SAN LUIS POTOSI
Hostal del Quijote: This is a beautiful, inexpensive five-star hotel located on the freeway that goes from Querétaro to Aguascalientes, León, and Guadalajara. Its address is: Carretera Mexico-piedras Negras Km. 420 78000 - San Luis Potosi, Phone+ 48 181312.
Either it is now operated by Holiday Inn, or Holiday Inn has a hotel very near with the same address.
I stayed here by invitation of the hotel 15 years ago. The suite I was lodged in was really fantastic; a large living room, the bedroom, two phones (one in the bedroom and the other one in the restroom).
Service was excellent, and now I read that their rates are very affordable, (not for a suite, of course).
The other hotel I stayed at (Panorama, three stars) was also nice, located in the downtown, near the historical center of the city. Rates for this hotel start at $60 per night. Some rooms in this hotel overlook the historical part of the city. Their address is: Av. Venustiano Carranza No. 315, Centro 78000 San Luis Potosi, San Luis Potosi. Phones: (444) 812-1777, toll free in Mexico: 01-800-480-0100, www.hotelpanorama.com.mx. This hotel has meeting rooms with capacity of up to 200 persons.
If you want a very nice hotel near the downtown, I may remind you that Camino Real also has hotels in this area. San Luis Potosi not only offers fantastic colonial spots in the downtown, very near the Panorama hotel, but also very interesting shopping opportunities, especially in leather articles.
AGUAS CALIENTES
Here definitely my choice would be the Hotel Las Trojes. It is some 2 miles away from the downtown, in the countryside, with a beautiful swimming pool and a large park. I really enjoyed my stay here. Their address is: Blvd. a Zacatecas, esq. Blvd. Luis D. Colosio Col. Trojes de Alonso, Phone: 01 800 49 71 999, (449) 973-00-06 al 16, Fax: (449) 973-04-34, http://www.hotellastrojes.com.mx. They have meeting rooms with capacity of up to 600 persons. Their restaurant is good and has a beautiful panoramic view.
This is a four-star hotel. Of course, there are more expensive hotels like the Fiesta Americana (five stars, operated by Posadas de Mexico, the same company that operates Holiday Inn in Mexico), but that is up to you. It costs some $65 per night, if you take advantage of their special week-end package.
Enjoy your stay in central Mexico.
Aguas Calientes is a good place for buying textile and wool knitted products. Keep this in mind when you visit the area. It also seems to be an important industrial city. Of course, although the "maquiladoras" are located mostly on or near the international border with the USA (especially at Ciudad Juarez and Monterrey) there are also important factories in the interior of Mexico that export their products to the USA. I have not compared their prices recently, but would assume they should be interesting. When I went to Copper Canyon six years ago, I found that leather products in Chihuahua were far lower than in the USA. Enjoy your stay in central Mexico.