Former Hotel Mérida on Calle 60 appears ready to open
Mérida, Yucatán — Its tower is no longer pink, but the building is just as grand, if not more stately, than ever before.
The former Hotel Mérida on Calle 60 and 57, for years an abandoned hulk on the path between the bustling Plaza Grande and Parque Santa Lucia, reopens this week, according to unconfirmed reports.
The hotel tower will be a Holiday Inn, with the original mansion operating as a separate boutique hotel, restaurant and “Bar subterráneo,” according to reports.
Holiday Inn’s website for now only lists its three other local properties on its website. As of Sunday, the only signage visible on the site says “Hotel Mérida.”
The hotel was most recently run by the Misión chain. It is on ground zero of the Centro Histórico, occupying an intersection that includes the public university home campus, the Peón Contreras theater where the symphony is in season, and the Casa del Balam hotel.
Closed for about nine years, the hotel’s base is an old casona with a 1940s tower that once dominated the Centro in festive pink, on Calle 60 and 57. Now the completely gutted high rise is a tasteful taupe.
Today, years of renovations have paid off. Modernized, while still adhering to its original architecture, the hotel’s lobby and restaurant appear ready for guests.
{ Previously: Mayan artifact removed from former Hotel Mérida }
A general announcement this week is expected to announce the hotel’s details, including the name of its operator.
Lee Steele is the founding director of Mérida-based Roof Cat Media S de RL de CV and has published Yucatán Magazine and other titles since 2012. He was Hearst Connecticut’s Sunday Magazine creative director and worked in New York City for various magazine publishers, including Condé Nast and Primedia, for over 20 years.
