We stayed at this hotel during the first three days of a week-long trip to Oaxaca. The location is central, although the street was under construction and devoid of pedestrian traffic or even lighting at night. The staff (maids, waiters) were pleasant. However, the mother-daughter team managing the hotel was quite disinterested in accommodating our preferences for a quieter room, which left an unpleasant in the mouth. There are a lot of other hotels with very gracious management-- I recommend you pick one of those. We ended up moving to Hacienda Los Laureles for the second half of the week, where we took advantage of the spa and enjoyed the more pleasant atmosphere.

We stayed here to be close to the center of town the last week of February, 2006. The hotel is very convenient to everything and the owner, his daughter, and all the staff were very accomodating. It is actually quite elegant, with modern amenities including air conditioning that works and is quiet. If you are looking for serenity and at the same time you want to be close to the action, this is the place.

We are ending our one-week stay here tomorrow. I can send this review before we arrive home because there is free, wireless internet for those who travel with a laptop. We have a "junior suite," meaning two double beds, on the second floor. It has been quiet and comfortable. The pedestrian-only area of the street (5 de Mayo) has just been permanently extended to include this block, which now makes it as quiet as the Camino Real down the street. Rooms have an excellent marble shower. The air-conditioning, food (breakfast and lunch), and personnel are all that one could hope for. The place is very clean and well-maintained. When we return to Oaxaca, this is where we will stay. We recommend it highly.

Based on the reviews we read here, my husband and I booked 4 nights at Casa Antigua for the week between Christmas and New Year's. Since it was high season they only had a standard for the first 3 nights and a jr. suite for the final night. The charge for the first night came through on my credit card which we thought guaranteed our reservation for the entire time, as was posted on their web page.

Shortly afterward and still over one month before we had to travel, we had flight changes that necessitated our canceling the first night. I emailed reservations and then got an email back confirming the cancellation of one night and reconfirming the other three nights -- still specifying a standard room and then a jr. suite for the last night. They still held the deposit for the reservation. When we arrived, we were told that because we had not paid for all the nights in advance, the reservation was not guaranteed and the only room they had available for the first two nights was a jr. suite and the even more expensive master suite for the final night. At check out, the reservation clerk at first did not include the deposit for the first night until we pointed it out.

Our jr. suite was next to the bar and the kitchen on the first floor, which made it very noisy. In addition, the walls are paper thin -- surprising given the bathrooms are tiled in stone. The upstairs master suite was quiet, though, and other than the reservations clerk who we thought made up her policies on the spot (probably to cover for giving our reserved standard room away to someone who complained of the noise), the staff was helpful, the rooms large and clean, and the location excellent. The hotel is only a few blocks from the Santo Domingo complex and many excellent restaurants.