I had been looking forward to our stay at The Ritz-Carlton, Mexico City ever since the hotel was announced. I managed to snag a booking prior to their grand opening in October 2021. This ended up saving us hundreds of dollars as the price increased significantly since. The sweeping views of Mexico City and the beautiful interior design instantly makes this stay one of my favorite city hotels.
Table of Contents
Booking
We stayed The RC Mexico City as part of our Mexico City trip in February 2022. The base room was a Deluxe King at ~$300. The terrace category room was only $50 extra, so I decided it would be a worthwhile upgrade. Access to a terrace is always a plus, because it allows for the ability to take a step outside and enjoy the views in front of you, as well as above and below. At the time of booking, the cost of the stay was below hotels of a similar caliber. However, as the stay dates neared, prices for the base room soared to ~$700.
At the time of booking, The RC Mexico City was not yet available through American Express Fine Hotels & Resorts, but it was available through Virtuoso. The main advantage of Fine Hotels & Resorts is the confirmed 4pm late check-out. Virtuoso offers similar benefits such as complimentary breakfast, upgrades, and property credit.
Background
The Ritz-Carlton, Mexico City opened in October 2021, and occupies the upper 13 floors of this 59-story tower. The tower is situated inside Chapultepec Uno R509, and is the third tallest building in Mexico City. The hotel overlooks Chapultepec Park, which lies just west of the hotel.
Check-In
Access to the entrance of the hotel is through the main road Paseo de la Reforma. There is a Ritz-Carlton logo situated near the entrance, and you must go up one floor using either the escalator, or the elevator. One side leads to access to Chapultepec Uno, and the other leads to the glass door entrance to The RC Mexico City. You are immediately greeted by a moderately sized lobby, with beautiful artwork by Chapi Chapo Designs, hanging from the ceiling.
The check-in experience was efficient. Prior to arrival, I had asked for an upgrade through the Marriott Bonvoy app, and was given the option of a complimentary upgrade to a Corner Junior Suite. I was warned that we would have to wait till around 6pm for the room to be ready.
Upon arrival, I was swiftly checked in. I asked about the possibility of being upgraded to the suite, as mentioned by the representative on the chat, and was told that a corner junior suite was available. We would need to wait 1-1.5hrs because the occupants had just left thirty minutes prior. It was around 3:30pm, and decided to wait at the bar/restaurant. We were also told that breakfast would be included at Samos Bar & Restaurant. The $100 property credit would be available for use at the restaurant, as well as for in-room dining, and spa.
We dropped off our backpacks with the staff, and swiftly headed up to the 38th floor for Samos Bar & Restaurant.
Samos Bar & Restaurant (Drinks and Snacks)
Once we arrived to the 38th floor, turning right would lead you to the concierge, and turning left leads you to the restaurant & bar. We were seated immediately at for a corner view table. Greeting us at the table were heavy marble basket for napkins. An adorable vase containing a single white orchid sat beautifully at the center. The waiter proceeded to bring us some warm roasted nuts with spices.
we decided to order two drinks, and a snack with our $100 of property credit. We ordered an Isla Mujeres cocktail (Jerez Amontillado, Vermouth, Rosso, all spice, cilantro, pineapple juice, and Angostura bitters), a Tren a Toluca (Aperol, Dolin Blanc, lime juice, fennel, strawberry, and club soda). For the snack, it was Papas Harras (spices, chili, Zhoug sauce and yogurt, lime). The cocktails were beautifully presented, light on the alcohol (as specifically advertised on the menu). It paired beautifully with the panoramic views.
It was quite a long wait for the suite to be ready. Sure enough, two hours later, the concierge stopped by and let us know that the room was finally ready. The waiter told us that they would serve a drink on the house at 5:30pm, so we stayed a little bit longer. The complimentary drink was Mezcal and citrus based.
Corner Junior Suite
Once we received our keys, we headed up four more floors to floor 42. The corridor had these cool tessellating triangles that gave a lot of dimension to the ceilings.
Large wooden panels lined the hallway. The floor had smokey swirls that strangely provided a high-class elegance to the space. There was also blue/teal/grey themed artwork that was consistent with the design language of the rest of the space.
Our room was the last room at the end of the hallway, left side, and was a corner junior suite in room 4224.
The room opened up to one of the most gorgeous views you could expect from a city hotel. This view was even more impressive that the one we got at the Four Seasons Hotel Philadelphia. The contemporary interior design of the room juxtaposed with the sweeping views of Mexico City was certainly a sight that I will remember for a very long time. The sun was also beginning to set, and the golden hued lights flooding the interior made for a very striking impression.
Access to the terrace was through the doors at the foot of the King bed. This provided a spacious respite from the city, high up above, with views of Chapultepec Park, and Polanco district.
The bathroom was adorned with book-matched marble slabs, with a cool looking black coated soaking tub. The double vanity provided lots of room, and the shower area contained both a rain shower and a standard shower arm. The toilet was in an enclosed space adjacent to the shower, with a privacy door. Dyptique full size toiletries were provided, and I love Dyptique scents. They provided such a luxurious aroma after the shower.
Adorable bite sized patisseries greeted us on the table when we entered. A bottle of Clase Azul Reposado with two small glasses were placed beside it.
Although the mini bar was well appointed, we aren’t interested in indulging on their overpriced goods anyway.
A Nespresso machine was provided, as well as complimentary water. A flimsy box carelessly stored the Nespresso pods. It worked, but was a cheap contrast to the thoughtfully decorated room.
Samos Bar & Restaurant (Breakfast)
We woke up early to have breakfast at 7am. When we travel, we like to make the best use of our limited time. This usually requires us to eat breakfast right when it opens. We were the first table that arrived, which allowed us to enjoy the dining areas in relative silence.
We elected to sit outside at the terrace, even though it was slightly chilly. The sun had just risen thirty minutes ago, so the golden glow began to shine through the tall glass wall.
The breakfast benefit with the Virtuoso booking allowed us to order as much as we wanted from the menu.
We ordered a fruit platter to start. The waiter suggested that we pair it with some cottage cheese, yogurt, and granola. The waiter also offered us some freshly squeezed orange juice, and grapefruit juice (and yes, they tasted fresh!). Eric ordered an earl grey tea, and I ordered just a standard cup of coffee.
Eric ordered the Huevos Chapultepec Divorciados, and it was a very delicious. The runny egg worked perfectly with the sauce, especially with the pickled onions as well.
I ordered Chilaquiles Divorciados. This was my first time eating chilaquiles, and the dual rojo and verde sauce was absolutely delicious, especially since everything came out nice and hot. I would gladly have either main dish again, any time. Both dishes exceeded my expectations, though I am sure the ambience had something to do with that.
After eating, all we had to do was sign the bill with our room number, and we proceeded on our way. We made sure to leave a tip as well. Note: tips are not included in the $100 property credit.
Fitness Center, Pool & Spa
We never visit the fitness center of hotels, unless we are looking for drinking water. Even though a plentiful number of water bottles are provided inside our rooms, we knew we wanted to check out the fitness center. Yes, they had plenty of water bottles and towels inside. We visited at night, but during the day, the fitness center is well-illuminated by the floor the ceiling windows, with beautiful views of course.
Consistent to the rest of the hotel, entrance to the spa was flanked by large wooden panels. The spa is situated left of the fitness center.
At the spa lobby, they carried Aromaria branded candles and scents. It’s a brand I had never seen before, and I was surprised that they were not carrying Diptyque products like they had in the bedrooms.
The locker rooms are beautiful. The light and dark woods, the airiness from the floor the ceiling glass, and the pale yellow light from the sun made for such a serene and peaceful environment.
Use of the pool requires a reservation during the pandemic, and we used the pool twice during our stay, once right after we checked in, and once right after breakfast. We did not have any issues securing a pool reservation. Two parties are allowed at any given time. We wanted to experience the pool area at night, and in the day time. The pool area is much moodier at night, and probably my preference. The towels and water bottles were kept appropriately stocked during our time at the pool.
I also loved the beautiful patterning of the granite below. Granite of this quality is insanely difficult to find (I’ve been doing a lot of countertop shopping lately). I was absolutely obsessed the moment I saw this.
In-Room Dining
Since we had a lot of property credit left by the time we were nearing check-out, we decided to order room service. We ordered The Ritz Carlton-Carlton cake (chocolate, candied orange, grand marnier), Coconut creme brûlée with lemon meyer ice cream, and two drinks, Grasshopper’s Hill (lime juice, Clorofile, orange blossom, water, peppermint, condensed milk) and another Tren A Toluca.
We were already full from lunch, so we took a few bites each of the dessert. The chocolate cake was surprisingly good with the candied orange inside, and the meyer lemon ice cream was very refreshing. The creme brûlée was alright. The Grasshopper’s Hill drink was delicious though!
Service
The service at The RC Mexico City was warm and friendly, but nothing to write home about. Even though The Ritz-Carlton is Marriott’s high end luxury brand, the brand isn’t necessarily known for high quality service in North America.
There were a few service lapses that were notable. I wasn’t given an upgrade until I asked for one. Waiting for the room took longer than their estimation, and I wasn’t kept up to date throughout. When reserving a pool reservation with the concierge, there seemed to be a disconnect between staff members to accomplish such a simple task. I had also asked for turndown service to be done at 9pm when we had our dinner reservation, and to our dismay, it was never completed by the time we came back. The welcome amenities provided was a nice surprise, especially the cute bottle of reposado, which I now regret not bringing back home with me.
Overall, the service didn’t sour my experience at The Ritz-Carlton, Mexico City, especially since the hard product more than made up for any of these mishaps. The upgrade to a Corner Junior Suite really made the experience at this hotel wonderful. I can imagine that if I had stayed in my originally booked room, I wouldn’t have had as fascinating of an experience.
Summary
The RC Mexico City exceeded my expectations, and I had already expected a wonderful stay. The interior design by Chapi Chapo Designs was amazing, the color scheme, the panoramic views everywhere you turn, and peaceful ambience, all added up to one of the most memorable city hotel stays I had ever experienced.
I would highly recommend anyone to give The Ritz-Carlton, Mexico City a chance if you ever visit Mexico City. You definitely will not be disappointed.
