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Rooms are spacious, clean, and comfortable, with a/c, coffeemaker, cable TV, luxurious marble bathrooms, and more. The hotel also offers free parking in their cramped garage.

One of the best features of this hotel is its outstanding breakfast buffet. Start off with a strong pot of Mexican coffee, take your choice of delicious breads from the breakfast bar, or just dig into the plentiful buffet packed with lots of tasty Mexican dishes plus gringo favorites like French toast and scrambled eggs. This buffet is a real winner, especially considering that the hotel charges half the rate of the neighboring Radisson and Fiesta Americana.

There are some rough edges here and not everything is as refined as it is at the high-dollar places. That said, it's still the best hotel deal in Monterrey. Trust me on this!

The location is a few blocks from the Macroplaza, and free parking is available in an outdoor lot or an underground garage.

The one problem I have with this hotel is the noise early in the morning--I didn't know about it the first time I stayed, and didn't realize their was an inner door in my room for a very good reason. Be sure to close that 2nd interior door of your room, otherwise the Cafe Florian in the huge vaulted lobby will surely wake you up with the clattering of silverware and plates.

The room was generally spacious, and very modern (it looked like it had either been newly built or renovated very recently--things still felt new, from the modern TV to the shiny clean marble bathrooms.

I think Plaza de Oro represents an excellent overall accommodation for someone who likes creature comforts without the huge price tag that usually accompanies them.

Rooms are very comfortable with everything you expect from an upscale hotel, and I especially like their Monterrey-centric decor, with paintings featuring the big Bessemer furnaces that can be seen right outside the hotel window. There's none of that silly and innocuous cookie-cutter artwork that you find in most mainstream hotels.

I came in late one night and was impressed by the hotel's tight security after I was stopped and asked to identify myself so that the guard could verify that I was indeed a registered guest. When I got off the hotel elevator, I noticed that they had a watchman strolling the halls. This is *NOT* a bad neighborhood, and it's definitely an upscale hotel, so the management evidently aims to keep their reputation and won't put up with any monkey business. I like a quiet, safe environment, so I'm all for the extra measures.

Room service was excellent--my mouth salivates at the memory of their wonderful caldo tlalpeño.

I will definitely consider the Holiday Inn Parque Fundidora again the next time I pass through Monterrey!

The lobby is ornate with a posh, upscale restaurant dominating the central atrium. Polished hardwoods, brass, and marble complete the upscale look of this space. Believe it or not, Pancho Villa is said to have once rode his horse into this lobby!

The rooms are modern and very comfortable with every convenience you expect from an upscale corporate hotel, from cable TV and minibars to air-conditioning and exercise rooms.

The hotel has a very nice, but casual Old West-style bar called the 1800 Bar--drinks are a bit expensive for my tastes, though!

I like the central downtown location of this hotel, a mere block from the Macroplaza or the shops along Morelos. I like stepping out of the hotel and being in the tranquil Hidalgo Plaza, where shoeshine men sit at their small stands, reading the morning paper as they wait for clients.

Overall, a top-notch hotel that's a good choice for travelers who like a bit of luxury in their accommodation.

The food is the real star here. Many of the dishes have a central Mexican character more reminiscent of Puebla or San Miguel than of northern cities like Monterrey. I tried huitlacoche for the first time here and surprised myself by finding that I actually LIKED it enough to order more (huitlacoche is a kind of blue corn with a fungus growing on it, giving its flavor a somewhat tart complexity).

Prices are low, quality and atmosphere are excellent. Sounds like a recipe for great value!

I recommend ordering the legs (pierna) or the breast with ribs if you want to play it safe, otherwise feel free to try the many traditional dishes that you may need to, shall we say, develop a taste for. These include kidneys, fried blood, testicles, etc. Your call! Me, I'll stick the leg, thank you very much!

Whatever you get, it's sure to be served on a sizzling platter full of sliced white onions and jalapeno chilis. Proveche!

El Rey del Cabrito is a place that's fun in and of itself, never mind the distinctive local cuisine. The decor is garish, with polished wood everywhere, a snarling stuffed jaguar ready to pounce, and about 80 million pictures of the owner with his arms around pretty pop singers, telenovela starlettes, politicians, and who knows, maybe even his mom! Definitely a local original.

I ordered the loma, which was positively HUGE, flawlessly cooked, and served with a spicy pesto sauce. The meat was so tender and moist that it practically fell apart as my knife touched it. Succulent is putting it mildly.

The traditional dining room with rustic wood furnishings and iron candelabras is inviting, formal, and upscale.

Service was friendly and quite attentive. In fact, I think I was asked four times how I liked the meat (and it was just as tasty all four times).

Overall, an excellent dining experience, but not for those on a tight budget.

The 2+-mile-long track is a great place to walk or bicycle, but it is also a professional race track that has hosted a CART grand prix in a fabulously scenic setting among derelict industrial hulks. If you don't have a bike, no problem. There is a rental shop along the Avenue of Nations, which runs between the Holiday Inn and the Cintermex Exhibition Hall. A variety of bikes is available, from small kids' bikes with training wheels to racing bikes--even bicycles built for two!

The park has a lake with paddleboats for rent, as well as playgrounds for the kids to lose themselves at.

The park is also a cultural hub for the city, with a nonprofit arts cinema running not just Spanish-language arts films, but also rare works from European and North American small filmmakers. Adjacent to the cinema is a very pleasant, bright, and thoroughly modern portrait gallery.

As you walk around the park, you can't help but marvel at how derelict pieces of industrial equipment have been strategically placed around the grounds to give the place an air of recent abandonment. It adds enormous character to the park, plus it's all very relevant local history since this city's fortunes were built on steel, glass, and cement.

I say "Bravo" to Monterrey's leaders who had enough foresight and vision to turn what could have been an eyesore into a shining example of how good an urban park can be . . .

The front part of the building is older, traditional, and more intimate, with a feeling that's more like a cozy romantic pub than a big nightclub. Small iron tables line the walls of what was probably the salon of a fancy residence. Revolution-era sepia-toned photos decorate the walls. A guitar player sits in one corner, singing folk songs.

The back part is a cavernous warehouse-type place with a canvas roof and no heat or air-conditioning. Women grill steaks and fajitas at the long tile-lined parilla. A lineup of three or four bands will play on a Friday or Saturday night. Name a style of Latin music, it's fair game for La Casa de Pancho Villa. I've heard Cuban groups doing rock en espanol, and Bolivian singers doing Andean folk music. Whatever's in store, it's sure to be a fun night out!

Like most nightspots, it doesn't really start moving until about 10pm . . .