Hotel Review - Brick in Mexico City - NYTimes.com Brick fulfills Colonia Roma's need for an elegant, small hotel without fully satisfying the desire for a room (from $220) as special as the neighborhood itself. Built in the early 1900s by a London banker, Brick was a presidential mistress's mansion, an infamous brothel and a locksmith's workshop before becoming a hotel. Though it opened two years ago, "People still come, looking to get their keys made," said Mauricio Linder, its manager. With its French-influenced Porfiriano facade (a style named for Mexico's Francophile president, Porfirio Díaz), Brick has held on to its history, retaining vintage wrought iron doors and intricately patterned tile floors. But the hotel also embraces contemporary design clichés (antlers sprout incongruously overhead, and uneven Edison bulbs dangle in a stairwell) - a rustic aesthetic straight from Portland, Ore., that is out of place in Mexico's megalopolis capital. Between the Roma's twin plazas - Rio de Janeiro and Luis Cabrera - and a block from the neighborhood's main street, Alvaro Obregón, Brick is central without suffering from taxi horns and diesel fumes. It is about a five-minute walk to the nearest metro station and light rail line on Insurgentes. My friend and I had been upgraded to a luxurious suite, but by the time our luggage arrived, a double room in the glass-fronted, five-story addition behind the main building was available. It had an urban, Scandinavian sensibility (varnished wood, gray felt carpet) and was barely big enough for two double beds. Its small balcony was perfect for watching thunderclouds roll across Mexico City's dramatic high-altitude sky. But when I went to open the sliding glass door, the handle fell into my palm. Not much bigger than an airplane bathroom, the shower stall was white tile, with a waterfall shower head and a wooden bench and was stocked with Kiehl's bath products. The toilet sat behind a nearly transparent door. There were thoughtful touches, like a glass of wine at check-in and a handwritten welcome note in the room accompanied by green and pink macarons. The hotel is pet-friendly, a policy demonstrated by the large bowl of dog food on the front steps. The in-room "honesty bar" had a tempting, eclectic selection (Moët Champagne, Clamato, Toblerone) and some pragmatic choices (condoms, Pepto-Bismol). At bedtime, earplugs were delivered with a good-night note. But there were also problems. The hotel's Wi-Fi connection was spotty, and the magnetic key cards, which both open doors and turn on the room's electricity, left us without lights twice. Hotel Brick has two in-house restaurants: a popular French brasserie, La Moderna, and Lonchería Olivia, a casual cafe on a wide, covered patio. Lonchería provides the room service, but Moderna will deliver on request. From 10 p.m. to 7 a.m., options are limited to three entrees. Our 2 a.m. chilaquiles (tortilla chips in sauce) arrived in 20 minutes. Brick has more hiccups and oddities than one might expect for a hotel of its kind and price, but as the most stylish hotel in increasingly style-conscious Colonia Roma, its faults are forgivable. Hotel Brick, Orizaba 95, Roma Norte; (52-55) 5225-1100; hotelbrick.com