Mérida is flat, which is good for my knees, but if you want to enjoy a vista of the city, you need to find a building high enough. Here, it doesn’t have to be all that high, if you’re in the Centro.
One evening was set aside to find a nighttime view. We started on Calle 60, where The New York Times said that Piedra de Agua’s bar had a view of the cathedral. Here’s where I made an incorrect assumption. We walked in, and were stopped by a wary receptionist in the foyer who had no idea what roof bar I was talking about. I tried to insist there must be one, and could she please check again, until I concluded that she would probably know better than I if a roof bar existed, even if I read about it in the New York Times. The trendy courtyard bar behind the lobby was occupied by a private party, but the receptionist agreed to let us see it.
Piedra de Aqua
That’s where I saw what the Times was talking about. You can see the cathedral’s from the ground, which is where the fashionable bar is, and where we were clearly underdressed. Everyone was so young and spiffy. I was happy to leave.
Over on 62, is the Colonial, which would never make anyone feel underdressed. I read somewhere about an unused rooftop bar (the building is only four stories) so we walked in to the lobby. The receptionist seem indifferent, and I didn’t want to be told the space was for guests only, so we pretended we belonged there and made our way to the top floor. The view was pretty good (it’s the top photo in this post). The lights of the main plaza were a few blocks away, but you could see them. Too bad that it was high season and the roof bar was abandoned.
I remember writing about this a couple of years ago. OK, so I’m repeating myself. But I had been intensely interested with the vacant pink hotel on 57 and 60, the former Hotel Misión Mérida. What views that hotel must have. Someone told me they heard the Holiday Inn bought it. I don’t know if that’s true, but something’s up. One day we walked past and the front door was ajar! I rushed across the street and cautiously examined it. The door was chained and wouldn’t open farther, so I reached inside with my iPhone and took a picture.
The camera saw what I couldn’t. For a hotel that’s been closed about five years, it didn’t look so bad! The last reviews the hotel received online before it was shuttered were not so hot. Obviously it will take a corporation with the resources of a Holiday Inn to restore it. But when it does, I want to take the elevator all the way to the top. I want my view of Mérida, with a drink in my hand.
The door is ajar. Sign of life at the old Hotel Mision Merida.
What the camera saw in January 2013.
Here’s a 2007 photo of the lobby. I found it online.
The exterior of the Hotel Mision Merida in 2007.
The lobby, Panoramio photo taken in 2007.
Yeah I hear you about the folks that build BIG and wreck the views and air movement for everyone around them. There is one house that borders our property that hasn’t been developed yet and I cross my fingers that we don’t come down some year and there is a HUGE building next to us.
We’re adding a second story, too, but we’ve been clear with the architects that we want to be sensitive to our neighbors. I think they succeeded.
good stuff glad to hear that!
Would you, possibly, have a view from the top of your second floor? I remember the panoramic view from Casa Estudio when we toured the home last year. Incredible.
I thought we might have a shot at seeing the twin mansions from a roof deck, but no one encourages me to hold out hope. And there’s a bizarre three-story hulk of a building that would possible block my view. As long as I can’t see the Bimbo plant, I’ll be happy. But it’s possible I’ll have a clear shot at that.
That pink hotel has been purchsed by Holiday Inn according to a friend who owns a hotel on Calle 55…we’ll have to wait and see.
Was it you who told me that originally? I always forget who I hear things from.
Nice post. I do hope the Misión reopens, especially the rooftop bar, for its view. We would enjoy lounging up there, too. ~eric.
The way things are going in Santa Lucia along 60, that whole area may become a place to hang out at.
The top level of Pancho’s on Calle 59 x 60 y 62 has nice view, too.
Really? I had no idea Pancho’s had an upper level. Thanks for that tip!
We have friends who stay at the Colonial..for 3 months each winter…We regularly visit for “Tea Time” on the rooftop…..The view gets better and better as the night gets darker! Love it!!
They must really love it there! It’s funny, I never hear much about it. I forgot to mention in the post that on our way out, we asked for a bathroom and the receptionist fairly snarled at us.