic about this in the least, taking a very 'it is what it is' attitude, seemingly unable to comprehend how disappointing and frustrating it was to believe I was reserving a room with some kind of patio but ended up in a 'Balcony' room that had perhaps a 3-inch balcony. I even attempted to negotiate a compromise/upgrade for one of their available suite rooms at a discount [but it still would have translated into out spending an additional 30% than what we were paying for our 'Patio' room] and I might as well have requested an escorted flight to the moon. No chance, no thanks, go to another hotel if you like, your room is #105. Period.
- Power. This is something you might be inclined to take for granted. But over the course of 36 - 48 hours the power had to have gone out 20 times. Seriously. We were watching a dvd we had brought with us and during the course of watching a 1 hour show we had the power go out 6 times. Each time triggering the need to cue up the dvd again and find where we had left off. End of the world? No. Aggravatingly inconvenient? Yes.
- Room service. We ordered room service breakfast 3 or 4 times during our stay. Twice we had to return at least a portion of what was brought up because it was the wrong order. It seemed to be some combination of having not enough staff on duty and having people covering jobs they don't usually fill. The place only has 40 rooms. This isn't the W Times Square. Didn't seem like their restaurant and room service folks should have been that swamped.
- Car service. We had an early flight out and requested a car be ready at 6am to take us to the airport. Actually, we requested a truck because we were bringing some big items back with us. And we made this request mid-afternoon the day before we needed to go. 6am next morning our ride is not there, and no one is sure why that is. The doormen seemed genuinely puzzled by this dropped ball, and the guy at the front desk was able to scramble and get another ride arranged for us, but we waited a half-hour and were cutting it closer than we would have liked for making our flight.
Scorecard:
The 2 Key Questions
(1) Would I stay here again? No, not unless all comparable options were unavailable.
(2) Did it seem like a good value? We paid $208/night. It would have definitely been worth it were there not so many screw ups. Bottom line - it was neither an outrageous bargain nor ludicrously overpriced.
Essentials
Service - Below average; decent on the routine things, but borderline condescending on some more significant issues.
Bed - Very good
Bathroom - Good; it's cool, but a bit cramped
Amenities
TV / DVD Player - Good, when it worked. Screen is small, but the rooms are a bit small, so probably good not to have a huge screen dominating things.
View - Good; Room 105 faces a nice little park
The Internets - Horrible; they advertise free wi-fi, but I was never able to access it for more than 10 uninterrupted minutes during our entire stay. You might ask what the hell do I need to be on The Internets during a vacation for anyway. Fair question. But I like to upload my photos to Flickr as I go, rather than deal with hundreds of pictures to upload in one batch when I return home.
Update: For more information on Condesa d.f., I just found the site differentworld.com, which appears to have more info and helpful pictures in its review than what you find on the Condesa d.f. site itself.
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