Hotel Occidental

For budget travelers or families, this place can work well: it’s well located, the rooms are cleaned properly, and soap and shampoo are provided. There’s a McDonald’s a two minute walk away, and the cathedral and other tourist spots are about ten minutes away. The nearby bars are great too, especially if you’ve had a lot to drink and want to get back quickly. A couple of things to know: guest visits in the bedroom aren’t allowed without paying 100mxd per person per entry, which I found annoying. The room lighting is dim, the floors are old, and toiletries like a brush aren’t provided. There was also a theft complaint from the couple in the room next to mine: they said their locked room had been entered and their laptop, phone, and other things were stolen. I don’t know what happened after they reported it.

We come back here every time we visit because we feel safe. Our belongings have never been touched except when the counters are cleaned and sanitized, and the rooms are a good size, with a closet and full bathroom. We’re usually out exploring, so that’s plenty for us. People hear “hostel” and assume the worst, but this hotel/hostel wasn’t what I expected. The staff are cheerful, helpful, and so far seem quite honest.

At 7am it was 22 degrees Celsius outside and 42 in my room. It had actually reached 49 in there. I slept maybe two hours, drenched in sweat. The bed was like an oven grill, probably because of the plastic cover over the mattress, which I guess is meant to keep guests’ sweat from soaking through. Opening the windows for some relief just brought in about 100 mosquitoes. I spent 200 pesos on water and electrolyte drinks I wouldn’t normally buy. For that, I could have booked a 550-600 peso hotel with air conditioning. Most hotels also offer some free water, but this one doesn’t.

You get what you pay for. The internet switches between good and bad during the day, and keeping the windows shut helps keep mosquitoes out.