Lonely Planet Review

The century-old Imperial is an immediately recognisable cake wedge of a building, with a gold cupola crowning its front turret. Then-dictator Porfirio Díaz unwrapped this Frenchified confection in 1904, and it remains a refreshingly stylish structure alongside the monolithic chain hotels in the vicinity of the Columbus traffic circle.

Designated a national historic monument, the building was the private residence of Venustiano Carranza, Mexico's first post-revolutionary president, and served as the US Embassy during the 1940s. Its distinctive shape is exploited inside as well with a triangular atrium rising five storeys. The turret end houses the ritzy Gaudí restaurant, serving Spanish and French Basque specialties. Spacious suites occupy the upper turret levels, while 50 standard rooms line the Paseo de la Reforma and Avenida Morelos sides. Unfortunately, room decor fails to match the building's Porfiriato splendor, settling instead for business-class style with a couple of French armchairs and prints of Parisian street scenes thrown in for character. And service feels perfunctory, as if staff aren't trained to smile at anyone not wearing a suit.