Elena de Cobre, Leon, a Member of Design Hotels

This hard-to-find, obscure building, in an area of beautiful and historical cobble stone, narrow streets and ornate centuries old buildings is a deficient wanna-be Boutique Hotel – just good for overnight stay and want no amenities – and I do mean, no amenities. It offers a beautifully appointed and designed, old fashion-style lobby and bar called the ‘the Wine Cellar’, but no bartender or server available to offer beverages… of any kind… not even soda/water machines or snacks. The rooms are cozy but cramped – you also need training on how to turn on/off the air conditioning unit – which we had to request from the limited night staff! It has an immense rooftop setting you can view the city from in every direction, but no seating, no bar, no tables, no ashtray – they call it ‘La Terraza’. It has an old-world narrow alley with unkempt garden with a narrow pool that was not inviting to try. We regularly stay over many accommodations across and occasionally outside the country, and although not a professional hotel reviewer, and not a regular business traveler - but primarily a pleasure and needs wanderer, I have established as what I believe is a concise system for scoring the merit of the hotel visited. I really had a hard time making my assessments here, as my Wife and I have never experienced this sort of stay anywhere, to date. My measures are as follows and the results are: 1) ease of access to and from public or private ground transportation [Score:2]; 2) convenient and safe parking [Score:0]; 3) access, accuracy and convenience of check in and check out [Score:4]; 4) atmosphere, ambience, public facilities, lounging areas and access to an office center and Wi-Fi access [Score:2.5]; 5) overall customer service - including but not limited to Hospitality, Support Services, Concierge knowledge, communication, attitude and demeanor of staff [Score:3]; 6) quality, cleanliness, value, convenience, amenities (i.e., ironing board, iron, TV, charging access, phone, et.al.) and comfort of rooms, beds, room safe and/or valet services [Score:3.5]; Taking all the aforementioned categories in a scale of 1 star to 5 stars with 1 being the worst and 5 being the best a hotel can be! This hotel rates a: 2.5. The lowest review I have ever made to date. Most positive point at this hotel is it is near the center of town – short walking distance. Most negative points found here are my previously noted points. My price to value to overall assessment: nil at most, not a place I would be looking to stay at again, ever.

The hotel is quite nice but it stops there. We stayed two nights in the middle of the week. Unfortunately we couldn’t use the bar or restaurant, I guess because there was no employees. 😩. We went out one evening and came back early evening only to find we couldn’t get in the property. Rang the bell for 15 minutes outside and finally the security came to let us in. Oscar at the front desk was MIA. I wish I could have rated this hotel better because it’s a nice place, however I felt I was shorted as I only could use the sleeping quarters.