Best Way to Find Cheap Accommodation in Mexico

[Jordan]

Hi,

my wife Sandra and I are in Mexico and have already stayed in some great hotels in Saltillo, Real de Catorce and Zacatecas, however we'd still like to find cheaper places to stay. We have not made any reservations, so far we've simply ridden in and looked for look for places a couple of blocks off the main square. The hotels have all be really nice and fairly affordable, and we've been able to negotiate the prices, but we want to do better. Any recommendations on how to find the best deals? Or any hotels you'd recommend as we head further south?

Jordan

Destination: End of the World

[John Downs]

Hi Jordan,

Some questions on this forum are so big they make my head hurt. I had good luck using a pamphlet written by one of your fellow Canadian adventurers. Sjoerd Bakker wrote: Economical hotels in Mexico and Central America.

Quite a good self-published pamphlet with street diagrams that easily guide you to cheap places to stay with secure parking. Saved me a lot of wandering around since he has already done the legwork.

The problem is, you are on the road so the internet is your best option. Also, the young backpacker crowd know where the cheap cool places are. If you can somehow network with other travelers on the road via email that is also another good way. There is also alot of country specific accommadation info both here and on Advrider.com you can find with search.

Moderate hotels are cheaper in southern Mexico and Guatemala. And by the time you get to Honduras 200 lempiras will get you a nice room.

There is nothing wrong with your current method, by the way.

Kindest regards,
John Downs

[BlackBeast]

We found budget hotels in Mexico using the Lonely Planet Guide book. We'd select 3-4 and shop around and always negotiate. Hotels in Mexico are pretty cheap anyway. Enjoy.
Daryll

[garrydymond]

We live in Mexico City and if you are interested and the timing is right you can stay with us. We will be on vacation from Sept 7 to Sept 21st. I normally meet people outside the city and guide them in.
You could look into couch surfing for cheaper (free) and more interesting places to stay.
Garry

[Sjoerd Bakker]

Thank you John for the kind words, always nice to get some positive feedback.

And Jordan as John said you are using pretty good technique in your search for economy hotels. Just to add a few extra pointers consider these ideas.
- not all hotels will have big illuminated signs, look carefully to spot plain small signs saying " Hospedaje" or " Cuartos" and sometimes "Pension" athough that term is also used to denote only a daytime parking garage.
- look in the area of the market ( mercado) where the hotels for itinerant vendors and for folks from "the hills" in town to do shopping will be on the budget side.Also look in the area of the big bus terminals- Central de autobuses- where tired travellers will seek inexpensive rooms after a late night arrival or before travelling on.
-not all hotels are built to the dictum of Location,Location,Location and they can be tucked away in the middle of residential or industrial areas. If you are at the central plaza you can find some of these by just going over to one of the taxi drivers waiting at their sitio and asking where you might find some economical lodgings.
- ask the taxi drivers where the
old "zona hotelera" is located if you are in a big city or older resort town.The new big franchise hotels will most usually be in the more affluent sectors of the city and approach routes,hence more expensive.
- in big cities and established resorts seek out the old city center ,as you already do when going to the plaza, and try to locate the old hotels. For example in Acapulco Mazatlan,Mexico DF, Veracruz,and even Cancun if you go to the old city there are older hotels which are much less pricy than in the new beach resort areas or the new outer suburb nodes of commerce
- you say you are negotiating prices , which is good. When a tourist walks into a hotel the desk clerk will always assume that the foreigner will want the delujo type room and service. They will usually have a wide range of room prices so never hesitate to ask " hay cuartos mas economicos?'"
- for real economy be prepared to settle for a room with no private bath,- "con bano general"-= shared toilet and sanitary facilities down the hall.This depends of course on how often you ususally need to use the bathoom during the night and if travelling alone this can be a bother as you need to lock the door each time you go out
-instead of demanding air conditioning take a room with only the fan, no TV.
-always insist on having a secure offstreet parking place for t he bikes. Many small hotels will gladly let you park in the lobby or even in your room, or they may have an arrangement with a private for -pay parking garage nearby.If you have to pay for secure parking it may negate any economy of the room price.
-the really inexpensive rooms will usually be found in the small hotels near the center of town where they will have only a pedestrian entry at street level with stairs up to the registration desk and the rooms over the shops .Some may have a parking garage at the back, but not many, so you will need to get arrangements made at a price, again.
-if all search fails to find anything other than autohotels do not be shy to use these as they too are only hotels which rent rooms to anybody and they are often very economical, although they may stipulate that you vacate the room before 8 in the morning, not as late as noon as is common in hotels .
Using the internet to find hotels can be done of course but there it is doubtful you will find truly inexpensive hotels.Such publicity and advertising is aimed at the monied clientele and it costs the hotel. Truly cheap hotels do not have the funds for such advertising , it would drive up their prices, and the market they serve is not likely to search the internet anyway
Since I started collecting hotel information before the internet took flight I regularly test it by trying to find some of "my" hotels .There are those which now do show up on some services if they are in the upper range of economy pricing. Virtually all of the really basic hotels are never mentioned even on the sites which tout the best and lowest priced hotels.Ergo if you are trying to find cheap hotels it is unlikely you will succeed. I have found sites which allege that certain towns have zero hotels ,judging by their listing, when in fact there really are several available.
This raises the problem of making reservations over the internet. Making reservations brings costs for the buyer and for the hotel which raises prices, but it may bring a comfort to the guest knowing a room is his.
As for actual cost it should be kept in perspective what you consider cheap and expensive.
Mexico and Central America are like the rest of the world and prices everywhere are gradually going up. But in comparison to hotels in Canada, the USA and Europe it is easy to find hotels for much less money per night than you would spend at home. In the USA and Canada the $25 US hotel room is getting very very rare and some people consider a room costing under $100 to be a cheap hotel.In Mexico once you get away from the wealthier northern border states and in CA it is still easy to find nice hotels which are less than $25 per night .
Example : back in 1990 I spent a night in Pension Melgar , a very rustic simple little place in Cuilapa Guatemala. This past winter I found it still there and open but the price had more than - gasp!- doubled to $24.50 Quetzales . However 1n 1990 I only paid the equivalent of $1.63 .The other hotel in town is more like a regular hotel and cost $11 this year.
The point is that if you put some effort into looking around for the actual lower rates it is possible to do quite well on lowering your expenses even if on ocasion you need to stay at a higher priced hotel.It is all about keeping the AVERAGE price down.

[Jordan]

Thanks John! We're having a great time, so far so good.

Originally Posted by John Downs

Hi Jordan,

Some questions on this forum are so big they make my head hurt. I had good luck using a pamphlet written by one of your fellow Canadian adventurers. Sjoerd Bakker wrote: Economical hotels in Mexico and Central America.

Quite a good self-published pamphlet with street diagrams that easily guide you to cheap places to stay with secure parking. Saved me a lot of wandering around since he has already done the legwork.

The problem is, you are on the road so the internet is your best option. Also, the young backpacker crowd know where the cheap cool places are. If you can somehow network with other travelers on the road via email that is also another good way. There is also alot of country specific accommadation info both here and on Advrider.com you can find with search.

Moderate hotels are cheaper in southern Mexico and Guatemala. And by the time you get to Honduras 200 lempiras will get you a nice room.

There is nothing wrong with your current method, by the way.

Kindest regards,
John Downs

[Jordan]

Thank you Sjoerd for the GREAT information, your insight is very useful. Do you happen to have an electronic version of your hotel pamphlet for sale? We're currently in San Miguel de Allende and headed south tomorrow.

I think the key for us lies in leaving earlier in the day or stopping sooner so we have more time to look for a place for the night. It always seems to take us longer than we think to get anywhere.

Thanks again,
Jordan.

Destination: End of the World

Originally Posted by Sjoerd Bakker

Thank you John for the kind words, always nice to get some positive feedback.

And Jordan as John said you are using pretty good technique in your search for economy hotels. Just to add a few extra pointers consider these ideas.
- not all hotels will have big illuminated signs, look carefully to spot plain small signs saying " Hospedaje" or " Cuartos" and sometimes "Pension" athough that term is also used to denote only a daytime parking garage.
- look in the area of the market ( mercado) where the hotels for itinerant vendors and for folks from "the hills" in town to do shopping will be on the budget side.Also look in the area of the big bus terminals- Central de autobuses- where tired travellers will seek inexpensive rooms after a late night arrival or before travelling on.
-not all hotels are built to the dictum of Location,Location,Location and they can be tucked away in the middle of residential or industrial areas. If you are at the central plaza you can find some of these by just going over to one of the taxi drivers waiting at their sitio and asking where you might find some economical lodgings.
- ask the taxi drivers where the
old "zona hotelera" is located if you are in a big city or older resort town.The new big franchise hotels will most usually be in the more affluent sectors of the city and approach routes,hence more expensive.
- in big cities and established resorts seek out the old city center ,as you already do when going to the plaza, and try to locate the old hotels. For example in Acapulco Mazatlan,Mexico DF, Veracruz,and even Cancun if you go to the old city there are older hotels which are much less pricy than in the new beach resort areas or the new outer suburb nodes of commerce
- you say you are negotiating prices , which is good. When a tourist walks into a hotel the desk clerk will always assume that the foreigner will want the delujo type room and service. They will usually have a wide range of room prices so never hesitate to ask " hay cuartos mas economicos?'"
- for real economy be prepared to settle for a room with no private bath,- "con bano general"-= shared toilet and sanitary facilities down the hall.This depends of course on how often you ususally need to use the bathoom during the night and if travelling alone this can be a bother as you need to lock the door each time you go out
-instead of demanding air conditioning take a room with only the fan, no TV.
-always insist on having a secure offstreet parking place for t he bikes. Many small hotels will gladly let you park in the lobby or even in your room, or they may have an arrangement with a private for -pay parking garage nearby.If you have to pay for secure parking it may negate any economy of the room price.
-the really inexpensive rooms will usually be found in the small hotels near the center of town where they will have only a pedestrian entry at street level with stairs up to the registration desk and the rooms over the shops .Some may have a parking garage at the back, but not many, so you will need to get arrangements made at a price, again.
-if all search fails to find anything other than autohotels do not be shy to use these as they too are only hotels which rent rooms to anybody and they are often very economical, although they may stipulate that you vacate the room before 8 in the morning, not as late as noon as is common in hotels .
Using the internet to find hotels can be done of course but there it is doubtful you will find truly inexpensive hotels.Such publicity and advertising is aimed at the monied clientele and it costs the hotel. Truly cheap hotels do not have the funds for such advertising , it would drive up their prices, and the market they serve is not likely to search the internet anyway
Since I started collecting hotel information before the internet took flight I regularly test it by trying to find some of "my" hotels .There are those which now do show up on some services if they are in the upper range of economy pricing. Virtually all of the really basic hotels are never mentioned even on the sites which tout the best and lowest priced hotels.Ergo if you are trying to find cheap hotels it is unlikely you will succeed. I have found sites which allege that certain towns have zero hotels ,judging by their listing, when in fact there really are several available.
This raises the problem of making reservations over the internet. Making reservations brings costs for the buyer and for the hotel which raises prices, but it may bring a comfort to the guest knowing a room is his.
As for actual cost it should be kept in perspective what you consider cheap and expensive.
Mexico and Central America are like the rest of the world and prices everywhere are gradually going up. But in comparison to hotels in Canada, the USA and Europe it is easy to find hotels for much less money per night than you would spend at home. In the USA and Canada the $25 US hotel room is getting very very rare and some people consider a room costing under $100 to be a cheap hotel.In Mexico once you get away from the wealthier northern border states and in CA it is still easy to find nice hotels which are less than $25 per night .
Example : back in 1990 I spent a night in Pension Melgar , a very rustic simple little place in Cuilapa Guatemala. This past winter I found it still there and open but the price had more than - gasp!- doubled to $24.50 Quetzales . However 1n 1990 I only paid the equivalent of $1.63 .The other hotel in town is more like a regular hotel and cost $11 this year.
The point is that if you put some effort into looking around for the actual lower rates it is possible to do quite well on lowering your expenses even if on ocasion you need to stay at a higher priced hotel.It is all about keeping the AVERAGE price down.

[MIAMI]

great info..will definitely use it in mexico/central america this fall...ride safe!

[MikeMike]

If you are using the "no tell hot sheets auto hotels" keep an eye out for specials at some. The way the economy has been in Mexico lately, many of the smaller ones are having a tough time. You will always get private and secure parking either in front of or below your room. The only draw back is that the TV's usually have a plethora of soccer and porn.
Not that there is anything wrong with that...

[brianrossy]

Might be stating the obvious but try...

Hostels, Youth Hostels & Cheap Hotels at HostelBookers
Hostels Worldwide - Online Hostel Bookings, Ratings and Reviews
and the less used Compare Hotel Prices - Best Hotel Deals Guaranteed

Be aware when they say parking is available, its not always available like you think. For eg, in Buenos Aires, a hotel that had parking meant, outside parking in the street or parking in a paid parking lot nearby. This will give you a good idea of what hostels/hotels are out there, but not all are listed, especially in smaller places. Ask! Hmmm, perhaps "Donde es la mas economica habitaciones aqui?"

Asking young backpackers was good advice too!

[Sjoerd Bakker]

[QUOTE=Jordan;3 It always seems to take us longer than we think
to get anywhere. [/QUOTE]

That is the most important point to take into account. Read the distance on the map and multiply by two or three or... and you will have a realistic estimation of what the distance is like to cover in a time for you as a wandering tourist who wants to enjoy the scenery and surprise diversions. Nothing kills the pleasure in a good trip as quickly as setting yourself a tight unalterable timetable and making reservations to keep. .
Sorry Jordan, I do not have any kind of electronic version of the booklet .... don't have a computer and wouldn't know a thing about how to make something like that. Wouldn't it be cumbersome to haul electronica around to access such a thing and very inconvenient at the roadside? .Just wondering.

[naotweed]

Originally Posted by MikeMike

If you are using the "no tell hot sheets auto hotels" keep an eye out for specials at some. The way the economy has been in Mexico lately, many of the smaller ones are having a tough time. You will always get private and secure parking either in front of or below your room. The only draw back is that the TV's usually have a plethora of soccer and porn.
Not that there is anything wrong with that...

+1

My favourite places to stay (if internet wasn't a requirement for the night) was the love hotels. Premium parking, every time!

[edd_moseley]

Hi,

have you tired hostelbookers.com and hostelworld.com there the sites I use when backpacking around Mexico. A lot of the places have free breakfast and kitchens, so you can further save costs. They're usually the same places that are in the lonely planet, but this way you don't have to carry the book around.

Also have you heard of couchsurfing.org its a website that allows you to stay with other like minded people, usually sleeping on their couches, and always free. You have to set up a profile, I've used in throughout the States and Europe and its saved me loads, and its a great way to see a place with the people who actually live their.

We're living in Merida, Yucatan right now. If you make it down here, you've got a couch to sleep on with us!