Camino Real Sumiya

I have stayed three times in this hotel. I like it because it is very nice, the gardens are awsome, the main buildings have Japanese style, it feels like you are actually in Japan.
The staff is friendly and they are always worried about meeting your expectations. The food was good too. There is a breakfast buffet in one of its restaurants and it is very good. The main restaurant has Japanese food.

Unique Quality: Beautiful gardens, nice pool and Japanes Style.

In my opinion this hotel is more suited for a business trip, conference or convention, or maybe if you want to spend a whole weekend isolated from the rest of the world just catching tan and relaxing. It is not close to the city's downtown area so it isn't too convenient for sightseeing, as it is far within a luxury neighborhood where there isn't public transportation available. You have to use a taxi and they aren't too cheap. I didn't like the fact that the hotel wasn't too accesible and then so expensive - but there was a family reunion nearby so it was the best thing we could find.

They charge an outrageous rate of MXP $2,700 (USD 210 approx.) per room (double), with buffet breakfast included. We also got a complimentary margarita and an hour at the tennis courts which was probably given to us because we weren't going to be able to use them - we arrived at the hotel after midnight and then left before noon the morning after. I was also wanting to use their swimming pool which looked pretty nice, but didn't have the time to do it... maybe next time.

Anyhow, what got me really mad is that, being such an expensive hotel, they won't give you drinking/bottled water or coffee for free..!!!! There was a 1.5 Lt. water bottle in the room but you had to pay extra if you wanted to drink it. So we drank water from the tap hoping we wouldn't die from it -- they claim it's 100% purified and thus drinkable but I wouldn't trust them 100%...... anyhow, we survived. Then, they had this small coffeemaker with a quite insufficient coffee service (only 2 sugar and 1 powdered cream portions when the coffee was enough for 3-4 mugs) and an almost invisible notice that you had to PAY for it if you used it. I saw it only after I had already opened the whole thing and started making the coffee. I was quite unpleasantly surprised by this.... so they can't even offer a free cup of coffee after what you've paid for the damn room?? Yes they did have some "free" soap, shampoo, body lotion... but I suppose that's a given in such a "luxurious" hotel.

I haven't mentioned that, since we arrived after midnight, apparently there wasn't anyone available or willing to take us to our rooms, and they are quite far away from the lobby/reception area in the middle of a lot of vegetation (and very scarce illumination). Also, the buildings don't have any signal as to which room numbers they have inside, they only have names but no one tells you the name of the building where your room is, either!! So we had to walk a lot and ask employees we found on our way until we finally found our room. It wasn't a nice experience after a tiring day, at that time of the night when we just wanted to crash our beds and rest......

And then the morning after... when we wanted to access the restaurant to have breakfast it was crowded and we had to wait 10-15 mins. to be seated. The restaurant was pretty small and anyone can access it, so there were non-guests wanting to get in too and thus taking away precious space from us, the guests. We finally made it in and had breakfast, the buffet had a decent variety of food and it was good but nothing out of this world, really. I don't think you really get what you pay for at this hotel.... so I wouldn't stay here again unless someone else paid for it.

Unique Quality: It has a big nice pool, 3 restaurants, tennis club, and nice gardens. It is decorated in a Japanese style, quite fancy, but only in the exterior because the rooms aren't really decorated.... they're rather too plain as well as the buildings where they are located. They also have gym and business center facilities, which I didn't use or see.

The beds at the room were quite comfortable as well as the pillows (and I'm VERY picky when it comes to pillows), the room & bathroom were spacious and the towels provided were very nice too. There's a small bar with a few drinks and snacks (for an extra charge, of course), a small desk, cable TV, etc.

Directions: Almost next to the highway that goes to Mexico City.

A nice hotel, not luxury in the rooms but a nice experience as everything (but the rooms) is Japanese style because of it's origin.

A nice weekend getaway.

It is now owned by an ex-president and I wouldn't go back there now that I know =)

Unique Quality: This majestic house belonged to Barbara Hutton Woolworth. It was built over a period of six years, ending on 1959, after an intense quest for a place with excellent climate, magnetism, and historic roots.
Sumiya means “Place of Peace, Tranquility, and Long Life”, notions that describe the environment that prevails in this palace to perfection. The symbol of the hotel is a Lotus Flower with three converging swords that represent wisdom and love.
The building is Oriental style, with pagodas and characteristic forms where dark brown mahogany wood, granite-tiled roofs that preserve the temperature inside, and paths that take you to traditional Japanese gardens.

Directions: The hotel is located to the southeast of Cuernavaca, only ten minutes away from the Autopista del Sol (Mexico-Acapulco highway), in one of the city’s most exclusive developments, characterized by its varied vegetation and picturesque architecture.

The Camino Real Sumiya is a hotel built on the extensive grounds of a former residence from Barbara Hutton. Surrounded by a Japanese style garden impeccably manicured, it is a popular destination for upper-class Mexicans who come there for a weekend break or their wedding party.

Compared to other Cuernavaca hotels, the Sumiya is a little bit out of the way - Pesos $70 / 20 mins. by taxi from/to the city center - but this brings a quiet and relaxed atmosphere.

The hotel's swimming pool has a wonderful quality of water, slightly heated. It is a nice place to suntan and swim a little to exercise those muscles that are asleep all week long.