Rethinking Road Scholar trip

I've been on 3 Road Scholar tours. One was in Mexico, but not Mexico City. I loved one, I thought one was ok and I didn't enjoy the 3rd one at all. Bottom line, I think their tours are very inconsistent. I think the guides are mostly average or below average. Their hotels were the same. I agree most of their meals were in the hotel and below average. One of the things I like about my Rick tours is eating in smaller, more local restaurants. I've taken 9 Rick Steves tours and found all of them to be above average. I've had only one hotel room that was way below standards. I've had only one guide that I felt was not up to standard, but I still enjoyed the tour itinerary and the group I traveled with. The Road Scholar tour I LOVED was the one to Cuba in 2013. They really do a wonderful job all around on that tour.
All this being said, I still look at Road Scholar tours. If I find a topic and itinerary that looks interesting I may give them another try. I'll just have different expectations than when I go on a Rick tour.

I have never been on a Rick Steves tour so can't compare to that. The only other group tour I have been on is through Blue Roads which I think is a bit higher end.

There is so much good food in Mexico City, and at very reasonable prices, that eating most dinners in the same hotel sounds really sad to me. Traveling independently (solo, 70s), I found it easy to get around by public transportation; uber is also very available.

I'd second what CD in DC said. One of the joys of Mexico City is its restaurants and street food.

Here's an option to consider: https://culinarybackstreets.com/trips/mexico-city/layer-by-layer-a-mexico-city-culinary-adventure

I have been on four Road scholar tours, and have four more lined up. We are the same age. While I am often at the young end of the spectrum for the tours I have never been bothered by that in the least. While all of their tours are different, I've always found a good amount of activity on them.

Whatever head counting is used on their tours, it's no different than the head counting that I've experienced on tours with all of the companies I've traveled with, which is Road Scholar, Rick Steves, Overseas Adventure Travel, and Odysseys Unlimited and more.

I don't know what the dinner choices are for your particular tour, but we've always had a mix of in the hotel and restaurants outside the hotel. Dinners are fine...but I'm not a fancy food person at all.

Some of my favorite guides have been with Road Scholar...one was so good I'm doing his exact tour again this year, but that's in France.

My Mexico guide was fantastic but I don't know if he does any Mexico City tours for them. He was Artemio from Andiamo Travel.

And without knowing which tour you are doing, I looked at their standard Mexico City tour, and it looks like one or two meals at the hotel, three meals at local restaurants, and two meals on your own.

I've done a few RoadScholar tours, and yes, the group meals tend to be disappointing.
I think the best thing at this point is to go ahead with the tour, but opt out of at least some of the included meals.
I assume the tour will stay in one hotel in Mexico City? I would check the location on Google maps and scope out food possibilities nearby.

I only opt for RoadScholar when I can't find a better itinerary, and will continue to use them. Nothing is perfect, and I hope the plusses will outweigh the minuses.

I had a closer look at the itinerary - it includes five dinners - only two dinners are the hotel, the other three dinners are at different restaurants so that makes me feel better about the meals. The accommodation is at one hotel for all nights. I had checked that out first before paying the deposit. It looks quite nice.

Added:
LizinPA, you are right, nothing is perfect. I'll be happy to get away from the snow and cold for a week and see sites I'm interested in. It's sunny and 21 C in Mexico City today.

Susan, I'm glad you feel better about the tour and yes...getting some sunlight is indeed a plus!

I've done 13 Road Scholar tours, 12 Rick Steves tours and 6 with a small tour group company owned by a former Rick Steves guide. I've never done a tour to Mexico so I am basing my opinion on my trips in Western Europe with Road Scholar.

I generally do as Liz suggests about food and maybe eat the first meal at the hotel and then just opt out of the other hotel meals. I had a Road Scholar tour in 2022 where all meals at one location were in the hotel. It was in Ghent which has a jillion restaurants so after night 2 I just told the leader that I was going to skip dinner. I also told the other solo women as we had all wound up sitting together at dinner and I did not want them to be concerned because I didn't show up.

I'm glad yours only has 2 hotel meals so you can manage with them. I think another forum member did a Road Scholar to Mexico and might have done a trip report, I'll see if I can find it.

In my opinion, they are now asking about mobility and needs because there are people who underestimate their physical abilities. It's very aggravating for others who do meet the criteria for a tours' physical activity level to have people who know they are not able to manage the walking and standing. I don't mind if someone opts out of activities at all. Most guides are very skilled at showing them where to wait for the rest of the group.

Editing to Add: Here is a link to Tammy's (DiveLoonie) Road Scholar trip to Mexico Jan 2024. It's a different trip from yours but it might still be an interesting read for you.

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/road-scholar-best-of-central-mexico-magical-towns-bustling-cities-january-2024

My first RoadScholar trip was to Andalusia, Spain, and I chose it because the place and time worked with a friend GTG in Valencia I enjoyed the things we saw, but all dinners were at a large resort-type beach hotel 2 miles outside of Nerja, and mostly buffet style. Very disappointing.
A friend who is a serious hiker said that the Iceland tour, clearly rated as challenging, had to be dumbed down because too many people couldn't manage. Obviously that could happen with other companies, too, and there are certainly people here on the forum who question the Rick Steves activity level.

It really is important to read all the information provided.