We traveled to Veracruz from another part of Mexico specifically for the shopping. We stayed at the Galeria Plaza (a Las Brisas hotel) because of the reasonable price and the close proximity to the major department stores and box retailers (Costco, Sam's Club, Plaza Las Americas, etc).

The location was great for the shopping - conveniently attached to the mall. It was easy to find in Boca del Rio.

The rooms were ok - in desperate need of some repairs though. The light in the bathroom buzzed to the point that I was worried about it's electrical safety. The ceiling looked like it was falling apart. The bed was comfortable and the room was spacious - but the housekeeping was a bit lax. We did not have coffee for our coffee maker, there were some long dark hairs on the bedding when we arrived.

When we checked out the front desk told us that we owed for a bottle of water that we used, we brought our own, and there weren't any bottles left on the counter next to the coffee maker. We pointed those things out and they reversed the charge. We did not use the minibar.

I can't comment on the beach club because we never went, the pool area at the hotel looked very nice but we never used it. The hotel was fully occupied by a group who were having a conference there - but there was really no impact on our stay as a result.

I would stay there again but can't give it more than a 3 * based on the maintenance and housekeeping issues.

The Hotel was nice and we liked the indoor pool since it is warm, the Jacuzzis also worked. The hotel has a nice Club house at the beach which is 5 minutes from the Hotel, the club house has another pool which is very suitable for kids and the beach was clean, our kids could walk inside the sea for about 50-70 meters without swimming.
The entrance of the hotel is through the shopping center and there is a fast food place near it, so there were many options for dinner/lunch/breakfast including the famous coffee of la Parroquia and a VIPS.

Rooms were clean but beds could be better, actually the beds were not very comfortable. In the indoor pool area there were pin-pon tables but the floor was very slippery and actually one of my kids fall several times, the hotel personnel attended my kid and tried to clean the floor but anyway it was slippery.

In general we enjoyed the Hotel, specially the indoor pool that we used every morning without worrying about the weather and the club house.

Mi opinion about this hotel will not be very kind… I took the decision to organise an international scientific congress in the Galeria Plaza Hotel. What a mistake!

Despite their five stars and their experience to organise this kind of event (2 ladies in charge of it), the service provided was minimal: equipment not in good condition, minimal comfort, delays… Disappointing for a hotel of this category!

Then, with my colleagues we were amused observing the rain leaking into the hall of the building (inside their motor lobby)!! According to the staff, this was usual. How possibly could a five star hotel leak with the rain? And how this kind of hotel can be a 5-star?

I will finish my review with one of their great selling point : the “beach club” (club de playa)… which is in reality a big joke: a small pool with 100 square feet of sand in front of the public beach, with all the snack trolley men! It was very annoying, the bar was closed, no music…

At the end, lots of my colleagues were asking me how we chose this hotel, and paid this (huge) price! I hope my comments will help all the community of travellers to choose the best place to stay or to organise a nice congress...

Cheers, Locky_Star

I had a good experience with the Galeria Plaza. The hotel staff was always very helpful. There is also alot going on with the mall being below and a couple of restaurants and a great bar (il Davide) within walking distance. The beach shuttle was very quick and I enjoyed having access to the beach club because we were there during Semana Santa and the beach was very crowded. A great experience for us!