As many other hotels in San Cristóbal, also the Santa Clara Hotel is an antique colonial mansion; the interior is nice and colourful, but there can be noise, and the lack of modernity in the infrastructures and in the furnishings may cause some discomfort. The Santa Clara Hotel is located right in the Zócalo, and its great position compensates for any other possible drawbacks. The interior of the hotel is certainly beautiful. According to the web site of the hotel, this historical building dates back to 1532 AD, and was built by Diego the Mazariegos, the Spanish captain who conquered the Chiapas region; presumably it was his residence. The rooms are arranged around the large courtyard, and some of them have a view to the Zócalo. Fixtures and furniture are all made of solid wood, including the doors, the windows, the floor, the beams supporting the ceiling, the beds, the wardrobe and any other piece of furniture; the look is pleasant, and there is the feeling of living in another era. There are rooms of different qualities: the more attractive and the larger ones are those facing the Zócalo, which are also provided with an external window; other rooms may be much smaller (as it was mine, really minuscule) or with rather primitive bath facilities (in my room the sink was installed inside the bedroom). The rooms facing the courtyard may be disturbed by noise in case that an event is taking place there, or if some rude guests make a din in the courtyard. The positive aspects of the hotel are the following: 1) Best location in town 2) Very nice interiors, “colonial” style 3) Moderate prices. There are also some downsides: 1) There are no safe-deposit boxes, neither in the room nor at the reception; customers shall therefore keep all their valuables with them, and this is not a healthy practice, since the safety in the region is not optimal 2) The hotel enforces the rule that no food or beverage can be brought into the room, and a penalty of 300 Pesos is imposed on customers who breach it. Clear warnings in this regard are posted at the reception and in the room. I was however assured that I could safely take into the room a bottle of water or a bar of chocolate! 3) Some types of insects can easily enter the rooms. One day I left a bar of candy-sugar on the table, and upon my return the table was teeming with ants. This is possibly the reason of not allowing food in the rooms. 4) On check-out, the hotel was unable to provide an invoice (“we don’t have the appropriate forms”, I was told); I only got a small piece of paper stating the lump amount of money that I had paid to the hotel. 5) Nobody makes any effort to appear friendly or welcoming. All in all, the hotel is more or less equivalent to a 3-star European hotel of very moderate quality. Nevertheless, staying at this hotel is very practical and reasonably cheap. Don't however expect an unforgettable experience.…