Mexico City's New Hotel Developments

Big hotel chains will add more hotels through out the city. Mexico City is Mexico's nexus for financial, economic and cultural events. As one of the world's largest cities (pop. 9 million), it has abundant and affordable visitor accommodations. Last year, Starwood added the five-star St. Regis Mexico City to the mix at the Plaza of Diana, on the Reforma. Hilton recently took over and upgraded the former Sheraton Centro Historico, which is now the Hilton Mexico City Reforma; this year, it will get a new executive lounge with two boardrooms and a business center. For more seclusion, check out the 35-room, five-star Las Alcobas, recently opened in the Polanco district-it's small but has full business services. This past August, Starwood opened a new Westin in the Santa Fe area on the outskirts of the city, near the Expo Bancomer Convention Center. And in 2011, the 150-room Park Hyatt Mexico City-Reforma will open as part of the Capital Reforma development, a new multipurpose complex with offices and retail shops.

Looking for a meeting venue? A few years ago, Mexico eliminated its 10 to 15 percent VAT on foreign meetings. The country's drug violence largely avoids Mexico City, but exercise caution. Most crimes involving tourists are taxi and subway robberies, armed robberies, pickpocketing and purse snatching, says the U.S. State Department. The department also urges visitors to take turismo and sitio taxis summoned by telephone or contacted in advance, and to avoid libre taxis and Volkswagen Beetle taxis altogether.