HotelChatter

Room Reaction
It's really hard to go wrong with a new room and one that's got a lot of space too. The decor is mostly white (white sheets, white walls, white furniture) but with some bursts of colors and patterns too. The bed was comfortable and the sheets were gentle but nothing luxurious. The bathroom featured an overhead shower and a handheld shower, which contributed to us taking extremely long and hot showers every day.

Amenity Madness
A giant flat-screen TV hung on the wall opposite the bed. An iHome docking station was on the nightstand and a coffee maker was placed near the mini-bar. There is a charge for using this (about $4) as well as for the bottled water offered in-room. Decent Eramis toiletries were found in the bathroom.

Internet Connect
The rooms feature a great work space with plenty of plug-in and connect options. The in-room WiFi is about $13 a day, although as a conference-goer we received a special rate of $5. The connection was slow but we were still able to upload videos to this site.

Fitness Center and Pool
Our first morning there we tried out the hotel's fitness center. This space has not been renovated and a few of the machines are quite old. One elliptical was broken and we prayed that the one we used would not break down on us mid-stride.

The ladies locker room is even scarier. We're not even sure what goes on in there. There were no towels available anywhere and everything looked incredibly ancient.

The hotel does have an outdoor swimming pool onsite and while we didn't check it out, another panel speaker did and posted this TwitPic of the hotel's sign.

Dining and Bars
The lobby bar/lounge is the happening place. It's open pretty much all day and there's a happy hour that has 2 for 1 Margaritas. All right! The margaritas are delicious by the way and they aren't super strong either. The bar/lounge is completely renovated with plenty of seating and few flat-screen TVs too.

The hotel has its own restaurant Fruitas y Flores and an Italian restaurant, Alfredo di Roma. We didn't eat at this two places due to convention events but we did order room service which was speedy and decent. (Stick to the Mexican specialties, not the Mexican attempts at American foods.)

Location
The hotel is located close to the Guadalajara Expo Center, making it a convenient spot for business travelers. There is a mall located directly across the hotel, The Plaza del Sol, which has some well-known stores like Nike, Zara and Starbucks inside as well as a Chili's restaurant. (There are several of these in GDL.) Next to the hotel, is a sort of all-purpose shop called Sanborne's which sells everything from makeup to iPods to candy and Tylenol.

Bottom Line
Room rates start at $117USD for a king bed but we're thinking that's probably for an un-renovated room. Trust us, pay the extra $20 or $30 more for a renovated room. Otherwise, you will not want to stay here at all. Not even after the Margarita happy hour.

Disclosure: Our room was graciously taken care of by the SATW. All other charges including internet and room service were paid by us.