Translation of quintessence in Spanish

On the drive into the city center we were a little shocked by the amount of motorcycles, by the pollution and stress in that city. After only two days in a small village we forgot how it was.
Well I take Spanish classes in college, that's the only useful language they offer, but if they had French I would be taking French. It sounds so nice. I have been lazy lately and I'm not really good at it.
In the end, the taxi dropped us also at their hotel (Hotel Monarca): Three stars, rooms available, hot water, a decent breakfast, free Internet and 2$ more expensive then our hostel.