We stayed at the Hotel Francia our first two nights in Oaxaca. We chose the hotel based on price and location and were not disappointed on either. The hot water was a a problem--the shower temperature was completely hit or miss. The hotel was a bit loud, but nothing worse than other places in Oaxaca. The courtyard and restaurant are very nice. We really enjoyed our stay and would have no problem recommending the place to other budget-concious travelers. Make sure you try the hot chocolate place across the street!

We had a room with no view with very poor water pressure in the shower. The hard beds bothered some people but not me. We were next to a seating area outside the rooms we heard people at night. I wake up early and the staff was not concerned about anything but my disturbing other guests. The lack of a frig was a concern and the staff does not speak English. We stayed at a great place in Mexico city for 45 a night but the Francia was only fair. It has a good location.In many respects the front desk staff was helpful and they recoommended a Guelaguetza show at the Mission de los Angeles Hotel which was very good.

First impression sent shivers down our spines: upon entry there is soimething very unpleasant about this place, it feels musty and dungeon-like. Despite information that it was recently renovated the hotel seemed very drab. Paint seemed fresh but everything else was not. All walls are painted white. Everything else is very old, included cracked floors, nasty faucets, filthy furniture etc. Well, we were just too tired to look elsewhere but I wish we did.

Shower was worst I ever had in Mexico - water pressure was so poor I could not rinse off soap.

The hotel is located on one of the busiest streets in town: 20 de Noviembre, made of stone blocks, maiking the driving cars sound like army tanks. The traffic never stops, it literally goes on all night and the street noise cannot be blacked out by industrial strength earplugs - we could not sleep at night for this and another reason: the room was very-very hot and the ceiling fan did nothing to cool it.

We asked for another room in the morning but it was even uglier: very dark without windows (facing the inner courtyard).

I saved the best for last: Hotel Francia is the first hotel we ever found COCKROACHES in in Mexico - my husband killed two, one on the table and another underneath it.

The posted price at the desk is 646 pesos for a double (about $60) but this hotel is not worth 20 bucks. Folks, there are beautiful hotels and better located charging less.

AVOID Hotel Francia. This place is so awful it should be dropped from guidebook listings. DH Lawrence or not, this place is a dump.

My wife and I booked a stay at the Hotel Francia during the off season in mid-January. While the location was nice enough being a couple blocks off the Zocala, we encountered several major problems. First off no one at the hotel spoke any English whatsoever which normally isn't a problem. We'd been traveling through Mexico long enough to roll with this situation by pulling out our trusty phrasebook and dictionary. Unfortunately no one at the desk could be bothered to even work with us. They simply launched into a few phrases too fast for us to undetstand (despite our repeated entreaties to slow it down) then went back to chatting with their friends or co-workers. On top of that we found out the room was more expensive than we were told on making our reservation. I pulled out the reservation claiming we would only pay a certain amount (in pesos) but the front desk's English got even worse, if such a thing could be possible. We finally just headed up to our room resolved to deal with the situation the next morning.

Now comes the really bad events. The hotel advertised remodeled rooms in the older section of the hotel being available. They weren't. All the rooms NOT facing directly onto the incredibly noisy streets below were closed off for contruction. My wife and I got probably a total of four hours sleep all told in fifteen minute intervals. The final straw was when my wife went out into the common area to read a book in the hopes of getting to sleep. When she came back to the room briefly, one of the hotel staff stole her English language book and everything else she'd left out there.

Needless to say we checked out the next morning and found a great hotel room right on the Zocala for the price we'd originally been quoted by the Hotel Francia. If my stay at the Hotel Francia had been a restaurant meal, I would have refused to pay. Perhaps when their current construction is finished and the old wing is re-opened it might be worth a return visit. Unfortunately until then I cannot recommend staying there even if you bring ear plugs. The traffic literally made our bed shake at a few points.