Coatepec is a provincial town with no large hotels. The Meson del Alferez is located a re-purposed building which has been completely re-engineered to provide comfortable, contemporary rooms. This room was on two levels - the sleeping area in a loft reached via a narrow stairway. Nice, but not for everyone. The stylings are very simple; there is minimal decoration - sort of like a modern version of a Veracuzano bedroom of 100 years ago. the beds are comfortable and the bathrooms are very nice, although hot water was scarce in the morning - maybe a quirk of the day, perhaps solar heating (?), but definitely cooler than I would have wanted.

Reception staff was helpful and personable. There is parking across the street on a property owned by the hotel.

The hotel includes breakfast, but there was little to recommend it. This was the week part. The restaurant is not a full service restaurant and clearly laid out only for self-service breakfast. The coffee was mediocre, the bacon slightly off, the tortillas cold. Better to go down the street to one of the many places on or close to the plaza.

A spent a week in Coatepec at this hotel. The place is probably the cleanest hotel I ever stayed in. I'm talking mother-in-law clean. The staff was friendly but spoke no English, which was a perfect match for my lack of Spanish. This led to several exchanges where I would try and get information on where to eat, or I needed to get the little ticket that allowed me to get breakfast in the hotel (comes with the room), and the staff would carefully watch me pantomime eating , exclaim "internet", and give me the password. Somehow it all worked out. There is a nice restaurant next door. The free breakfast was really good and the menu had pictures which made my life easier. The location is good for access to the main plaza. Charming is a good description.

The room design is pretty unusual. You walk in through the two story doors, enter a very small living area with a tiny couch, and after 4 steps you are in the bathroom. There is a remarkable stairway that dominates the living area that takes you to the upstairs loft with bed. The tile stairs are quite steep and rather narrow. The loft I had was hot (no ac and no windows that open) and the thin walls allowed every sound from the adjacent rooms and the restaurant next door to enter. I did enjoy the the guy singing Beatles songs at the restaurant - he really sounded like a young Paul McCartney. Fortunately he stopped by 11 pm. These is no way to make the room dark. If that is important, don't stay here. Also, the hot water is not turned on until 7 am, so early showers are an adventure.

If you can, stay in a room on the right side of the courtyard. These have a transom that can be opened to let in the cool night air.

I would have preferred less noise and some air conditioning, but I'll gladly take a clean place with a good breakfast and a nice staff.