Jer reminded me yesterday to post about my experience at El Palacio de Hielo the day the rest of you were making tortillas.

Well, I took the Metro up to Canillas which is right next door to the Palacio. Although from the air the Palacio is quite attractive, from the ground level it was pretty plain.

The layout inside was pretty chaotic. They had movie theaters on multiple levels but with very poorly designed access. The shops were the usual batch of mid-range stores. Food choices were not all that great with too many fast food (Burger King, MacDonalds) outlets. I did find a pretty good American restaurant, Chicago, which served me up a decent hamburger in a flash.

As for the ice rink..... What a piece of unmitigated rubbish! You have to wait in line to buy tickets in a very cramped stairwell. Then, after purchasing a certain amount of time for skating, you have to wait in line (in my case, over 20 minutes) to pick up your cheapo, plastic, and smelly ice skates which you can only get by trading in your regular shoes! But, since the pickup area is also the main dropoff area for used skates which just happen to be dripping wet, you end up getting your socks soaked unless you happen to notice the small box of plastic bags on the counter to cover your feet.

Once you've attached your rejects from the Salvation Army, you toddle over to the rink where at least 250 people are all making their way around the ice rink. Here, the lethal mixture of total newbies, over-confident youths, show-offs, and the clueless makes for an incredibly dicey experience.

Often times I had individuals flying at me perpendicularly or in the opposite direction or without warning falling over right in front of me.

The condition of ice was appalling which wasn't surprising considering the cheap skates and the damage the newbies were inflicting on the ice. It felt like rollerblading over a cobblestone path. On top of that the temperature of the rink wasn't low enough to prevent large pools of water from forming. Any fall resulted in a soaking.

After an hour and a half, the Zamboni machine came out and polished off the ice but it took no more than 5 minutes for the masses to carve it into a total mess.

I was determined to make the most of my money but in the end I left feeling ripped off ($8 for 3 hours).

The Palacio has many movie theaters, a bowling alley, and an arcade. You'd be far better off going to them than to the rink.

Hey Roland, thanks for the review.

Saludos,
jer...