Baja Club Hotel, La Paz, Baja California Sur, a Member of Design Hotels

The included breakfast was good, valet parking made things easy, and the chimineas lit at night were a nice touch. The hotel is right on the water, though the few rooms with water views looked like they were rarely used. Beyond those points, our stay was deeply disappointing for a place charging $430 a night. We wouldn't return. Our room was tiny, dark, and awkwardly laid out, with barely enough room for my suitcase. The duvet didn't cover the whole bed and kept slipping off, leaving your feet uncovered. The bathroom arrangement was strange too: the toilet was far from the sink, so you had to cross the room to wash your hands. We could hear doors slamming and courtyard noise in the morning, and there were small bugs and mosquitos in the room. I woke up with five bites. The whole property smelled strongly of cleaning products, including around the pool. It was a Monday night and the hotel wasn't full, with unused rooms clearly available, but we still had to wait and were put in a ground-floor room exposed to the courtyard, with no privacy. I'd requested a higher floor, and no one acknowledged that request. When I went to the desk to check whether this was really the room I'd booked, they said they'd upgraded me from a garden room to a patio room. That felt misleading: every room faces a garden or courtyard, and this one seemed worse, not better. For these prices, the place should feel exceptional. It felt closer to three stars, especially compared with a three-star hotel in Todos Santos we'd just left, where the rooms were much better quality. If you want a spacious room and good finishes, look elsewhere. The hotel should listen to guest requests and focus on a good experience instead of extra dollars.

The rooms were comfortable, clean, and a good size, and the food and drinks were outstanding. We also loved the thoughtful design and found the staff professional and friendly throughout. Baja Club lived up to a friend's recommendation, with a spot right on the boardwalk and a rooftop made for beautiful sunsets. We'd love to come back.

The design is lovely and the location on the Malecón is great. Those were the only real positives for us, and our stay at The Baja Club was a major disappointment. We wouldn't recommend it. We'd seen the poor Google and Booking reviews and hesitated, but gave the hotel a chance anyway, which we regretted. Carnival was held right outside the hotel for our entire stay, four days of extremely loud music from 9 a.m. until 3 a.m. There had been advance notice, but there was no way to cancel and we had no other option, so we had to stay. The hotel offered no compensation or gesture of goodwill, just cheap earplugs. That's unacceptable at well over $400 a night. There were other problems too. Breakfast prices weren't clear, and they suddenly added 80 pesos for cheese in an omelet. We felt constant pressure to tip, even at the included breakfast. The hotel didn't provide parking, so in a city where a car is basically necessary we had to park more than a kilometer away. Our room still hadn't been cleaned at 5:30 p.m. one day, and when we asked, staff were dismissive. At checkout, they tried to charge us for minibar items we hadn't used. Any one of those things might seem minor on its own, but together, especially at this price, they were unacceptable. Design doesn't make up for poor service. The one star is for the design.

The property was spotless throughout, with a crystal-clear pool, magnificent architecture, and genuinely high-quality rooms. Staff and food were outstanding at breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The location is the best in La Paz, and it makes a perfect base for exploring the area. If you're after a high-quality vacation, this is a great choice, and your privacy will be respected.