Hotel Review - IHG Holiday Inn In Mérida, Mexico
IHG Holiday Inn, Mérida Mexico
My honest review of IHG Holiday Inn in Mérida, Mexico
For this trip, we decided on the Holiday Inn, located in the Paseo Montejo area just north of Centro. It is a newer building with a historical vibe, which is what I was looking for in accommodations. Being in a quieter area of town with some landmarks within walking distance was also on my list. It's a great location with stores, restaurants, and walking access to what we were interested in seeing this trip.
Some of the best sidewalks run from the hotel along the main road, Paseo Montejo, to Plaza Grande Park to see the Cathedral and museums. The other option is Calle 60, which you can take down to Centro, filled with historic buildings, shops, and restaurants.
Accommodations: IHG – Holiday Inn, Paseo Montejo, Mérida, Mexico
Address: Av. Colón 498, Entre Paseo Montejo y Calle 60, Mérida, YUC 97000, Mexico
The IHG Holiday Inn had great historic charm and was clean, with a friendly staff. It was in the price range we were wanting to spend in the area.
Rooms & Amenities
The hotel staff was friendly, with free Wi-Fi and parking available. There were plenty of open areas inside and outside the hotel, with two restaurants and one bar.
The pool area had plenty of chairs for the weather we were having, with towels available to use. The space was nice and open, and the gym had a nice view. The ice and vending machines were easy to find in a separate room along the open-air hallways, which helped limit noise to the rooms.
The room was clean, but it smelled strongly of cleaning chemicals, which aggravated my head and gave me a headache. It did eventually air out, but I wish it had been ventilated before we arrived.
The room was located by the pool with a working, quiet A/C unit. It also included an in-room safe, hair dryer, iron, sofa, and workspace in our suite, plus a business center nearby. The laundry area was next door but wasn't bothersome — just minor noise.
Overall, the stay was good and comfortable, minus a nightclub noise disruption on Saturday night. The nightclub played thumping music from 5:30 PM to 3:30 AM, which makes this area a no-go for a return trip unless the nightclub is gone next time — which is likely, since nightclubs rarely last long.
Tip: Highly recommend signing up for free reward points. After all these years, I finally signed up for reward points with the hotel brand, which got us a free upgrade to a suite instead of a standard room. It was nice to have the sofa and extra space. As a rewards member, it also got us a free drink and snack coupon.
Things to Do Near the IHG Holiday Inn:
The open-air La Veranda restaurant in the parking lot was in a great location with beautifully presented cuisine. Visit the Living History Museums nearby on your walk down to Centro.
Some places to visit within walking distance include the Quinta Montes Molina Living Museum, Restaurant & Bookstore, the Music Museum, the Regional Museum of Anthropology, Plaza Grande, Cathedral de San Ildefonso, and many more parks.
Transportation from the Airport:
How to get from Mérida Airport to the Holiday Inn at Av. Colón 498. The trip takes about 15 minutes and you have four main options depending on your budget and preference:
Official Airport Taxi:
Buy a fixed-rate ticket inside the terminal at an official kiosk then walk out to the taxi stand. Major authorized companies include Taxi Seguro Mérida and Econotaxi. Expect to pay around $200 to $300 MXN.
Pre-Booked Private Shuttle:
If you prefer everything arranged in advance, you can book a private vehicle ahead of time through local transfer services or travel agencies.
"Va y ven" Bus (Cheapest):
This official public airport shuttle costs about $45 MXN (approx. $2.20 USD). It runs directly from the terminal to the city center; you will just need to hop off at a central stop like Plaza Santa Lucía and take a quick ride to the hotel.
Uber / Rideshare:
Uber operates in Mérida but is legally banned from picking up passengers directly on airport property. To use it, you have to walk outside the airport gates to the main road to meet your driver.
Pros & Cons
Pros
Location
Walkable
Restaurants
Stores/shopping
Transportation
Sightseeing
Hotel:
For guest safety - They didn’t call out my room number aloud, which I feel is safer for travelers. They have open stairwells in the middle of the hotel for safer, more convenient use.
A/C– Heater unit worked great and was quiet.
In-room safe, not typical for a 3-star hotel.
The pool and gym looked nice. We didn't get a chance to use them due to weather and time.
Friendly staff.
Clean hotel.
Eco-friendly-ish. Based on marketing and research, IHG is not officially labeled an eco-hotel, but they are moving toward being more eco-friendly through energy management (LED lighting, smart thermostats), resource conservation (reuse offerings) and some waste reduction (refillable dispensers). The free bathroom amenities were wrapped in paper instead of plastic — though unfortunately not the plastic cups. Positive steps forward at least, hopefully they keep improving with more eco conscious building and practices.
Cons – Needs Improvement
Area:
Honest drawback — the main negative of our stay was Saturday night, when a nearby nightclub played extremely loud, thumping music from 5:30 PM until 3:30 AM. It was a surprise, since Zona Paseo Montejo has a reputation for being a quieter area.
Hotel Food:
$$$ - The hotel food was on the expensive side for a 3-star budget — $30 each for breakfast wasn't something I wanted to pay. Ask for a menu to check other options; they probably have some, but we missed that on our visit. The good news is that you have several food options near by.
The free breakfast policy is confusing — pay attention when booking, as you can prepay for it if you want, but it still ran $25+ per person and I’m to frugal with my time and money to spend that much on a breakfast. Don't rely on getting it through credit card perks, even if it says one is included daily.
Hotel Room Improvement Recommendations:
Cups – Horrible, useless plastic cups.
Toiletries – Update the lotion, soap, shampoo and conditioner to a non-toxic brand. Currently using Dove.
Smell – Overpowering, strong chemical smell from cleaning solutions. Needs better ventilation and less toxic cleaning products.
Reservations:
There are too many options for booking a room. Unfortunately, the trend across every hotel and booking site is to offer too many options — cancelable vs. non-cancelable within a certain window, rates with or without breakfast and no clear details. It's become a time-consuming, frustrating marketing experiment that hopefully will end soon.
Summary
It was a great little getaway weekend, but I'll need to make more trips, since I could have stayed longer with much more to explore. I’ve heard Mérida, Mexico is one of the best places to visit the last week of October into November for celebrating Dia de Muertos.
Luckily, I currently staying in the area and more trips are planned in the future. Here are a few things I'll pay closer attention to next time:
Tropical climate: I've heard it gets brutally hot in the spring and summer, so I'm choosing to visit between October and March for the festivities and cooler weather. If you visit in the summer months, be prepared and plan on enjoying the cooler actives around Cenotes. Dry season runs November to April, with occasional light showers. It's still pleasant unless a cold front comes in. Pack accordingly.
Next trip, I'd consider upgrading to one of IHG's 4-star+ hotels with mini fridges for hot weather or longer stays — there are several IHG hotels in Mérida to choose from. Since I don't like eating out for every meal, having a mini fridge would let me buy groceries for breakfast, save leftovers, and keep cold water on hand.
I'll read reviews more closely for noise issues going forward. The northern end of Zona Paseo Montejo is a quieter location to stay, but from now on I'll also ask the front desk if they've had any complaints about nightclub noise, since we prefer a good night's sleep over a livelier area. Yes, I know it can be loud anywhere.
January was a great time of year to visit, so next trip I'll pay closer attention to timing of events, so I don't miss out.
Dream! Plan! Go!
This is not a paid sponsorship article, I paid for this trip at the time of this article. For more information on Budgeting, look for that article coming soon or under Planning. See Disclosures under Resources for more details.
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