Lodging in Zihuatanejo, Mexico
View from our apartment in Positano, Italy
Ironic, isn’t it, that this site is about travel and then when we actually do travel, we have a hard time figuring out what to write about? Thus the silence lately.
We just need to dive in, right? We recently got back from Zihuatanejo, Mexico and had a wonderful time. One of the reasons we loved it was where we stayed. In lieu of staying at a hotel or even a small B&B, we opted to rent a house for a week. We had done this previously in Positano, Italy and found it to be a wonderful experience. By staying in a real neighborhood, going to the market to buy ingredients to make dinner in your own kitchen, we felt like true members of the community. Also, there’s the view from our little apartment in Italy – can’t go wrong there, right?
So, Mexico. We contacted several places and looked around a lot before deciding on Casa Quixote, owned by a few Americans who frequently take trips to Zihua. True, this is not necessarily stimulating the local economy in the way we typically encourage but it leads to other socially conscious elements of the vacation. For example, we bought food in the local market, something tourists rarely do. Yes, the full chickens and beef out in the open air were a little nasty-smelling but you can’t get more real than that. Casa Quixote is also located on the “locals’ beach” so we came into much more contact with Zihuantanejo’s local folks than if we had stayed almost anywhere else. The other beaches are much more touristy, cleaner, etc. We did visit them but felt quite at home at our little Madera Beach.
And finally, the owners of the house do employ at least two people to help them take care of the house so we did contribute to the local folks in that small way.
We find that having a house is so much easier when traveling with a larger group of people than two. A hotel room can be stifling, leading to too much together time, if you know what we mean. By having more than one or two rooms, you can spread out, relax, and feel happy to arrive “home” at the end of your day’s excursion.
Here are some photos of the house and the views from it. Not too shabby, eh?
More from Zihua to come…
Hi,
I found your site on networkedblogs and I really agree with your assessment of staying in areas where the locals actually live whenever possible. You will really get the opportunity to experience the real flavor of the area by interacting with those who have first hand knowledge of what to see or do while you are there. I have plans to visit Zihua at some point, so I appreciate the recommendation of staying at Casa Quixote!
Renee
http://aviewtoathrill.net
I’m looking at renting Casa Quixote this summer, or a different comparable house on Playa Ropa but am having a hard time deciding. Any comments? Also, from your pictures, it appears that Casa Quixote is not on the beach but a walk to the beach. We may bring bocce ball and volleyball equipment, and like to be close to the sand. Is the Casa really on the beach or somewhat of a walk.
Thanks
Dave
Hi Dave - I’ll email you with details. - Shadia
I love your description of Casa Quixote but wonder if you happened upon any interesting looking inns for the more budget minded. $800 per night is a bit out of our price range. Thanks for any suggestions.
Dee - wow, we must have gotten a deal because we definitely did not pay $800 per night - I guess we went during the low season and it was just around the swine flu scare so we got a better deal because of that also. Anyway, there are a lot of places that we looked at - both inns and houses - that I found through “Zihua Dave” s site - just google zihuadave and you’ll find a forum with many lovely people who will help you out and give you ideas on places to stay. Good luck!