Merida, Yucatan — The crumbly pink tower on a key Centro block is no longer abandoned. It’s also no longer pink and crumbly.
After years of renovation, the Holiday Inn Express chain has checked in at Calle 60, between 55 and 57. It adjoins a smaller casona-type property, the Hotel Merida.
The two hotels were a single complex, the Misión Merida, which closed in 2009. The Hotel Merida and its award-winnning Piñuela restaurant opened in 2017.
The opening enlivens a major part of the downtown, with the burgeoning Santa Lucia Park and the Teatro Peon Contreras in spitting distance.
The InterContinental Hotels Group on Monday announced the opening of the 131-room Holiday Inn Express Merida Centro. The 1940s-era, 11-story tower was gradually gutted and repainted twice: first taupe, then yellow. The ground floor, dating from the 1800s, was also stripped and fitted with basic, modern furnishings.
A one-bed room starts at around 2,000 pesos, or US$105 a night, as of today.
Rooms have queen, king or two double beds and a sitting area. The hotel also has an outdoor swimming pool, 24-hour gym, business center, two meeting rooms, parking and wifi.
A Holiday Inn Express is not as upscale a Holiday Inn, such as the one on the Paseo Montejo. No restaurants or bars were built in the new location, although an austere “Express Start Breakfast bar” promises on-the-go egg and meat selections, pastries, yogurt, fruit, coffee, juices and regional dishes such as salbutes.
Another Holiday Inn Express, which caters mainly to no-nonsense business travelers, is behind the Siglo XXI convention center.
Owned by Inmobiliaria Merida S.A. de CV. and managed by Inmobiliaria Hotelera de Yucatan, S.A, the Holiday Inn Express Merida Centro hotel is franchised by an affiliate of IHG.
Sources: Press release, archives
