La Paz hotels
Oct 4th, 2006, 02:53 PM
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La Paz hotels
Any recommendations for a nice hotel in La Paz? We would like something clean, comfortable and nice, preferrably on the water, for a 5 day stay in March.
I've tried El Moro based on Suze's recommendation but it's booked.
The Hotel Cabanas de los Arcos look fun and nice too. Anyone stayed there who can tell me more.
Thanks!
I've tried El Moro based on Suze's recommendation but it's booked.
The Hotel Cabanas de los Arcos look fun and nice too. Anyone stayed there who can tell me more.
Thanks!
Oct 4th, 2006, 03:07 PM
#2
Oh dear, that's too bad. The thing about La Paz and hotels "on the water" is that the Malecon runs the entire length of town, so for a hotel to be on the water it will necessarily be at bit to either the north or south of the town.
I had trouble finding out much information about La Paz hotels before my trip. Scored on El Moro on the recommendation from a poster on another travel forum (we correspond to this day).
I checked out quite a few other hotels during my stay, but looked at more budget oriented properties than what you are seeking.
Hopefully someone else will chime in, but I'm not certain there is anyone else here with La Paz experience.
I had trouble finding out much information about La Paz hotels before my trip. Scored on El Moro on the recommendation from a poster on another travel forum (we correspond to this day).
I checked out quite a few other hotels during my stay, but looked at more budget oriented properties than what you are seeking.
Hopefully someone else will chime in, but I'm not certain there is anyone else here with La Paz experience.
Oct 4th, 2006, 04:42 PM
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Daydreamin', we've been to La Paz a couple of times on day trips ... would offer the following comments ...
<b>The Hotel Cabanas de los Arcos look fun and nice too. Anyone stayed there who can tell me more.</b>
We had a very pleasant lunch at Los Arcos once and I think the Cabanas are right beside it ... the problem with this property is it's on the main street by the malecon so there's a lot of traffic in front of the hotel. It's "on the water" but there's no beach, just rocks.
One place I've heard good things about is La Concha, a bit east on Pichilingue beach.
You can check out hotel ratings at this site ... La Concha is # 3, El Moro was # 1 ...
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotels-g1...ia-Hotels.html
Just curious as to why you chose to vacation in La Paz? It's a large sea port and not really a well-known vacation spot ... here are some other options in south Baja that we've stayed at and enjoyed over the years ...
East Cape is south of La Paz on the Cortez side and has a string of seven or eight fishing oriented hotels along a 20+ mile strip of beach ... if you want to get away from it all here's the place ... maybe not a lot to do unless you're fishing though.
Todos Santos is a small farming village on the Pacific side between La Paz and Cabo. A couple of nice small hotels and we had the best meal I've yet eaten in Mexico there ... pretty laid back. Maybe best known for the Hotel California, erroneously said to be the inspiration of a song by the Eagles.
San Jose del Cabo is a nice blend of 'genuine' Mexico with 'tourist' Mexico, more fast paced than East Cape or Todos Santos but still relatively laid back compared to ...
Cabo San Lucas ... all the good things you've heard about it are true, all the bad things you've heard about it are true too
But if you are asking about La Paz you've probably already rejected Cabo Wabo.
At any rate I'd prefer any of these or Loreto or Mulege to La Paz myself.
Bill
<b>The Hotel Cabanas de los Arcos look fun and nice too. Anyone stayed there who can tell me more.</b>
We had a very pleasant lunch at Los Arcos once and I think the Cabanas are right beside it ... the problem with this property is it's on the main street by the malecon so there's a lot of traffic in front of the hotel. It's "on the water" but there's no beach, just rocks.
One place I've heard good things about is La Concha, a bit east on Pichilingue beach.
You can check out hotel ratings at this site ... La Concha is # 3, El Moro was # 1 ...
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotels-g1...ia-Hotels.html
Just curious as to why you chose to vacation in La Paz? It's a large sea port and not really a well-known vacation spot ... here are some other options in south Baja that we've stayed at and enjoyed over the years ...
East Cape is south of La Paz on the Cortez side and has a string of seven or eight fishing oriented hotels along a 20+ mile strip of beach ... if you want to get away from it all here's the place ... maybe not a lot to do unless you're fishing though.
Todos Santos is a small farming village on the Pacific side between La Paz and Cabo. A couple of nice small hotels and we had the best meal I've yet eaten in Mexico there ... pretty laid back. Maybe best known for the Hotel California, erroneously said to be the inspiration of a song by the Eagles.
San Jose del Cabo is a nice blend of 'genuine' Mexico with 'tourist' Mexico, more fast paced than East Cape or Todos Santos but still relatively laid back compared to ...
Cabo San Lucas ... all the good things you've heard about it are true, all the bad things you've heard about it are true too
But if you are asking about La Paz you've probably already rejected Cabo Wabo. At any rate I'd prefer any of these or Loreto or Mulege to La Paz myself.
Bill
Oct 4th, 2006, 06:35 PM
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Bill H is pretty accurate.I have stayed twice in Pa Paz finding it very charming the second visit we rented a lovely 3 bedroom, 3 bath Condo at La Concha Condos next to the hotel. Absolute gorgeous unit with huge TV, DVD, Family/game room, living room, dining, kitchen & huge balcony. Nice shared pool on a very nice beach which at low tide is a great shelling beach. My daughter found over a 100 Sand dollars on it. The hotel its self I would rate about 3 star. Decent but not fantastic. The same for their food. Good water sports company on site.
Oct 5th, 2006, 06:28 AM
#5
hey I like La Paz
(but have not been anywhere else on the Baja to make the comparison that others can for you)
there just isn't much tourist infrastructure or many things to do! i spent two weeks there.
a couple things i would do differently if i return... take a friend along (i was solo and it was lonely) and rent a car for at least part of the time.
(but have not been anywhere else on the Baja to make the comparison that others can for you)
there just isn't much tourist infrastructure or many things to do! i spent two weeks there.
a couple things i would do differently if i return... take a friend along (i was solo and it was lonely) and rent a car for at least part of the time.
Oct 5th, 2006, 07:27 AM
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Wow...thanks for all the helpful information!
A little bit about us/this trip---we are going to Cabo with friends who have a condo there so we decided to go early & explore on our own. We know some people who used to have a home in La Paz and the town always intrigued us, maybe because it isn't touristy.
I just made the airline reservations and we will have 10 days on our own before our friends arrive so lots of time to explore. We'll rent a car for those 10 days. I'll definitely check out the other areas you mentioned and continue to research options.
Also, I've been reading about whale watching cruises and eco cruises. Does anyone have any experience with either or a cruise company to recommend? Am also very interested in other excursions and restuarant recommendations.
Thanks so much for your help!
A little bit about us/this trip---we are going to Cabo with friends who have a condo there so we decided to go early & explore on our own. We know some people who used to have a home in La Paz and the town always intrigued us, maybe because it isn't touristy.
I just made the airline reservations and we will have 10 days on our own before our friends arrive so lots of time to explore. We'll rent a car for those 10 days. I'll definitely check out the other areas you mentioned and continue to research options.
Also, I've been reading about whale watching cruises and eco cruises. Does anyone have any experience with either or a cruise company to recommend? Am also very interested in other excursions and restuarant recommendations.
Thanks so much for your help!
Oct 5th, 2006, 08:46 AM
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<b>we are going to Cabo with friends who have a condo there so we decided to go early & explore on our own ... we will have 10 days on our own before our friends arrive so lots of time to explore. We'll rent a car for those 10 days.</b>
So 10 days with a car, then friends in Cabo ... I would vote for making a loop around the tip of Baja, maybe staying at three places for 2-4 days each place. If you are flying into San Jose del Cabo and picking up a car then maybe go to the East Cape for 2 or 3 nights first. This is about an hour drive north east of the airport, on the Cortez side. Laid back area with a decent beach and seven fishing hotels spread out over many miles ... if you want solitude then pick a lodge at either end of the bay, something like the rustic Hotel Punta Colorado on the south or the more upscale Punta Pescadero on the north. If you want something with a bit more to do during the day then I recommend Palmas de Cortez or Hotel Buenavista. You can check the web for more info on these, but most are primarily fishing resorts. If you don't mind rustic I'd vote for Punta Colorado, but it's pretty isolated. If you don't want to fish you could still rent a panga (small open boat) and do a day trip to Cabo Pulmo and the coral reefs for snorkeling. I'm not sure if the whales are still around in March but if so you'll see them on this trip (we've seen plenty of whales in Dec and January).
After 2-3 days here head for La Paz, maybe 120 km north so an easy drive. You already have the hotel list ... La Paz will seem like Manhattan after staying at Punta Colorado
After a 3-5 days in La Paz maybe stay 2 nights at Todos Santos, a small village on the Pacific side famous for surfing and trying to become an artists' colony. We stayed at the Todos Santos Inn and it was pretty good. It's in the center of town but it's a very quiet town. There's an Eco-tourism company in town if you want to do excursions.
The best food we've ever eaten in Mexico was in Todos Santos at the Cafe Santa Fe, a short walk from the Inn.
You will either be charmed by the slow pace or bored to tears, so maybe just do two nights in case the pace is too slow for you ... Cabo is about an hour's drive south of Todos Santos.
Here are some links to Todos Santos ...
http://www.todossantos-baja.com/
http://www.todossantosinn.com/home.html
http://www.mexonline.com/todossantosinn.htm
Bill
So 10 days with a car, then friends in Cabo ... I would vote for making a loop around the tip of Baja, maybe staying at three places for 2-4 days each place. If you are flying into San Jose del Cabo and picking up a car then maybe go to the East Cape for 2 or 3 nights first. This is about an hour drive north east of the airport, on the Cortez side. Laid back area with a decent beach and seven fishing hotels spread out over many miles ... if you want solitude then pick a lodge at either end of the bay, something like the rustic Hotel Punta Colorado on the south or the more upscale Punta Pescadero on the north. If you want something with a bit more to do during the day then I recommend Palmas de Cortez or Hotel Buenavista. You can check the web for more info on these, but most are primarily fishing resorts. If you don't mind rustic I'd vote for Punta Colorado, but it's pretty isolated. If you don't want to fish you could still rent a panga (small open boat) and do a day trip to Cabo Pulmo and the coral reefs for snorkeling. I'm not sure if the whales are still around in March but if so you'll see them on this trip (we've seen plenty of whales in Dec and January).
After 2-3 days here head for La Paz, maybe 120 km north so an easy drive. You already have the hotel list ... La Paz will seem like Manhattan after staying at Punta Colorado
After a 3-5 days in La Paz maybe stay 2 nights at Todos Santos, a small village on the Pacific side famous for surfing and trying to become an artists' colony. We stayed at the Todos Santos Inn and it was pretty good. It's in the center of town but it's a very quiet town. There's an Eco-tourism company in town if you want to do excursions.
The best food we've ever eaten in Mexico was in Todos Santos at the Cafe Santa Fe, a short walk from the Inn.
You will either be charmed by the slow pace or bored to tears, so maybe just do two nights in case the pace is too slow for you ... Cabo is about an hour's drive south of Todos Santos.
Here are some links to Todos Santos ...
http://www.todossantos-baja.com/
http://www.todossantosinn.com/home.html
http://www.mexonline.com/todossantosinn.htm
Bill
Oct 5th, 2006, 02:22 PM
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Bill, thank you so much for all the suggestions! That itinerary looks perfect to me. I just bought the Lonely Planet's book on Baja & Los Cabos so I'll check it all out and start making some plans! I appreciate all your information as well as the time and effert to post it all! Do you recommend making hotel reservations ahead of time?
Suze...we'll definitely stop at the El Moro cafe and check it out. In fact, I haven't given up on staying there. I learned there's a festival there the week end we arrive so maybe if we avoid La Paz that weekend, we can still get reservations there later in the week.
Thanks!
Suze...we'll definitely stop at the El Moro cafe and check it out. In fact, I haven't given up on staying there. I learned there's a festival there the week end we arrive so maybe if we avoid La Paz that weekend, we can still get reservations there later in the week.
Thanks!
Oct 5th, 2006, 05:09 PM
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<b>Do you recommend making hotel reservations ahead of time?</b>
At East Cape the busiest time is April - July and again in the fall. We've always gone there for fishing May - July and October and most lodges were full, so dunno about March, which seems a bit early to me. Here's a site for two of the hotels mentioned (Punta Colorado and Palmas de Cortez), their bookings are done thru a California company and you can call the 1-888 # and talk to them to see how full it is in March. If not very full it might be wise to just book one night ahead of time so you have something the first day, then decide once you're there if you want to stay longer ... http://www.vanwormerresorts.com/
Here's also a site with day trips out of East Cape hotels, like snorkeling to the Cabo Pulmo Marine Preserve ... http://www.vistaseasport.com/
For Todos Santos I'd just email the inn keeper (I think his name was John). He's from California so there will be no language barrier and you can also ask him about day trips in and around TS. I think they only had 8 rooms total and maybe 4 at the base price, and March - April is a good time to be on the Pacific side so this might be a tougher room to get than East Cape. He can also point you to other small hotels in town ... my wife and I stayed there in early December a couple of years ago, a time usually considered off-season, and I think 6 of the 8 rooms were booked then.
Good luck with your trip. Just talking about it has got me thinking of going back down if we can get cheap airfare
Bill
At East Cape the busiest time is April - July and again in the fall. We've always gone there for fishing May - July and October and most lodges were full, so dunno about March, which seems a bit early to me. Here's a site for two of the hotels mentioned (Punta Colorado and Palmas de Cortez), their bookings are done thru a California company and you can call the 1-888 # and talk to them to see how full it is in March. If not very full it might be wise to just book one night ahead of time so you have something the first day, then decide once you're there if you want to stay longer ... http://www.vanwormerresorts.com/
Here's also a site with day trips out of East Cape hotels, like snorkeling to the Cabo Pulmo Marine Preserve ... http://www.vistaseasport.com/
For Todos Santos I'd just email the inn keeper (I think his name was John). He's from California so there will be no language barrier and you can also ask him about day trips in and around TS. I think they only had 8 rooms total and maybe 4 at the base price, and March - April is a good time to be on the Pacific side so this might be a tougher room to get than East Cape. He can also point you to other small hotels in town ... my wife and I stayed there in early December a couple of years ago, a time usually considered off-season, and I think 6 of the 8 rooms were booked then.
Good luck with your trip. Just talking about it has got me thinking of going back down if we can get cheap airfare
Bill
Oct 6th, 2006, 06:48 AM
#12
Since your plans are flexible I might even base the La Paz 2-3 days on availability at El Moro. They have regular rooms but also some with nice kitchens, and there is a grocery store nearby (look for pink paint and a lifesize cow on the roof!) if that interests you.
I've never traveled around the Baja & you & Bill are making me green with envy ;-) Have fun!
I've never traveled around the Baja & you & Bill are making me green with envy ;-) Have fun!
Oct 6th, 2006, 08:01 AM
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Suze- We did a day trip whirl wind down the East cape to San Jose, Cabo & came back through Santos. We too loved La Paz as it is truly a peaceful place. As I have report my first experience was "ship wrecking" have way down the coast of Baja landing at Bahia de Tortoga Taking a car over to the Hiway then bus down through lovely beach towns, up high plateaus of agriculture & finlay into La Paz 12 hours later. If the weather was better (very hot in the summer & a bit cool in the winter) I would go more often. Now November/December & April through May are terrific!
Oct 6th, 2006, 09:37 PM
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Bill, thank you! You are a fountain of information and I've been following up on all your suggestions and really appreciate the websites! I've sent an email off to the Todos Santos Inn and am keeping my fingers crossed that they'll have a vacancy for our dates. It looks wonderful!
Suze....a life size cow on the roof! LOL! Now that's something you don't see every day!
Stewbear....where did you stay in La Paz? Would you recommend it?
Thanks to you all! Because of your enthusiastic responses, I'm starting to get very excited about this adventure!
Suze....a life size cow on the roof! LOL! Now that's something you don't see every day!
Stewbear....where did you stay in La Paz? Would you recommend it?
Thanks to you all! Because of your enthusiastic responses, I'm starting to get very excited about this adventure!
Oct 7th, 2006, 07:17 AM
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As I report the last time we stayed at a lovely 3 bedroom, 3 bath 7 room condo with a huge patio at the La Concha hotel condos next to the hotel. The first time stayed at a bargain hotel a couple of blocks from the Malacon. It was clean but rooms very small almost cell like. We were just passing through that trip trying to get to PV after ship wrecking off Bahia de Tortuga.
Oct 7th, 2006, 06:24 PM
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Stewbear....yes, I realize now you already posted where you stayed. Sorry!
I've emailed a lot of places and am trying to get reservations all over southern Baja! Right now, I think it'll be a miracle if they all come together! I think we should have started planning this trip at least 5 months ago! But whatever, I know it will be amazing! Thanks for your help.
I've emailed a lot of places and am trying to get reservations all over southern Baja! Right now, I think it'll be a miracle if they all come together! I think we should have started planning this trip at least 5 months ago! But whatever, I know it will be amazing! Thanks for your help.
Oct 13th, 2006, 10:02 AM
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The reservations are made and I want to thank for all the help. The final itinerary is:
Days 1-2 in Todos Santos at the Todos Santos Inn. It looks charming.
Days 3-5 in La Paz at El Morro. Yeah! Found a time they had a vacancy!
Days 6-9 in Los Cabos at the Hilton (using points)
7 nights at our friends' time share in Cabo, Pueblo Bonito Rose. Looks amazing.
If you think of any more favorite restaurants and/or excursions, please let me know. Thanks again!
Days 1-2 in Todos Santos at the Todos Santos Inn. It looks charming.
Days 3-5 in La Paz at El Morro. Yeah! Found a time they had a vacancy!
Days 6-9 in Los Cabos at the Hilton (using points)
7 nights at our friends' time share in Cabo, Pueblo Bonito Rose. Looks amazing.
If you think of any more favorite restaurants and/or excursions, please let me know. Thanks again!
Oct 14th, 2006, 05:55 AM
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<b>If you think of any more favorite restaurants and/or excursions, please let me know</b>
Looks like a good plan! Two more suggestions ... in Todos Santos the Cafe Santa Fe has excellent food, the best we've had in Mexico (even better than Vallarta ... a couple weeks before you leave maybe email the innkeeper at the TS Inn and ask him to make a reservation for lunch or dinner there for you. It's only two blocks from the Inn ... many people from Cabo come up just for lunch so it's often booked solid.
Second suggestion is on day 6 when you leave La Paz ... you'll drive up on the Pacific side via Todos Santos so for a nice change of pace (and to complete the loop) I'd return to Cabo on the Cortez side (I think it's Highway 1 instead of 19) ... much less traffic on this road and it's very scenic in places. Maybe stop at Los Barriles for a minute, maybe do sidetrips to small farming towns like Miraflores or Santiago ... if the road between Punta Colorado and Cabo Pulmo to San Jose has been paved (which I doubt, but check with the car rental agency) this would be a great scenic drive addition.
Have fun.
Bill
Looks like a good plan! Two more suggestions ... in Todos Santos the Cafe Santa Fe has excellent food, the best we've had in Mexico (even better than Vallarta
... a couple weeks before you leave maybe email the innkeeper at the TS Inn and ask him to make a reservation for lunch or dinner there for you. It's only two blocks from the Inn ... many people from Cabo come up just for lunch so it's often booked solid.Second suggestion is on day 6 when you leave La Paz ... you'll drive up on the Pacific side via Todos Santos so for a nice change of pace (and to complete the loop) I'd return to Cabo on the Cortez side (I think it's Highway 1 instead of 19) ... much less traffic on this road and it's very scenic in places. Maybe stop at Los Barriles for a minute, maybe do sidetrips to small farming towns like Miraflores or Santiago ... if the road between Punta Colorado and Cabo Pulmo to San Jose has been paved (which I doubt, but check with the car rental agency) this would be a great scenic drive addition.
Have fun.
Bill
