Review: The W Mexico City, Mexico (2024)

For our three day stay in Mexico City, we were fortunate to be experiencing a city with a lot of interesting hotel options. We would end up a the W Mexico City which had an excellent location that was walkable to most attractions in the upscale Polanco neighborhood, and conveniently located near the Hop On – Hop Off bus allowing for some easy sightseeing.

This post is one chapter on our trip to Mexico City, Mexico and Easter Island, Chile. This trip was enhanced through Alaska Mileage Plan and through Marriott Bonvoy Elite Status. For more information on how this trip was booked, please see our trip introduction here. For other parts of the trip, please see this index.

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Booking the W Mexico City:

I ended up picking the W Hotel for our stay in Mexico City as my business school colleague who was consulting with SAP recommended that I stay at the JW Marriott Mexico Polanco hotel in Polanco, Mexico City neighbourhood. The W Mexico City was right next to the JW Marriott so I figured that the hotel area had to be reasonably safe if SAP was going to send it’s staff to the city.

The hotel also happened to be close to the Hop On Hop Off bus station at the Auditorio Nacionale about 2 blocks away so it was pretty convenient to our needs. I had also considered staying at the Luxury Collection Los Alcobas but opted for the W in favour of a greater chance of suite upgrades. Most of the Los Alcobas hotel rooms base to mid level rooms also seemed to look towards the back of the hotel.

The W hotel was in a great neighbourhood which felt really safe. We had no problems walking around; even after dark. I would subjectively rate the area as safer than the compound living at night style of Johannesburg / Cape Town, South Africa. I did leave the fancy watches and wallets at home like any safe traveller, but we never had any troubles.

I had originally booked us into a Wonderful Room. I applied a Marriott Bonvoy Suite Night Award to clear into an Fantastic Suite at the 5 day mark. After we were approved into the Fanastic Suite, I applied a Your 24 request for a 5PM checkin and a 5 PM check out, which was accepted.

Marriott Bonvoy Redemption Opportunties:

The hotel is in the Marriott Bonvoy loyalty program as a Category 6 hotel. I found this to be a reasonable rating for the hotel and much more competitive than our earlier stay at the Westin San Francisco Airport, which was also a Category 6.

At the W Mexico City, rooms are available for between a low of 40,000 Marriott Bonvoy points per night to a high of 60,000 points per night with a standard rate of 50,000 points per night.

If you value Marriott Bonvoy points at $0.005 a point like I do, you’d be better off redeeming points if your paid rate was more expensive than $250 USD.

Getting to the W Mexico City:

I arranged for a hotel car through the hotel. Although the car was supposed to be a Lincoln Towncar or equivalent, ended up being an older Nissan Altima. It wasn’t the greatest way to arrive in style, but at least it was on time and functional.

Arriving to the W, the first impressions are of a sleek and contemporary lobby. It usually had vibe music running through the place.

The Room: A Fantastic One Bedroom Suite, City View, Corner Room

We were assigned Suite #1909 which was a somewhat compact executive suite on a high floor. It is advertised as being 538 sq feet and certainly feels it; it’s a little larger than a small hotel room but hardly spacious by any generous means.

The hotel floors go up to the 25th floor and the top floors are the lofts. The Executive Suite was an interestingly decorated room with windows on both sides and the bathroom in the middle.

The Bedroom:

Inside the Bedroom, there was a comfortable sleeping area in the middle of the room space. The bedroom was anchored by a flat screen television.

The Living Room Space:

The room had a small seating area with a couch overlooking a view of the city. There was a small mini bar available with almost everything you could ask for available in room.

Internet was of the “buy in and remove the charge from the front desk” variety. The platinum breakfast had the same thing where a bill was presented but it was zero balanced at the front desk. There was a convenient desk which we used during our stay.

The Bathroom:

The bathroom also had a great view over the city. It featured the usual Bliss Toiletries.

In a stranger set up, I could not find Green Choice cards but had “opted in” on line during the reservation process. I never found them after all and never asked about it. I suspect that it was discontinued a short time ago.

A Room with A View:

One of the best features of the room was the beautiful view. I really enjoyed waking up and seeing a view like this at the start and end of every day. Being a corner room, we were able to get opposing views on opposite sides of the room.

Around the Property:

J BY JOSÉ ANDRÉS

We had again opted for the SPG Platinum Breakfast which was served in the hotel restaurant. The restaurant was small format, with a small breakfast buffet on offer. A la carte options were available and we did not have an up charge for it.

The Bottom Line: The W Mexico City

Overall, I really enjoyed our experience at the W Mexico City. The hotel was great. The service was reasonably good. The only let down was the tired W hotel car when we arrived to Mexico City airport that was likely contracted out to a third party. The Polanco neighbourhood was also a major bonus, in that most destinations were easily walkable from the hotel and as safe as one could hope for in Mexico City. I would easily return.

If you visited Polanco in Mexico City, do you prefer the JW Marriott or the W Mexico City for your stays ?