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JESSE
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3370
Registered: 11-5-2002
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What do you think?
http://www.hacienda-sol.com/
Click on "beach".
Help me find the adress.
Help me figure out why you need to pay $150us for reservations.
[Edited on 7-4-2009 by JESSE]
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BajaNuts
Super Nomad
Posts: 1085
Registered: 5-11-2008
Location: eastern WA, the DRY side
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think about what? Are you asking for a recommendation for this place?
Our family of 3 stayed there for a month in 2008, and had 2 friends and their baby join us for part of the time.
Before I go off, What are you asking?
edit for answers ot questions added-
It's in El Comitan, don't know the "why" of the deposit but it seemed like many people rent for 1-6 weeks, the $150 secures your reservation and you
play the balance when you get there.
Are you asking for a recommendation or review of the place?
[Edited on 7-4-2009 by BajaNuts]
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rpleger
Super Nomad
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Location: H. Mulegé, BCS
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Mood: Was good.
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I think its to make sure you show up when you say you will...
Lots of places ask for your credit card number in advance...
Richard on the Hill
*ABROAD*, adj. At war with savages and idiots. To be a Frenchman abroad is to
be miserable; to be an American abroad is to make others miserable.
-- Ambrose Bierce, _The Enlarged Devil\'s Dictionary_
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Bob and Susan
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8813
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Location: Mulege BCS on the BAY
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if people dont pay a deposit they dont show
"some people are good a taking reservations just not keeping them"
(seinfeld car rental episode)
"no beach for you!!!"
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BajaNuts
Super Nomad
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Their whole gimmick is the "Red Cross non-profit" angle. They claim all their "profits" got to the Red Cross, and the $150 deposit is as rpleger
said, to make sure you are serious about showing up. If you default on the reservation, the deposit goes to the Red Cross.
I'm sure they do donate to the Red Cross, but how much after the non-profit corporation pays for all the expences of this joint...........well, who
knows..........from what I saw it's a gimmick.
This is all on their website. Now I'm waiting to hear if Jesse wants a review/recommendation before I tell of our family's experiences.
I already posted a review on tripadvisor if someone wants to go find it. There's much more to the story than what's in there.
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comitan
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 4177
Registered: 3-27-2004
Location: La Paz
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History I'll never tell.
Strive For The Ideal, But Deal With What\'s Real.
Every day is a new day, better than the day before.(from some song)
Lord, Keep your arm around my shoulder and your hand over my mouth.
“The sincere pursuit of truth requires you to entertain the possibility that everything you believe to be true may in fact be false”
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Dave
Elite Nomad
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$150 is a deposit...
| Quote: | Originally posted by JESSE
Help me figure out why you need to pay $150us for reservations.
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For the sombreros.
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BajaNuts
Super Nomad
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not a sombrero............a thimble..................
[Edited on 7-4-2009 by BajaNuts]
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JESSE
Ultra Nomad
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This whole thing started because for a while now, theres been a lot of problems related to Tripadvisors reviews. This is not local, its global. For
example, some closed restaurants and hotels in the La Paz-Cabo area, are for reasons i am trying to figure out, better ranked than others that have
proven good service and record. I have contacted Tripadvisor about these irregularities, and have been denied any info based on the fact that right
now, they are being threatened with lawsuits resulting from this very same problem in other areas of the world, mainly the US.
I looked into the La Paz Hotels reviews section in Tripadvisor, and i was surprised to find Hacienda del Sol as #1, a business i have never heard from
in my years in La Paz. I asked other locals, and nobody knew, so i found their website and looked into it and to be honest, i found it very
"suspicious" to tell the truth.
They have pics of white sand beaches in Comitan, wich are clearly altered. They claim its a Hotel, i do not think it is a Hotel. They say its close to
town, any Comitan residents know its not very close. They ask for money in advance wich i find troubling considering the last points i have made. And
they ask for $ donations online and also want used medical equipment for you to donate.
I am willing to be people at the Redcross are going to tell me a whole different story.
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Dave
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| Quote: | Originally posted by JESSE
I am willing to bet people at the Redcross are going to tell me a whole different story. |
And I'll bet Hacienda would be interested in discovering a new source or revenue, also.
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JESSE
Ultra Nomad
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I just called Cruz Roja La Paz, and they say they don´t know them, and that they shouldn´t be asking for donations using the Red Cross name 
I am going to contact the head of Cruz Roja this monday
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ArroyoTaxi
Junior Nomad
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Location: Los Barriles
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Jesse - I think that on websites like tripadvisor there is a great deal of "rave review" postings that are clearly planted there by someone with their
own agenda, they are usually easy to spot, as are the malicious ones where you can tell a poster is just trying to stick it to someone. That's why
word of mouth is so important (hey, its how we found you) I think hotels in Baja should be allowed to charge a night's fee for a no-show, otherwise
they get stiffed. but pretending to donate it to the Red Cross? Well thats just skeezy.
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BajaNuts
Super Nomad
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I have a few thoughts about items you mentioned. I'll try to talk about them one by one.
TripAdvisor- is basically personal reviews from people who have stayed at that particular place. In regards to why a closed business has a higher
rating than an open one, I'm only guessing it might be because the closed restaurant had MANY good reviews while it was open which gives it a higher
ranking than one which is still open with good reviews but maybe not as many. Definitely an issue tripadvisor needs to deal with.
As for the Hacienda Del Sol, the owners are tri-(or maybe even quad-)lingual and have webpages in english, german, and I would even venture to guess
italian and spanish. They get travelers from all over the world. When I posted my report on tripadvisor, there weren't very many other reports.
Since my negative report, the owner has been crusading for his reputation on tripadvisor, it seems like he is asking any and all guests to post good
reports, which boosts his ratings.
They are marketing their accomodations as "hotel rooms" but they are actually licensed as some kind of long-term/apartment type licensing. They can
only rent in 1 week minimum blocks. Guests are responsible for their own linens, food, toilet paper, and cleaning supplies, just like you would be in
your own apartment. There are usually afew items left from the previous "tenant" to tide you over until you can get to the CCC.
Here's some quotes from their FAQ-
Q
Do we have to bring bed spread and towels like we have to do at other vacation rentals?
A
Yes and no. Since there is a different law for hotels and vacation rentals, we are not allowed to supply anything beside the furnishing. Please bring
just the towels you like to take with you to the beach. We lost already way to much!! We will have all the other towels for you. Also, don't bring the
bed spread. Officially, we will lend it to you and when your vacation time is over, you will give it back to us.
Q We like to come only for a few days, do we have to rent a whole week or can we gat daily rates? A We are a non profit organization and bound by the
one week minimum stay.
These people have little white Red Cross donation jugs in each place, and there was probably $60 US in the jug in our place. (we had to make change
one day for the washing machine "donation" box). If Cruz Roja in La Paz doesn't know these people by name.........................
I've been very suspicious of them for a number of reasons. If you need some more information or testimony, u2u me!
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BajaNuts
Super Nomad
Posts: 1085
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Location: eastern WA, the DRY side
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from H d Sol's website-
http://hacienda-sol.com/REDCROSS/
midway down the page on the right is a picture of one of the owners with the Cruz Roja jug in hand.
More text from their FAQ-
"Q
Your prices are way below of comparable
places in La Paz area. WHY ?
A
At first, there is nothing comparable with our "Hacienda" here in La Paz. We know, it sounds snobby, but it is true. We are a retired couple and a few
years ago, Renate had the splendid idea that we build a place where we can meet nice and interesting people from all over the world and we did. So,
the "Hacienda" is our hobby and we keep the rental to a bare minimum to cover the cost.
This way great people with "small pockets" can afford a first class vacation too.
Our Hacienda is a fund raiser for the local Orphanage, Old Folks Home and the RED CROSS .
What ever is left after the business year will be donated to these really needy organisations.
Have a look and CLICK HERE".
{the CLICK HERE linked to the Red Cross link I posted above}
And just to be fair, here's their page showing donations. I haven't taken the time to add it all up, someone fluent in Spanish can do it in a minute
or two. I'd be interested to know.....
http://hacienda-sol.com/REDCROSS/donations.html
[Edited on 7-5-2009 by BajaNuts]
[Edited on 7-5-2009 by BajaNuts]
[Edited on 7-5-2009 by BajaNuts]
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Hook
Elite Nomad
Posts: 9010
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Location: Sonora
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Most any rating service that casts such a wide net is going to have some plants. You just need to read the specifics of the reviews and see if the
criteria they use to rate the places are important criteria for you.
If there is little evident criteria, then disregard the review and move on to the next.
I like the volume that tripadvisor gets and I like the fact that they allow the business owners to refute bad reviews.
Hey, it's not like they have people going out and checking on reviews. That would be a little like Doug making sure that everything posted on Nomads
is on the up and up. 
Can someone point me to a better rating source than tripadvisor? I'm all ears.
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Dave
Elite Nomad
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Sounds like they're in need of a good accountant...
| Quote: | Originally posted by BajaNuts
What ever is left after the business year will be donated to these really needy organisations.
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And a proofreader.
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BajaNuts
Super Nomad
Posts: 1085
Registered: 5-11-2008
Location: eastern WA, the DRY side
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Mood: no worry, no hurry....it's all good!
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I agree with you, Hook.
And I think we should point out that there seems to be 2 topics in this thread, TripAdvisor's rating system which includes what Jesse originally
posted about closed facilities having higher ratings than open ones... and this hacienda and their possible abuse of the Red Cross charity name to
promote their own business.
just for giggles, I looked up Bahia-Asuncion and Bahia Asuncion on tripadvisor, no hits.
I looked up Playa Frambes.......1 glowing report from July 2008.
I wouldn't count that as a true representaion of these 2 places based on the glowing reports we read here all the time.
It just seems to me the owner of the hacienda is padding his resume. I had conversations and was personally involved with all the guests who were
staying there at the same time we were; and out of 6 parties, 4 had significantly negative experiences, the other 2 posted "glowing" reviews on
tripadvisor. I'm the only one who posted a negative review, even though the others had personal experiences as bad or worse than ours.
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BajaNuts
Super Nomad
Posts: 1085
Registered: 5-11-2008
Location: eastern WA, the DRY side
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Mood: no worry, no hurry....it's all good!
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Dave
| Quote: | Originally posted by BajaNuts
What ever is left after the business year will be donated to these really needy organisations.
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And a proofreader. |
JUST TO CLARIFY----that quote was from THEIR website, even though the quote box gives the credit to me
Oh yea, in regards ot the question about the pictures of the beautiful white sandy beaches on their website, we were told when we got there, "those
pictures were taken before the hurricane, we just haven't had time to update the webpage yet...."
And the hurricane was in200(?4?).......so 5 years later, the website hasn't been updated? Sure goes against their claim of "what you see in the pics
is truly what our place looks like".
[Edited on 7-5-2009 by BajaNuts]
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wakemall
Nomad
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Registered: 7-17-2006
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Man................
Another "lets make some money from whomever"....
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BajaNuts
Super Nomad
Posts: 1085
Registered: 5-11-2008
Location: eastern WA, the DRY side
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Mood: no worry, no hurry....it's all good!
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I don't think I/we have posted about this place in the past. I just did a quick search and the only other references to this place was a "for sale"
item in 2004 and a reference to "I'll be staying at xxx, let's get together".
Here's the very condensed version-
-we got several good tips on where to go/what to do/directions.
-Owner organized a couple of group outings and parties for everyone staying there at that time.
-Wife Renata was GREAT! Very accomodating, thoughful with Christmas trays for all the guests and a gift for the little one.
-Owner helped a guest who had an eye infection with some eye drops and checked on our friends' baby who had a bit of a fever upon arrival in MX.
Sounds pretty good so far.............
-Owner continually talked demeaningly about women in general and specifically about a couple of women who were there at that time (nothing "funny"
about them, one was moving to La Paz, her friend traveled with her to get her set up). I heard some very nasty comments from the creep.
-Generally had a USA-bashing attitude
-would enter our casa un-announced and uninvited
-suspicion that he entered when we weren't there ("Ach, you don't have to lock your door! We are TOTALLY SAFE here in El Comitan. And here is the
wall safe for all your money and documents. But don't change the code from xxxx or you'lll have to pay $50 for the locksmith to re-set it!"
-every time we used the outside bbq grill, owner would open the grill, look at it and say...'AAACH! you are doing it all wrong!"..."AAACH! You RUINED
that fish!"
-we were also told several other first hand experiences from other people we met in the area, and I could relate some other instances that happened to
guests who were there at the same time we were, but that might be too far removed from the source to post as reliable sources.
and the final straw...
-Snapped my bra strap one evening when he was pretty lit up
-snapped my 8-yr old's underwear at another party/bbq
-we were personally told by another adult guest that the owner had snapped his underwear also at the same party where he snapped my kid's underwear
-one guest was so upset at what the owner had said to them, they asked us to drive them to the airport because they didn't ever want to see that guy
again! It totally ruined the last 2 days of their vacation.
Honestly, I was so flabbergasted when he snapped my bra strap, that all I could think of was....."don't tell the guys, they'll punch his lights out
and we'll all end up in jail!".
I can handle the slanderous/negative comments, but that crossed the line by a MILE!
A few months later I spent a few weeks at Villaggio Turistico which is across the street from this other hacienda, and had a wonderful time. This is
not Baja-bashing, it's only against this one particular individual.
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