A bit of a trip report (please tell me if I should post this elsewhere or modify it somehow)
Rosewood Puebla
We had a three-night stay in connecting rooms at the Rosewood. A premium king with a standard double attached. The setup was great and spacious for our family of four. We've been to other Rosewoods, a couple of Amans, St. R, etc. Eventually, I think this place gets 5 stars.
Location: The hotel is located walking distance from the central and historic parts of Puebla. Uber is also an easy and astonishingly affordable option. Throughout our trip we used it to get around Puebla and Mexico City. (Local rides were on average $3 or less so we added cash tips.)
The hotel is visually stunning. The exterior is simple and unassuming. The rooms and common areas are gorgeous. Beautiful details, wonderful art, and lovely interior design. There's a large sitting area on the lobby-level with beautiful books, a fireplace and access to a well-manicured garden and fountain. The pool is located on the roof where the views are fantastic, particularly early in the morning when visibility is clear. All of these exterior spaces are very tastefully done. Generally, the aesthetic is both authentically Mexican with a fresh and modern touch.
The food at the hotel was delicious. The main restaurant serves Pueblan and Mexican cuisine. They offer a wonderful breakfast in a more formal restaurant and then later in the morning in a cafe/bistro-type environment. The value for the food is borderline shocking for a 5-star property. We once took a packed lunch from the cafe, which was great.
The staff at the hotel is lovely. Very warm and they want to help. Our room was kept impeccably clean. The gentleman at concierge was knowledgable and eager to help.
I enjoyed a great treatment in the spa. (I get massages often in NY and sometimes hesitate to do so while traveling because I'm just very happy with my therapist here.) I thought my talaverra stone massage was great and a lovely, relaxing experience.
Here are some downsides:
1. The rooms are not insulated form noise. Hallways are all stone (no carpeting) and the doors have spaces beneath them. We heard so much noise through our door. People walking around and talking sounded like it came from within your room, which feels odd when you're taking a bath. Granted, the hotel is not large and people were not frequently in the hallways. But the doors of the rooms should be replaced and rugs or some type of carpeting should be added to the halls.
2. While the staff is warm and wonderful, they're not yet trained at a 5-star level of service. For example, no one anticipated our arrival even though I emailed the front desk from an hour away. No one else arrived during our entire check-in, and they looked surprised when we arrived. Separately, I needed a $300 cash advance in pesos and was looked at like I was crazy. (I've never had a problem with this. And the hotel never sorted out the answer one way or another.)
3. In restaurants, the food was great and service was lovely/kind. But there were three times when we were the only family in the restaurant and waited very long for our food. It didn't really bother us, nor did we complain, but it was baffling to have fairly long waits in an empty restaurant. At one point, when we were alone in the main restaurant, we waited to be seated for about 5-7 minutes (not a big deal, but odd nonetheless). Then, we were seated at a glass table while it was sprayed down and set right in front of us.
As an aside, we were a bit confused at how empty the hotel and restaurants were. They were supposedly at capacity, or near it, during our stay. And at most we shared the restaurants with one other set of diners. (Many times none.) It would have been nice for the hotel to feel a bit more occupied, but that's certainly not a complaint.
All in all, I have to say we still loved this place. The value is great and the atmosphere and experience were wonderful. Puebla is just fantastic and we were all sad to leave. We departed feeling grateful to the staff and for the experience. Travel here and enjoy time in this lovely city. We'd go back and would've extended at least another day or two, but had to leave for Mexico City.
Some Puebla highlights (for our family of four, two boys aged 5, 7):
Cooking class and lunch at Meson Sacristia (Must do -- absolutely wonderful.)
Museo Amparo collection and its gorgeous, gorgeous roofdeck
The park and forts of the Cinco de Mayo battle
The house of the Serdan Bros where the Mexican Revolution began
Tacos al Pastor ("al arabe") at the VERY casual Las Ranas near the Zocalo. (This is straight up street food. Very simple and plain. Excellent tacos.)
Africam Safari - highlight for our boys. (This is a massive drive-through zoo that's meant to resemble the plains of Africa. Our boys loved it. It broke my heart a bit to see all these animals lying around while cars drive by them.)