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April 27, 2008
Querétaro: Prologue
Santiago de Querétaro, Querétaro
Shawn and I have decided to take a trip next week to visit the nearby city of Santiago de Querétaro, in the state of Querétaro.
Founded in 1531, the city, usually referred to simply by "Querétaro," is the state capital. In Mexican history, it is famous for being the place where Emperor Maximillian was executed and for being the capital of the country during the Mexican American War, when the United States invaded the republic and took Mexico City in the Battle of Chapultepec. More recently, it is renowned for being one of the cleanest cities in Mexico, and in 2007 was ranked as the second-best place to do business in Mexico, according to América Economía magazine. In all of Latin America, they ranked it fifth, just ahead of Miami at #6.
We always want our first stay in an old Mexican town to be in or near the historic center. Since we do not have a car, it is easiest to stay within walking distance to the sites and museums. On the other hand, it's the hot season here in central Mexico, so a place with air conditioning is preferable. Often the hotels in the centro are historic landmarks and cannot be modified, so many do not (and cannot) have air conditioning. Luckily in Querétaro, there are a few options that satisfy both criteria.
The first place we considered was La Casa de la Marquesa, a stunning property that is ranked #1 on Trip Advisor.
The main problem with La Casa de la Marquesa is the price. The property has cheaper suites (USD $108 per night – USD $127 with tax), but these are reported to be in a second building that serves as sort of an annex to the main hotel. I have read reviews that say the charm of the second building is lacking, as is the service in that section of the hotel. Besides, a big part of staying in La Casa de la Marquesa is the historic appeal, and only the main structure is part of the legend: a Spanish marquis supposedly fell in love with a beautiful nun who could not return his love, yet as a last gift, she asked him build an aqueduct to provide water for the city and the most beautiful house in the city. Why exactly a nun would be concerned about having a beautiful house built for her that she couldn't live in doesn't make any sense to me, but that's how the legend goes.
To be in the main building, one must book the higher priced rooms, a Royal Suite (USD $180 per night – USD $211.50 with tax) or and Imperial Suite (USD $245 per night – USD $288.00 with tax).
It should be noted that these prices are at odds with the published rates on the web site, and have been obtained by doing an actual search for a room through the reservations interface.
That was considerably more than we wanted to spend, even though the hotel does look beautiful and luxurious. Yet in a city where one can find accommodation for under USD $100 per night easily, it should be possible to find something in-between that offers some of the modern conveniences we wanted as well as a good location.
We then considered two other hotels, Hotel Quinta Santiago and the Mesón Santa Rosa, ranked at #2 and #5 in popularity on Trip Advisor. While their web sites offer some information about the amenities, we had to have Charles call to nail them down on the availability of the services we wanted and the room rates.
Both are in the historic center, and both have air conditioning in the rooms, but it turns out that the Mesón Santa Rosa only offers air conditioning in some of the rooms, and one has to specifically request that when making a reservation. I tend to be wary of such special requests being noted on the hotel reservation, and I am afraid of arriving at the hotel only to find that they do not have a room with the thing I particularly asked for.
That alone made me a bit hesitant to go book a room at the Mesón Santa Rosa, but their accommodations look a bit nicer, and all the rooms have bathtubs, a feature that Shawn looks for when we stay in a hotel. On the other hand, the Hotel Quinta Santiago has not only air conditioning in all the rooms, but it also has Internet access in the rooms, which is something that I look for when we stay in a hotel. The Mesón Santa Rosa has wireless Internet access only in the restaurant and bar. The Hotel Quinta Santiago offers a continental breakfast, included in the room rate, whereas the Mesón Santa Rosa does not. Both were about the same cost for their standard rooms – MXN $1,258 (about USD $120) at the Hotel Quinta Santiago and MXN $1,292 (about USD $124) - so it came down to the features of each.
In the end, the in-room Internet access, guaranteed air-conditioning and continental breakfast included won out over having a bathtub. Of course, when we arrive, we may find the Internet access in the room to be slow, the air-conditioning to be barely functional, and it's a given that the continental breakfast will be nothing to write home about.
To get there, we booked tickets on ETN, our favorite bus line. It is, after all, "la línea más cómoda." Instead of having four seats per row (two on each side of the aisle), they have only three, and they are wider and cushier than most regular seats. They give you a little bag with a ham and cheese sandwich and a Coca-Cola® brand soda of your choice when you board the bus, and they usually have movies during the trip that do not make you want to gouge your eyes out. The cost of the tickets was MXN $366 per person, each way, or about USD $35. The drive will take about four and a half hours.
Once there, we hope to visit the Museo del Arte (Ignacio Allende, #14), and the Cerro de las Campañas, the site of Maximilian's execution. It is now a national park, complete with a monument to Benito Juárez, a museum dedicated to the siege of Querétaro, and a chapel, built posthumously by Maximilian's family.
We will surely check out a few other things of historic and cultural interest, but we still have to do a bit of research yet.
Our Lonely Planet guide to Mexico reports that there are two vegetarian restaurants in town: Restaurante Ibis Natura (Juárez 47 Norte) and Restaurante Vegetariano Natura (Andador Vergara 7). We'll have to see if they are still open when we get there.
One can view a map of the Centro Histórico and all the main tourist attractions online. as well as the municipal web site and a site providing tourist information in English.
Posted by crispy at April 27, 2008 05:30 PM