Trip Report: 36 Hours in Mexico
Review: Alaska Airlines First Class SJC – GDL
Checking In
After a ~30 minute Uber ride from the airport, I arrived at the Intercontinental. The lobby lies under a large atrium that has a large skylight. When it’s sunny, the lobby is filled with light. However, there was a thunderstorm one morning and the lobby felt really dark and gray.
The lobby had a few separate sitting areas. This was my favorite:
I checked in at the front desk. There was some sort of refrigeration conference happening at the same time, so there were always people and “iiar” signage in the lobby.
The woman who checked me in noted that I was an IHG Club member and as thanks, gave me a … bottle of water. She also told me that she upgraded me to a club level room. As I was waiting, I noticed that maybe an elevator was under repair:
To the left of the check-in desk was a water filter in the shape of a Hershey’s kiss:
And also the club lounge, which I did not use:
The Room
I booked a standard room for 2 nights for a total of $282. My room was 1602, so I headed up to the 16th floor. As I got out of the elevator, I couldn’t tell whether to turn left or right, because the sign numbers did not include 1602. Though I did have a nice aerial view of the lobby.
Then I found another sign for Club Rooms.
This led me to a doorway where I had to insert my room key to gain access:
When entering the room, the left side featured a closet with a safe.
The right side of the room was dedicated to two beds and a couple seating options:
There was a desk past the beds, on the left side:
There were floor to ceiling windows behind the desk. The room offered a view of the hotel pool and the surrounding areas:
In fact, I arrived at the hotel just in time to catch the sunset:
The views continued in the bathroom, which was located behind and to the left of the desk.
The bathroom featured a single sink, bathtub, toilet, and shower.
The bathtub was impressive, though I didn’t use it (bathtubs, especially hotel tubs, seem so gross to me):
In Room Dining
I ordered room service for breakfast both mornings. Below is the menu:
The first morning, I called to order a continental breakfast. They delivered it in 15 minutes:
The breakfast came with coffee, orange juice, wheat toast (+ butter and jams) and a fruit plate. It was delicious and reasonably priced. (OK, well it was overpriced for Mexico but reasonably priced considering how much I’ve paid for room service elsewhere).
The second morning, I placed an order for the “American Breakfast” via the door hanger. The meal was delivered promptly, but someone had added a checkmark for “Chilaquiles” which I definitely did not order. Kinda sketchy but they removed it off my bill.
Bottom Line
As a business traveler, I was comfortable at this hotel. However, it’s a bit pricey considering the area. If I were to return to Guadalajara, I’d probably stay in an Airbnb.
