Retire Early
Lifestyle
Retirement; like your parents, but way cooler
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. |
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Hotel San
Diego
Guanajuato, Mexico
Billy and Akaisha Kaderli
Currency Conversion
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
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
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, Flat screen TV, personal safe
We have a desk, a large TV, a place to put
our clothes and a personal safe.
From our bed looking out
This spacious room
had 3 large floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking an Ex-convent and the town.
Our sitting room in our suite
We also had a sitting room to entertain
visitors, read or have a snack while viewing the scenery.
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.
The view from our balcony
We had two separate balconies to go out and
witness the lovely city view.
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
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 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.
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
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
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,
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About the Authors
Retire
Early Lifestyle appeals to a different
kind of person – the person who prizes their
independence, values their time, and who doesn’t
want to mindlessly follow the crowd.
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