Travelling close to home: Hotel Isabel in Mexico City

More than twenty years ago, at the very beginning of my exploration of Mexico City's Centro Histórico, I stayed at the venerable Hotel Isabel. At that time, it seemed remote from the 'action' closer to the Zócalo. The revival of the Centro had not begun, so the walk down deserted streets at night to get back to the hotel was intimidating. The hotel, which opened in 1920, is housed in a former