We stayed our first night in Merida at the hotel next door, which was a few dollars cheaper. Big mistake. We moved the following morning to this charming and elegant 100 year old plus beauty.
The entry courtyard reaches up three stories, accessed by white Carrera marble stairs and ballustrades, surrounded by columned interior hallways that all open out into the center airspace. The lighting in the courtyard and hallways changes hourly and is captivating. The tile work, the furniture, the atmosphere is all part of the historic experience.
The rooms are huge (get one with two beds). #4 was preferable looking out over the street. The ceilings are high, the carved wood trim and tall windows are romantic. The rooms are all refitted with mini-split Air Conditioning. The bathrooms are large and clean. The beds are perfectly soft enough. get a pitcher of cold water at the front desk. parking is difficult downtown but they have a lot a couple blocks away.
Stay here. It beats all we saw in the historic district. Walk one block to the old cathedral (symphony played there Saturday night) and to main city park with vendors, food and folkloric dancers.
Would and will stay here again. Imagined Zapata or Madero staying in my room and his horse tied up out front while they planned the revolution. in 1910. Awesome.

When we walked into the lobby of this gorgeous retro relic, my husband and I just smiled and decided we had to stay there. It's just beautiful, clean, and fresh. We had spent the previous few nights in a budget hotel called The Trinidad which had a lovely lobby, but the room was pretty bad...especially the bed, linens, and towels. For that dump we paid $35/night. So I was shocked that the Gran Hotel...an elegant masterpiece was only $54.

The room did not disappoint. Great bed, etc. We had the lovliest view of the plaza and church. Of course, we paid the price for our lovely view by being subjected to some fairly bad music during the night...but it didn't go too late.

The location couldn't be better. Stay here if you can. It's totally worth it.

The hotel is lovely, well-renovated but still with a historic feel. The room tiles are original, so some are chipped. If you are looking for a spanking new place, this is not it. We loved the slightly antiquated decor reminiscent of the early 1900s. High ceilings, good-quality linens. All was well until the music started in the square below. Two competing bands played until 1 am. After awhile we gave up trying to sleep, went down and enjoyed the night life. If you can't beat them, join them! The hotel advertises parking, but there are several days in the year when parking is NOT available. We came on one of these days and safe parking was not easy to find. Check ahead if you need parking.

I stayed at El Gran Hotel for one week in July 2007. I loved this hotel for its location and its turn-of-the-century building and decor.

The hotel is perfectly located less than a block from the main zocalo in the historic center of Merida. If you have a car, there is no parking at the hotel but there are several pay lots a block or two away.

The hotel is in a beautiful 1900 building and is decorated with turn of the century furniture and antiques. Our room was quite large with two large wooden French doors opening up to two separate balconies. The room had one king bed, high ceilings, nice woodwork, beautiful old tile floors, and was furnished with antiques. The bathroom was small and functional with the sink/mirror area outside of the bathroom.

The hotel was clean and well cared for and the staff were friendly.

The only negative I can think of is that in the extreme July heat the air conditioner in our room wasn't powerful enough to cool the room as much as I'd have liked, probably due to the very high ceilings.

I would definitely stay at this hotel again the next time I am in Merida.