The Pros:
Excellent location, walking distance to many things. Easy and cheap to grab an uber. Right on the bus line for the hop on hop off bus that goes down Reforma, from Chapultapec to the historic center. Great view from the apartment as well as the hallway. Room darkening shades on windows to block out the light at night and keep it cooler during the day. Nice closet area with plenty of hangers if you choose to unpack. Fast elevator. Easy and safe check in process. Security/front desk attendant was friendly and helpful. Comfortable bed. Bottled water dispenser in the unit-made it convenient to refill our disposable bottles before leaving to sight see for the day. Guide books in the apartment were helpful. Didn't use the pool or spa facilities, but they seemed quiet and well-maintained. Kitchen seemed adequately stocked with the basics. We didn't use any of it because we didn't come to Mexico City to cook for ourselves 😉
Things to be aware of- but not necessarily stop you from coming:
Noisy. Despite being 24 floors up, the window design (lack of an airtight seal) allows for a LOT of noise to make it into the apartment. Hard to even tell the noise difference between the window being open and closed. The building faces an incredibly busy intersection- horns blaring and cops whistling from 5am-11pm. It was fascinating to watch, and has to be expected in a city of 21 million, but if you are looking for a quieter location maybe look for something further away from the busy intersections. We embraced it and just played "white noise" from our phone at night.
The apartment could use a good deep cleaning. I wouldn't say it was filthy, but there was food debris in the kitchen sink, dust built up in the corners, and the shower had some hair, soap scum, and mold/mildew, inluding a large mushy clump of hair clogging the drain. We had to scoop it out and throw it away to get the water to drain. The exhaust fan in the bathroom worked only sporadically for the first 2 days, and then would not turn on at all. We chose to let the host know after we left because of the lack of communication with the washing machine and the fact that they made no effort to have it fixed so we could use it. If the fan has been malfunctioning for some time, that could explain the mold in the bathroom.
The cons:
We could not use the washer/dryer (it is a small combined unit). We tried to get it open on our 2nd day and thought we were just doing something wrong. I messaged the host and they seemed to know about it-explaining that the handle was broken before we arrived. This was frustrating since we purposely chose a place that had laundry machines and packed accordingly. Had they told us before we arrived, we could have decided whether to find other lodging, or at least known ahead of the time that we needed to make other arrangements. That certainly removed some of the value of the place for me. The host did offer to send someone to pick up the laundry, but the time they suggested did not fit in with our plans while we were there, and we did not want to have to cancel any of our outings just to have our laundry done. We were also a little bit concerned about the lack of communication and giving the few clothes we had brought with us to someone we didn't know, in case there was a problem. We chose to do it on our own. The host offered no compensation for this.
We had a very odd encounter on our last day there. The host had messaged me asking if someone could come take a look at the air conditioning. Since it was January and unusually cold, we had not been using it, so I have no idea why it needed to be looked at during our stay. I told him we were not in the apartment. The next day, the host called me and left a message asking again if someone could come look at the AC. We were in the apartment napping after an early morning trip to the pyramids (definitely recommend-but be prepared to wheeze if you're not used to the altitude!) so I did not hear my phone. We were awoken by the sound of someone trying to open the front door. We opened the door and a nice young man said he was sent by the host to check the windows. He did apologize for surprising us and was very polite. He seemed surprised that someone was in the apartment and called the host. After speaking on the phone for a moment he said he was going to wait down in the lobby for the host to arrive and they would be back up in 10 minutes. We waiting for over an hour and no one came back, nor did we hear anything more from the host. It was only later that I saw the message from the host asking if someone could come look at the AC. It was just very strange that they had someone come look at something we weren't having a problem with. If repairs or maintenance were needed, I would think that it would be done in between renters, not in the middle of someone's stay. Also strange that they would have someone try to enter the unit during someone's stay without permisson.
Overall, we enjoyed our stay. It had most of the things we needed and was of adequate value, however I think we will look for other accommodations for our next trip.