The Camino Real chain has about 15 properties in Mexico, The Monterrey hotel is is an attractive, safe part of the city adjacent to a mall. The style is Mexican contemporary, with lots of polished stone and colorful ceramics. As of Jan. 2012, prices were quire reasonable - $105 for a moderately large, well-furnished room with a king sized bed, desk and large well-appointed bathroom. But be aware of the room tax that a gets tacked on -- about 20% will be added to the bill. Wired internet costs about $10 a day and the bandwidth was more than adequate for email.
There's a nice buffet breakfast with Mexican specialties, fresh fruit and a limited selection of cereals the seemed tuned to kids. The coffee at breakfast was below par. The hotel staff was friendly and you won't be at a disadvantage if your only language is English.
Checking was smooth but the checkout process was painfully slow. The reserve charge put on your credit card has to be deleted and the actual charge put on it, and it took almost 10 minutes.
Whatever you may read in the paper about drug killings in Mexico, both Monterrey and the hotel felt quite secure.
- Camino Real Monterrey Hotel
