In praise of the Real Inn, Monterrey, Mexico...

I could say that it didn't start well. When I arrived, tired after 15 hours of travelling, 12 of which had been flying, I needed sleep like never before. I was given room 2612 on the top floor of the hotel and then discovered that I had left my toothbrush and toothpaste in England. Silly me, and all credit to the hotel. Within five minutes a man arrived at my door with a toothbrush. Minutes later I decided to take the lift down to the front desk in order to buy some toothpaste. After cleaning my teeth I clambered into bed only to realise that a deep, pulsating sound of machinery was going to prevent me from sleeping. How anybody on the 26th floor can sleep, I don't know. I called reception again and within five minutes another man arrived and took me down three floors to a junior suite with automatic curtains. The sound of machinery had disappeared and I fell asleep. So, hats off to the Real Inn for their quick responses.

Roast spuds and chicken for breakfast!

The rooms are of good quality. The bathrooms are amazing, equipped as they are with rain showers and everything you might need for a decent wash in the morning. The bed, incidentally, was huge and certainly wider than it was long, but I slept well even if jet lag woke me up at an ungodly hour. On my first night I awoke around 0355hrs; on my second I managed 0444hrs and as soon as I've written this review I'll hit the sack and we'll see what time I wake up tomorrow. Last night I had a full eight hours sleep as I went to bed early, around 2100hrs.

The Stock Cafe for breakfast, lunch and dinner

And then, of course, there's breakfast. The great leveller, the chief benchmark, in my opinion, of whether a hotel is good or bad. The Real Inn passed with flying colours. There was such a variety of hot food. For the first two mornings I opted for scrambled egg with diced potatoes followed by a yoghurt and some cereal and a couple of small pastries, not forgetting the vanilla tea. This morning - and yes I'm still in the hotel as I write this review - I thought I'd go the whole hog and have a Sunday roast. Yes, it's possible! I had roasted potatoes and chicken and there were vegetables blended in with the potatoes, so it was authentic enough. I won't lie, I'll probably do the same tomorrow.

I had lunch in the restaurant yesterday (arrabiatta) and just now I had dinner (salmon fillet with vegetables). Both meals were perfect and what made them great was the music and the environment. First, the music: sixties, seventies and eighties, stuff like So Lonely by The Police, the Rolling Stones, Pop Music by M, Abba, the Doors, everything and all the original artists too. Yesterday, as I ate the pasta in the heat of the afternoon I was taken right back to lazy holidays in European resorts and just a second ago, when I was tucking in to the salmon I just felt good being there, by the poolside, alone with my own thoughts, looking at the city at night and the houses on the hillsides twinkling in the early evening darkness.

The pool and dining area if you wish to eat alfresco - perfect in every way

There's a pool and I enjoyed a swim yesterday afternoon, being careful to keep head above water (I don't want to go deaf for the remaining days I'm here). There's a gym, but I didn't use it.

So the rooms are great, the restaurant is fantastic, the breakfasts are to die for, the hotel staff respond very quickly to any problems or otherwise experienced by its guests, there are great bathrooms, pleasant staff and a great location. All-in-all, I would return to this great establishment. There are other hotels here in Monterrey, most of the big brands are here and then across from the Real Inn there is the SAFI hotel and, of course, the Quinta Real, which colleagues of mine have described as a bit dated, a little jaded, its time of greatness passed. I don't know, but I think the Real Inn probably knocks them all into a cocked hat, if that's the right expression.

First and foremost, however, this is a friendly hotel and it has a lively buzz to it without being pretentious in any way. In a nutshell, I can't really fault it and with that I'm going to bed.