Welcome to the Hotel California

After I left hotel Posada Real in San Jose del Cabo,  Pedro Espinoza from Transcabo took me to Todos Santos. An hour of interesting history of Los Cabos that Pedro told me and I was checking in at Hotel California. I was still not sure if that was the famous hotel from the Eagles’ song until I got there, or not. Pedro told me that those who didn’t want to go to the war with Vietnam fled from the US and were hiding in this hotel singing Hotel California so it was definitely this hotel. He was 100% sure about it.

But then Sergio from Eco Adventures when giving me a tour around Todos Santos gave me a completely different story. Supposedly, the Eagles never said which hotel they were talking about but that they definitely never visited Mexico before they wrote the song. ”So if this hotel was the inspiration for the song or not, we might never find out”, Sergio was telling me with a funny look.

But it does feel important to be a guest at one of the 11 rooms the hotel has now, no matter what the real story was. Believe it or not, Sergio even told me a different story about Hotel California song – it might be Alcatraz prison where you can check in but you’ll never leave what the lyrics of the famous song speak about. The memory of the unpleasant, always windy and cold Alcatraz island I visited just a month ago started to come back to me. And so did the shivering from both the cold and the powerful story behind the Rock I felt when wondering around the prison in the past.

 Welcome to the Hotel California, such a lovely place, (such a lovely place), such a lovely face …

I remember each time I entered Hotel California during my stay in Todos Santos, each time Hotel California song I so heart was on, or at least someone was humming/singing it. It got under my skin so much that I even started to sing it the first thing in the morning and the last before going to bed.

Hotel California back in time

Hotel California nowadays

It was not just the song I truly enjoyed about Hotel California:

• location – situated just next to the church which gives a special feeling to the atmosphere. It was the first time I ever stayed in a hotel just right next to the church (after staying in Castle Rocaberti in March where my room was next to a church too but that was a castle and this a hotel). I am not a religious person but it was kind of cute to listen to the bells and the mass with people singing.

• staff – Hugo was the sweetest receptionist who never stopped helping me out with all my needs. The girls at the reception were sweet too and you have no idea how much I appreciate pleasant staff. It can make up your day.

• design – Hotel California was everything I imagined it to be – stylish, colourful, full of different flowers, plants and trees, sofas and amazing images on the wall. It felt like having a private botanic garden with a lot of little sofas and chairs to sit back and relax, and enjoy the art and furniture from around the world. The hotel design was giving me incredible energy every day I could use for blogging. I think Hotel California made it to my top 3 best designed hotels I’ve ever visited, if not the number 1. Where else can you listen to the Mexican church bells mixing with the American song Hotel California when sitting on Egyptian cotton sheets on your comfy bed looking at a piece of art on your wall from another country?

the stylish entrance to the hotel

one of the hotel decorations

a sofa downstairs

colourful sofas

for guests only

beautifully designed wardrobe

 

•  wifi – thankfully, I was able to use the energy gained in the hotel and catch up with writing and emails. 

• swimming pool – I guess you know my love for pools already, it’s no secret :) This little guest only pool is pretty cool because of the mentioned ”botanic garden” around. It feels like being at home at your own hidden pool where I could sunbathe and post photos of the cool pool background on my Twitter.

little guest only pool

relaxing by the pool

 

• my room – I had 2 beds, both this super romantic and I also had my own patio where I spent a lot of time sitting in front of my laptop and watching butterflies and little birds flying around the plants I had next to my patio. The time I enjoyed the most there was sunset as sunset always makes me somehow alive.

the main door to my room

my romantic bed

from my room to the patio

the second bed I had

my little patio

observing little birds

another bird in front of the church

the view from my patio at sunset time

sunset time

one of the patios at sunset

working at the patio

 

• free bottled water and toiletries – pretty useful, especially the water for me as I drink 3 to 4 l per day and going out to buy so much can be annoying (or am I so lazy already?!)

free toiletries

 

• La Coronela restaurant – it is a popular place for young people because of live music on Friday and Saturday. I had dinner there writing an article and listening to the music, was a cool experience. To be honest, I spent a lot of time at the restaurant enjoying meals, the super funny waiters who were always in a good mood. I loved the ambient there. I couldn’t get enough of the so called Mexiteranian dining (Mexican mixed with Mediterranean), ma favorite guacamole and agua de Jamaica. Btw, on the right side of Hotel California you should also try Santo Vino restaurant where Dany Lamote, the renowned Belgian executive chef of La Coronela too) cooks wonders!

live music at La Coronela restaurant

fresh salad

 

• Emporio – a stylish shop on the left side of the hotel offering eclectic shopping, hand-made art Todos Santos is famous for and souvenirs from the famous Hotel California

in Emporio store

souvenirs

chandeliers at Emporio

the history of Hotel California

Frida Kahlo painting at the reception

My stay at glamorous boutique Hotel California was a press trip. For more information follow them on Hotel California Todos Santos Facebook. You definitely should visit at least once in your lifetime. But remember, you might never leave … :)

*** It took me 4 hours to write this post.

Posted in hotels, Mexico, North America, photo, press trip, tips, travel Tags: Hotel California, Hotel California Baja, Hotel California Todos Santos