Quiet neighborhood, decent breakfast in hotel restaurant, Argentine restaurant very good, Interesting " real " Mexican decor, walked to main road to catch tour bus no problem, bathrooms clean but a bit rough, Reliable sitios. We enjoyed our stay. I've also stayed at Hotel Catedral which is much more modern and way more active neighborhood if thats what your looking for.

We visited in January 2006. We had been staying at Hotel Cathedral in the Centro Historico, which we loved, but thought it best to see as much of the city as possible. Unfortunately, we wisehd we's stayed where we were, hotel wise, but the location move was good.
Our main problem was the COLD!! It was freezing, and the room and windows are huge (and when we arrived, the windows were open!). The door staff gave us extra blankets, but they ran out (so it wasn't just us). I'm sure that in summer, when it's hot, the rooms are airy and bright, but in winter, a cosy (small even!) room is probably a better choice. It was clean. Price wise, it was expensive, compared with DF in general and Mexico as a whole. I',m afriad I didn't find the staff friendly , like other reviewers, but there seems to be a lot of people working there.

I was in Mexico City for more than 5 weeks (May-July, 2005) and Posada Viena was recommended to me by colleagues who stayed there in the past. I loved this little hotel, that quickly became a home away from home. The hotel is in an area of shops and small business colleges, about five blocks south of Paseo Reforma, and four block east of Insurgentes. I like its location much better than the more touristy (but nearby) Zona Rosa -- and the hotel's personnel are fabulous, including the front desk folks, the doorman, the local sitio taxi drivers, the waiters, and the cleaning staff. These friendly people helped me plan and execute a delightful pinata party on the hotel's rooftop for my group of visiting American students!

There is a substantial discount on published rates for people staying more than a week. I stayed in a large suite, but another colleague stayed in a smaller room and both of us were very satisfied. (One day I overheard a fussy American couple stomping out after previewing a reserved room -- huffing that there wasn't enough space in the bathroom for the lady's "toiletries." If you are that sort of person, I don't recommend straying far from the American chain hotels in Mexico City or any other country, for that matter.) I found the rooms simple, charming and well appointed. Ceiling fans were completely satisfactory, especially as the large windows open wide. Lots of folk art, including lovely Talavera pottery, scattered around the hotel.

In the neighborhood, there is the Benjamin Franklin Library, connected to the U.S. Trade Center, and if you are staying in Mexico City for a long period, the library is a wonderful place for catching up on home town newspapers and free short-term access to the internet. But we also became good friends with the operators of the small internet cafe (the closest one to the hotel, north on Dinamarca), with great computers for 12 pesos an hour. About three blocks away (just past the Wax Museum) is a supermarket, and there are lots of nearby small restaurants for mid-day meals. Within about a fifteen minute walk to the east is the Ciudadela, a huge folk arts & crafts market, that is very interesting, clean and safe during daylight hours. I also saw a top-notch production of Fiddler on the Roof, in Spanish of course, at a superb modern theater about two blocks from the hotel (ask at the front desk.)

I do recommend keeping the hotel's business card (or a helpful map the hotel offers) in hand while staying in Mexico City, as taxi drivers may not be familiar with the hotel's tucked away location without clear directions.

It's not big, not fancy, and not loaded with amenities. But if you're looking for a clean, friendly, well-located basic hotel with loads of Mexican charm, you can't go wrong at the Posada Viena.

The hotel is on a fairly quiet street just two short blocks off the Reforma subway line. A 30-peso cab ride will get you almost anywhere within the Zona Rosa or Chapultapec Park. There's a pharmacy across the street for snacks and sundries (buy your bottled water here: it's a fraction of what they charge at the desk).

They've paid a lot of attention to the decor. The halls and rooms are loaded with Mexican character, due to the very detailed traditional decorative painting and typical local art. The rooms are furnished with basic amenities: TV, phone, mirrors, ample closets. You'll have to call downstairs for the iron. We stayed in a king suite, which included a small separate parlor area and a very comfortable new mattress. There's no AC, but the ceiling fan moved more than enough air even on hot July days.

Downstairs, there's an Argentine restaurant that has good-enough food and really fine service. It stays open until 11 most nights -- great if you arrive late and starving, as we did. The Internet and business center in the lobby offers the basics. (No wifi as of this writing.) The staff behind the desk is familial, friendly, efficient, and knows the city well. We were traveling as a mother-daughter team, and they were sweetly solicitous and protective of us throughout our stay. (The first evening, we got a 10 pm visit from one of the staff members, deeply apologizing in advance for the fact that they'd just checked several 10-year-old Little Leaguers into the room above ours. If we had any noise issues, they said, we were to let them know immediately. We didn't, but appreciated the thoughtful gesture.)

If you have the hotel call your cabs, they'll put you in a city-certified "sitio" taxi that charges about three times more than non-certified taxi. During the day, you may want to forego this luxury; but at night, -- especially if your party comprises women traveling alone or in pairs -- it's a worthwhile precaution. Sitio drivers pride themselves on their deep knowledge of the city, and often speak passable English. If you're looking for a tour guide or a little extra service, sitio cabs can be a worthwhile investment.

The prices listed here are rack rate; we negotiated much lower ones by calling ahead. You'll save even more if you can pay in cash.

It's a sweet little jewel of a tourist-class hotel that gives a lot for the low price.