Hotel Class: 
4 Stars - 4 Reviews and 322 Opinions
Avenida Ramon Corona 243, Guadalajara, Central Mexico and Gulf Coast, 44100, Mexico
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326 Opinions
penumbra
User Rating
Initially, I thought that Guadalajara would be like Mexico City with a huge supply of hotels that I could pick and choose between. As it turned out, nothing seemed to meet all of my criteria. The Morales sounded like it would do nicely, but the exterior view and a couple comments tended to give the impression that the hotel was a bit old. Taking the taxi from the bus station to the hotel, I knew we'd reached the center of town when I saw some horse drawn carriages by a park. Making a note to come back to the park for the pictures, I was pleasantly surprised that the taxi stopped at my hotel with the park just across the street. There is a convenience store (OXXO) just half a block away across the street from the front of the hotel. Any worry about the condition of the hotel vanished when I walked into the lobby. I thought with an interior room that this would be the quietest room of the vacation. Unfortunately, the hotel sponsors a Mariachi band that plays in the atrium from 7:30pm - 10pm weekdays. The noise was enough to drown out my TV until I turned up the volume much higher. Drinking water was supplied in one medium sized bottle. Air conditioning was provided but was not required. In fact, since this was an interior room with the window looking out to the courtyard instead of outdoors, the room stayed at a constant cool temperature throughout the day and night. These were the firmest beds of my entire trip in a country renowned for firm beds. A TV remote and A/C remote were provided upon check-in although no deposit was required.
The best price I found for February 2008 was on Hotels.ca%L at US$82. After taxes and service fees this ended up costing US$94. I prepaid Hotels.ca, meaning that my credit card was charged immediately, but there was no problem with the reservation or any extra fees at the hotel. Arriving at the hotel, I was asked if I would like to open an account with my credit card at check-in, but I declined. Eventually, I had to open an account because I wanted to make an 800 number call (to Canada Direct). They charge 5 pesos / 5 minutes for 800 number calls so at check-out I owed them an additional 10 pesos. Leaving the hotel for the bus station, a hotel staff member drove me using the hotel van but still charged me 100 pesos. I didn't mind since 100 pesos is what I was charged by the regular taxi when I arrived from the bus station to the hotel.
Hotel Morales Historical & Colonial Downtown Core Photo: Atrium
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Jetgirly
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I stayed at Hotel Morales for one night in May, 2008, and again for two nights at the end of June, 2008. Hotel Morales is centrally located in the heart of downtown Guadalajara, within walking distance of many major attractions and close to easy public transportation connections for attractions that are further away. There are some good restaurants nearby (La Chata and La Gorda are good for breakfast, La Maestranza is good for drinks and bar food, and La Fonda de San Miguel is good for dinner), as well as a restaurant in the hotel (oddly, I did sit there for about half an hour without anyone acknowledging me, so I just left and went elsewhere).
However, the best thing about Hotel Morales is the beautiful building and rooms. As soon as you enter you know you're in a nice hotel. The lobby is all dark stone, high ceilings and soft blue (!) lighting. There are lots of comfortable chairs in the lobby, and free wireless internet. The rooms are gorgeous as well. My first room had two queen-sized beds, a TV with many channels (including CNN and two other English news stations), two comfortable chairs and an iron and ironing board. The bathroom was gorgeous as well, with a separate toilet area and a large shower with views over the entire city and amaaaazing (for Mexico) water pressure. My second room had one king-sized bed and a bathroom without the cool window. Unfortunately, Hotel Morales has some trouble during the rainy season, and they were without hot water for my first night in June, then the TV cut in and out all afternoon before my second night. For the price I paid, I would not expect problems with hot water and cable.
Hotel Morales has similar prices to other hotels in the area, but is much, much more beautiful. Single rooms right now are 900 pesos (about $80 US/CAD) and double rooms are just a bit more. They also have suites for someone looking for something even posher! I'm quoting prices for cash payments, as it is significantly more expensive to use a credit card.
Hotel Morales Historical & Colonial Downtown Core Photo: Hotel Morales Lobby
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m1nkey
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Comfortable, clean, centrally located, walking distance to almost everything. A great reasturant, beautiful decor, friendly staff, english speaking concierge and desk staff. I can't say enough about how well we were treated.
Unique Quality: An old building that was renovated with a first class touch. A marvelous find.
Hotel Morales Historical & Colonial Downtown Core
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justtravelingthru
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Sometimes “plan B’s” do really work out for the best. Situated in the heart of Downtown Guadalajara, Mexico this newly renovated 4-stars hotel is a delight for all travelers, near and far. In a chaotic atmosphere of bustling taxies, moving buses, and on-the-move foot traffic, Hotel Morales provides a lovely escape from your everyday city living. Preserved to its original Colonial grandeur, the historical hotel offers a serene, calm and inviting environment without all the pretentious that you would expect to find from a hotel of this sort. The hotel boasts two open courtyards that perfectly accommodate Guadalajara’s year round “spring-like” weather. The outside terrace is prefect for the “taking it easy” moments on your trip; I suggest an early morning or late night of sipping coffee while overlooking the cityscape of Downtown. The building’s original arches and archways is a sight to behold, rooms and facilities have all been updated with modern conveniences to soothe any picky traveler. The onsite restaurant; El Ruedo doesn’t quite hold up on its own. The food lacked authenticity and flavor; but with so many surrounding restaurants near by your options are plentiful. Location plays a vital role for this hotel, as it is fortunate that almost everything is within 5 minutes away by taxi. Excursions to nearby cities such as Tlaquepaque and Tonala is only 20 minutes away by taxi, a must see for any Guadalajara trips as it is completely different from its downtown neighbor. If you prefer walking, simply allow yourself 10 minutes to get to the infamous Cathedral and the central plaza of downtown! And like all great businesses, the key to its success lies with the personnel. The support staffs are great and extremely helpful in making car rental arrangements, tours packages, fulfilling odds requests or simply recommending places to dine. Hotel Morales is a wonderful place to stay if you want to truly hear the heartbeat of Downtown Guadalajara.
Service: 9
Location: 9
Room: 9
Budget/Value: 8
Unique Quality: A great find in such a large city
Hotel Morales Historical & Colonial Downtown Core Photo: Main Lobby
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1 - 4 of 4
We stayed there 3 nights in December and I was impressed, it is better than the pictures, the rooms are spaciuos and clean they smell great like cedar wood, people were very friendly and helpful, even the breakfast was good.
Close to everything, we walked all over the downtown.
It offered a lot more for the price. Excellent hotel, the best if you want to feel a true colonial old Guadalajara.
Sometimes “plan B’s” do really work out for the best. Situated in the heart of Downtown Guadalajara, Mexico this newly renovated 4-stars hotel is a delight for all travelers, near and far. In a chaotic atmosphere of bustling taxies, moving buses, and on-the-move foot traffic, Hotel Morales provides a lovely escape from your everyday city living. Preserved to its original Colonial grandeur, the historical hotel offers a serene, calm and inviting environment without all the pretentious that you would expect to find from a hotel of this sort. The hotel boasts two open courtyards that perfectly accommodate Guadalajara’s year round “spring-like” weather. The outside terrace is prefect for the “taking it easy” moments on your trip; I suggest an early morning or late night of sipping coffee while overlooking the cityscape of Downtown. The building’s original arches and archways is a sight to behold, rooms and facilities have all been updated with modern conveniences to soothe any picky traveler. The onsite restaurant; El Ruedo doesn’t quite hold up on its own. The food lacked authenticity and flavor; but with so many surrounding restaurants near by your options are plentiful. Location plays a vital role for this hotel, as it is fortunate that almost everything is within 5 minutes away by taxi. Excursions to nearby cities such as Tlaquepaque and Tonala is only 20 minutes away by taxi, a must see for any Guadalajara trips as it is completely different from its downtown neighbor. If you prefer walking, simply allow yourself 10 minutes to get to the infamous Cathedral and the central plaza of downtown! And like all great businesses, the key to its success lies with the personnel. The support staffs are great and extremely helpful in making car rental arrangements, tours packages, fulfilling odds requests or simply recommending places to dine. Hotel Morales is a wonderful place to stay if you want to truly hear the heartbeat of Downtown Guadalajara.
Service: 9
Location: 9
Room: 9
Budget/Value: 8
Hotel Morales is absolutely stunning! The lobby and the room were both gorgeous. The room had hardwood floors, nice furniture, huge bathroom, etc. For about $80 USD, it was very good value. The hotel was located right in centro, so close to lots of restaurants and shops. The only negatives to the place would be a bit of noise (centro is very busy) and hard beds (but this is typical of Mexico). The buffet breakfast (included in the price) was good, and all the staff were corteous and helpful.
You get more than your money's worth here. We ordered online well in advance on a holiday and never confirmed. Even though we arrived late in the evening, our room was available, just as we had ordered, with the easiest of check-ins. This is rare in Mexico.
The rooms were quite lovely, with very high ceilings and gorgeous balconies. The beds were a bit firm by American standards, but this is the preference in Mexico. The cleanliness was perfectly in line with American high standards. And the service was that of a 5 star hotel. The location was excellent--just a 2 block walk to the center and far enough away from the noise.
We HIGHLY recommend Hotel Morales and we'll stay there again.
I stayed at the Hotel Morales from Oct. 25 - 28 and absolutely loved it. Earlier in the week I spent one night at the Holiday Inn while on business and it was fine but the Morales was far and away the better place to stay. It seemed to capture what I would think of as being a more typical Mexican style hotel with the inner courtyard being open to the top (fourth) floor. I too had to go wandering around the top floor to find the Verbena Lounge which overlooked the city but as far as I could tell it was not really being used. My room had an interesting layout, not just your typical US or Cdn rectangle shaped but had a large entrance way, the sleeping area had 2 double beds, another small room with a table and 2 chairs and then the bathroom area which had separate areas for the toilet, the shower and the sink. I think I was in one of the basic rooms. I didn't find the beds particularly hard.
The staff was very accommodating and helpful, particularly when I couldn't get my wireless connection to work in my room. I ended up using their "business centre" which consisted of 2 computers with free internet access. The wireless connection was free also but I think the problem was with my computer.
The hotel was a few blocks from the historical area but I spent one day going to Tlaquepaque and another to Tonala using the local buses. It was easy to do and cheap. Remember to take the green bus for 9 pesos with the comfy seats as opposed to the local bus for 4 pesos with the plastic form seats. I was travelling on my own and felt totally comfortable at the Hotel Morales and highly recommend it to anyone.
I write this review having returned about six hours ago from Guadalajara. Feeling spontaneous (and having my wife's OK), I took a last minute trip to GDL yesterday to check it out and watch the Chivas play Los Tigres de Monterrey in MTY. Based on the glowing reviews on Tripadvisor, I decided to try my luck at this hotel even though Orbitz showed no availability.
Lucky for me, I was able to get a room for the night. In a word, Hotel Morales is immaculate. There were people constantly sweeping and making sure everything was tidy. I was given a double room on the 1st floor (American 2nd floor) with a window into the atrium. My room was spotless with high ceilings (probably 12 feet), hardwood (pergo?) floors, and tile in the bathroom. The beds were firm per Mexico but not uncomfortable.
At check-in, the staff was very cordial with both of us trying our foreign language skills. One of the bellman (Raul) was extremely helpful as he spoke flawless English after having lived in New England for some time.
The A/C (mounted high on the wall) worked like a dream and chilled my room to the meat locker temperatures I like to sleep in. (You get a remote for it at check-in)
The breakfast buffet was excellent but the price was a little higher than I expected (90 pesos). However, it was worth it and I'd do it again in a heartbeat.
The hotel is in a great location about three or four blocks from the Plaza de Armas, the Cathedral, and the "palacios" (go out the front door and take a right). To sample local fare, there is an excellent restaurant about 1/2 way to the plaza called "La Chata" (same street as Morales, but other side). I ate dinner there last night and it was great. I tend not to go to touristy places so as I walked by and saw the place packed with locals and a line out the door, I knew that was the place to eat. The place had a wait all last night and this morning too. I had the pozole con pollo and it was delicious. There's another place on the same side of the street as Morales called "La Gorda" that was almost as popular but I didn't go.
Other items of note: The cab fare is fixed to/from the airport: from the airport it's 180 pesos and to the airport it's 160 pesos (as of October, 2006). Going into town, you prepay at a booth in the airport. The ride is about 20-30 minutes.
My friend and I are making a long weekend visit to Guadalajara and would welcome suggestions of places to visit, things to do and places to eat. We are staying at the Hotel Morales.
I would suggest Tlacapaque market.
Try to include the Sunday charreada, a Mexican type of rodeo, as part of your long weekend. Although the City of Guadalajara is a large modern metropolis, its roots are in the ranches and cattle culture of Mexico. A charreada includes horsemanship and music. It is more characteristically Mexican than the bullfights and has no killing.
There is a charreada noon each Sunday at the Lienzo Charro de Jalisco arena. (Opposite the Parque Azul on Avenida R. Michael.) It should cost between 20 and 100 pesos a ticket. (The phone number is (3) 619-3232 but there should be no need to buy tickets in advance.) The higher prices are found for special events like the charreada festival in the beginning of September. One charreada lasts 2 to 3 hours. There is a second Lienzo in Guadalajara that I think has charreadas on less regular schedule.
Have a good weekend. bob
For eating, try the following suggestions:
Karnes Garibaldi
http://www.karnegaribaldi.com.mx/
My favorite is the one in Santa Tere, on Garibaldi street.
The second suggestion is:
Restaurant La Chata de Guadalajara
They are on Av. Ramon Corona 126
Casi esquina Av. Juarez.
http://travel.latimes.com/destinations/mexico/guadalajara/restaurants/la-chata-restaurant/index
Also, visit Tlaquepaque, as somebody suggested previously. Walking towards the Teatro Degollado is nice too, there are parks around it and there is a bunch of things to see.
If you want to go shopping, Tonala is nearby and the one of the most important artcraft sources for the whole country, artesanias that you find almost in every corner in Mexico are made here, it's nice to see the workshops as well or the glass making.
Surf through the Tourism of Guadalajara webpage, I am pretty sure you will find interesting things to do!
http://vive.guadalajara.gob.mx/
Enjoy Guadalajara!!!
A great find in such a large city
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Address: Avenida Ramon Corona 243, Guadalajara, Central Mexico and Gulf Coast, 44100, Mexico
