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In 1991 Billy and Akaisha Kaderli retired at the age of 38. Now, into their 4th decade of this financially independent lifestyle, they invite you to take advantage of their wisdom and experience.

Hotel San Diego

Guanajuato, Mexico

Billy and Akaisha Kaderli

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Guanajuato, Mexico is the most picturesque Colonial City we have been to. Manicured, clean, and cultured, everywhere you turn is a photo opportunity.

If you are an artist, these treasured little nooks and crannies would make great watercolor subjects.

Although we have been to Guanajuato before, it was a long time ago, so we decide to revisit .

Off we went!

Billy arranged for a young “Uber” driver from Ixtlahuacan (a neighboring town of Chapala) named Jorge to take us to Guanajuato. His air conditioned Ford sedan is a late model and very comfortable.

Billy bargained with him for 3,000Pesos (about $150USD) and Jorge would pay the tolls.

Hotel San Diego Plaque, Guanajuato, Mexico

Hotel San Diego Plaque

When entering the city of Guanajuato, we got disoriented in the many tunnels and it took us another 10 minutes just to find our way to the Hotel! It was a rather exciting ride and we were going in circles with one-way streets and dark, winding, mysterious underground passages.

Billy tipped Jorge another 200Pesos for his excellent navigation.

We were too early for check-in time, so we waited in the lobby. A friend we were meeting stopped by and we made plans for lunch.

Kingsize bed in our room Hotel San Diego, Guanajuato, Mexico

Kingsize bed

 

 

 

 

We paid 8,478Pesos at the desk for 6 nights (about $423UDS) for an interior room. Surprisingly, when we entered, we find that it's an exterior room…and a fine one at that!

We have a firm Kingsize bed.

desk, TV, personal safe at Hotel San Diego, Guanajuato, Mexico

Desk, Flat screen TV, personal safe

We have a desk, a large TV, a place to put our clothes and a personal safe.

The view outside from our king bed at Hotel San Diego, Guanajuato, Mexico

From our bed looking out

 This spacious room had 3 large floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking an Ex-convent and the town.

Sitting room at our hotel room, Hotel San Diego, Guanajuato, Mexico

Our sitting room in our suite

We also had a sitting room to entertain visitors, read or have a snack while viewing the scenery.

Bathroom at Hotel San Diego, Guanajuato, Mexico

Our bathroom

Our marble tiled bathroom had a roomy shower with excellent water flow and hot water.

Amenities like shampoo, conditioner and body cream were provided.

View from balcony of San Diego Hotel, Guanajuato, Mexico

The view from our balcony

We had two separate balconies to go out and witness the lovely city view.

View of El Funicular from balcony of San Diego Hotel, Guanajuato

The view outside our window looking towards El Funicular

This beautiful stone building is the museum of the Ex-Convent. The Funicular is on the right, going up the steep hill.

Looking down into the courtyard from our balcony, San Diego Hotel, Guanajuato

Looking down into the courtyard from our balcony

From our balcony, we could look down into the courtyard.

We were fairly pleased and were getting settled into our room. But we noticed that there was no drinking water other than two small bottles on top of the desk.

No worries, I'd just ask for them to deliver a galafon (20 liter bottle with a pump) to our room.

I found a hotel employee outside in the hallway, explained the situation, and asked if the office could send up this large bottle of drinking water.

Her face looked a little confused as she processed my request, and she said she'd contact the check-in desk downstairs.

view of El Funicular and Teatro Juarez from Hotel San Diego, Guanajuato

View of El Funicular and the Teatro Juarez

I would have thought for the price, a room such as this would have a refrigerator, but it didn't.

When the housekeeper returned to tell me about my requested galafon, she explained that those at the desk simply said “go out and buy one”… !

This is rather unusual, really. Even when I offered to buy the galafon and have an employee bring it up to our room, they still refused.

Completely unexpected.

This was not the first time Billy and I have requested a galafon of water for our room, and hotels at half the price would supply it to us for free.

Ex-convent museum, view from Hotel San Diego, Guanajuato

Akaisha on one of the balconies with the museum of the Ex-Convent behind her

 

 

 

 

So… we were not too impressed with the lack of a refrigerator or the refusal to deliver water, but the bed is great, the view is beautiful, and location is perfect.

Restaurant La Trattoria inside Hotel San Diego, Guanajuato, Mexico

Restaurant La Trattoria

Our initial reason for returning to Guanajuato for this visit, was to go to the many rooftop bars and restaurants located here. Unfortunately, due to Covid, many of these popular places were closed.

However, an unplanned discovery brought us to the restaurant located in our hotel and we had lunch.

Restaurant La Trattoria proved to be incredibly good, and consistent. It became a mainstay for our trip, offering filet mignon with Roquefort sauce, grilled seafood, delicious salads and delectable desserts.

View of hotel from El Funicular, Guanajuato, Mexico

View of hotel from El Funicular

Billy went up on the Funicular to take some photos of the city below, and here is the view of our hotel!

Unfortunately - and we need to mention this to you - on Friday and Saturday evenings the festive noise in the street is unbearable.

If the hotel had offered air conditioning, the windows could have been shut and the noise muted. But due to the heat, all we had was a floor fan that we placed in front of the open sliding doors, and the revelers were directly below.

The noise from the Union Plaza was horrific at night and the students screamed, sang and chanted until after 3:30 am.

The hotel is beautiful, but with no refrigerator, no air conditioning to at least allow us to shut the windows and be comfortable while sleeping and avoid the street noise, there is really no reason to come back and stay here. Perhaps at another time of year when windows could be closed it would be more appealing.

We'll definitely return to La Trattoria Restaurant, but not to the hotel.

Hotel San Diego

Centro Jardin de La Union No.1

Centro Calle de Alonso

Guanajuato, Guanajuato, Mexico

Tele: 473.732. 1300 or 473. 732. 1321

Reservaciones@hotelsandiegogto.com.mx  ventas@hotelsandiegogto.com.mx

For more stories and photos of Mexico, Click Here

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About the Authors

 
Billy and Akaisha Kaderli are recognized retirement experts and internationally published authors on topics of finance, medical tourism and world travel. With the wealth of information they share on their award winning website RetireEarlyLifestyle.com, they have been helping people achieve their own retirement dreams since 1991. They wrote the popular books, The Adventurer’s Guide to Early Retirement and Your Retirement Dream IS Possible available on their website bookstore or on Amazon.com.

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