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David Nuevo
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Hotel Los Vientos - Bahia de Los Angeles
Hotel Los Vientos Nov. 28-29, 2019
Hotel Los Vientos (The Winds) Resort and Spa is a beautifully designed hotel situated right on the beach in gorgeous Bahia de Los Angeles; Baja
California, Mexico. After enjoying a nice dinner there last June, my girlfriend and I booked a room for two nights over Thanksgiving, fully expecting
the place to live up to our previous impression. Were we ever disappointed! The main issue arose as the result of a town-wide power outage
Thanksgiving night – not the hotel’s fault, of course, but they were completely unequipped to handle the situation, even though power failures are
not all that uncommon in the area. Most importantly, my girlfriend could not use her CPAP machine (needed for her sleep apnea), but even if there had
been electricity, the wind (the hotel’s namesake!) was howling so loudly through the totally unsealed gap around our room’s door that we would not
have been able to sleep anyway.
Okay; we could have tolerated one – even two - nights without power, but the problems just kept multiplying. After that basically sleepless night,
I was looking forward to a nice, hot shower to perk me up. Guess what: The hotel’s water pump runs on electricity – no shower, no coffee maker, no
heat or AC, and no refrigerator (that last item is irrelevant – there was no fridge in our $125/night double room). Then there’s the
toilet (that wasn’t even bolted to the floor!), which was now unflushable.
As I was standing outside, Guillermo, the owner, came up with a “Buenos dias” and his solution to the toilet issue: a complimentary
bucket of water to flush with. I asked him about their backup generator he said, “We don’t have one”. Not even a simple solar panel system, at
least for the water pump? “We are a small hotel”. So wouldn’t that make it easier to upgrade?? No answer.
Numerous other signs of neglect and mismanagement were as follows: The ceiling vent fan in the bathroom didn’t work, nor did the “free WiFi”;
the fixtures in the bathroom were barely attached to the wall with sheetrock screws into the tile grout; no little tubes of shampoo, conditioner or
lotion (stuff you’d find in hotels not claiming to be 4-star resorts and spas that charge half the price) were provided. The noxious icing on the
cake was the dozens of piles of dog chit scattered over the gravel in the cactus garden – right in front of the office! Sanitation alert,
anyone?? Until these basic issues are dealt with, giving Los Vientos even one star is a stretch.
Obviously, staying a second night was out of the question, even if the power had been restored (and who knows when it would’ve quit again?). I
politely informed Sr. Guillermo of all of the aforementioned problems and our disappointment in his hotel, and especially his wholly inadequate
preparation for the power outage. His response: “That is not my problem.” Seriously?? You’re running a hotel but can’t be expected
to provide liveable accommodations for your guests? Sounds like a problem to me. I had no choice but to ask for a refund, if only for the second
night. “We do not give refunds; I will honor your booking for one year.” Not gonna happen, amigo.
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mtgoat666
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It’s rural baja fish camp town, you should lower your expectations. Sounds like you expected too much.
You are lucky the power was off. When on, there is an electrocution hazard 
Never seen a BOLA wall or door without an air gap — building quality ain’t too good. Winds there blow like snot, so you should expect wind noise,
and bring ear plugs if you are sensitive.
Re lack of water, in places like BOLA, bathing is uncommon, why would you want to wasH off the dust? The dust is part of the charm!
[Edited on 12-8-2019 by mtgoat666]
Woke!
“...ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.” “My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America
will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.”
Prefered gender pronoun: the royal we
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4x4abc
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Bahia de los Angeles - it is not the end of the world, but it feels like it.
remember the time well when the town's generator shut down at 10pm. If it ran past 10 everyone knew someone had died and they put him in the big
fridge at Guilliermo's.
A good friend living there was very proud that they had power, water and telephone (not common in Baja 20 years ago) - but there wasn't a single day
when they had all 3 working.
so, it looks like the town has kept its charm and spirit.
$125 is a bit steep though
Harald Pietschmann
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David Nuevo
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Check their website, Trip Advisor page, etc. Does that look like what you
would expect in a "rural Baja fish camp town"?? I have a house in a rural Baja fish co-op town (in a very windy area) that doesn't turn into a giant
train whistle when it blows. I had ear plugs AND a pillow over my head and it didn't help. There was plenty of water, just inaccessible, and no dust
to rinse off after all the rain.
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Rufus T. Doofus
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My wife and I stayed there just before Thanksgiving for 2 nights. It was a wonderful experience. The power was out for about 3 hours our second
morning there. We chose to use that time to drive out to LanGringa and scout for camping sites.
The internet at Los Vientos worked great for us when the power was on. Surprisingly fast service. However, we didn't expect it would magically work
without power.
We did notice a few piles of dog poo on the crushed stone areas there. Wasn't surprised though. Baja seems to be covered in dog poo. It feels like
we're always within 50 feet of a pile of poo everywhere we have traveled in Baja in the past 4 weeks. Stray dogs apparently have poor manners.
The food is very good in the restaurant there and the margaritas were tasty and strong.
Yes, $125/night is a little steep. But they can charge those prices because it's the best place in town which says more about BOLA than Los Vientos.
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bkbend
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All of the above are what gives BdeLA its charm. It will never be turned into another Cabo and overrun by tourists.
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David K
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David Nuevo, welcome to Nomad (interesting choice of handles)! You say you have a home in Baja (Punta Abreojos?). So, this shouldn't have been that
much of a surprise on how some businesses operate in Baja. Los Vientos has had similar horror stories, including theft. How does one not see them when
searching on places to stay? In any case, sorry that happened! Costa del Sol seems to be the highest rated place, but ask for the original rooms if
they are available. We stayed in their new building in 2009 and the bed was harder than concrete, lol. Stayed at Las Hamacas... great shower! I also
stayed at Casa Diaz on my last trip there... only $20 and nice soft bed, hot shower, ocean view.
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David Nuevo
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Thanks for the welcome - not my first post, though. Normally I'd be in my camper in Marv's yard (walking distance to the hotel) for Thanksgiving, but
that's no fun in the wind either. You people seem to have the impression that I'm some tourist who's never been to BOLA, which is not the case at all
- I've been surfing, camping and fishing in Baja for almost 50 years. I guess my error was taking all the hype at face value and thinking it would be
a nice place for a couple to stay for a couple of nights, which it certainly was not. I have no complaint about the restaurant and bar, but I can't
drink enough Margaritas to stay next to a dog toilet...at any price. Oh, and RTD: Great idea to go scout La Gringa for campsites, I assume you didn't
go at night, which was when our power quit.
[Edited on 12-8-2019 by David Nuevo]
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PaulW
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Been there done that. Now we stay in town.
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advrider
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Always good to know what others experienced, so you can make up your own mind. We have stayed at Costa Del Sole for years and been very happy. I have
read that others were not happy with CDS, thank you for taking the time to post about your trip, good bad or other wise!
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Terry28
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My wife and I stayed there for two nights in October....No issues. you can't blame the hotel when the whole town is without power.....We did think
the room we were it could have been a little cleaner but that was all....The owners,Guillermo and Rosa were great, food was good and well
priced....And we had a dog and cleaned up after.....we will go there again....Not the hotels fault.....be fair....
Mexico!! Where two can live as cheaply as one.....but it costs twice as much.....
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David Nuevo
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Terry 28: I stated in Line 5 that it wasn't the hotel's fault that power went out. Now, whose fault is it that they had no backup power to deal with
it?? Fair enough?
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David Nuevo
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DK: I did - they were mixed. I chose to stay there because it's so close to my friend's house, and I never imagined that a functional hotel wouldn't
have a plan for power failures; definitely won't make that blunder again! At this point I just hope my review steers others away from that disaster.
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mtgoat666
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Quote: Originally posted by David Nuevo  | | ... and I never imagined that a functional hotel wouldn't have a plan for power failures; definitely won't make that blunder again! .
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doubt you will find any hotel in baja with backup generator to power the hotel. perhaps a generator to power the office or refers, but not the whole
hotel. that would be costly generator to power entire vientos hotel.
i always carry a headlamp. if you aksed, i bet ofc could have scrounged up a candle or 2 for you.
Woke!
“...ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.” “My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America
will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.”
Prefered gender pronoun: the royal we
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Paco Facullo
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| Quote: Originally posted by mtgoat666 | | Quote: Originally posted by David Nuevo | | ... and I never imagined that a functional hotel wouldn't have a plan for power failures; definitely won't make that blunder again! .
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doubt you will find any hotel in baja with backup generator to power the hotel. perhaps a generator to power the office or refers, but not the whole
hotel. that would be costly generator to power entire vientos hotel.
i always carry a headlamp. if you aksed, i bet ofc could have scrounged up a candle or 2 for you.
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At $125.00 a night they sure SHOULD have back-up generators... as this happens quite regularly..
Since I've given up all hope, I feel much better
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Bajazly
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Sounds like you were in the midst of an Excellent Baja Adventure.
Believing is religion - Knowing is science
Harald Pietschmann
"Get off the beaten path and memories, friends and new techniques are developed"
Bajazly, August 2019
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JZ
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Op, I'm gonna give you some sage advice that your momma should have when you were in the 7th grade.
Use paragraph breaks when you write. It's much easier to collect your thoughts, and much easier on the readers' eyes.
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JZ
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| Quote: Originally posted by advrider | | Always good to know what others experienced, so you can make up your own mind. We have stayed at Costa Del Sole for years and been very happy. I have
read that others were not happy with CDS, thank you for taking the time to post about your trip, good bad or other wise! |
I like CDS a lot. The owner can be grumpy though. She's been mad a me since one of crew hooked up with one of her waitresses years ago.
[Edited on 12-9-2019 by JZ]
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AKgringo
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| Quote: Originally posted by JZ |
I like CDS a lot. The owner can be grumpy though. She been mad a me since one of crew hooked up with one of her waitresses years ago.
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Pictures? If not, it didn't happen! 
If you are not living on the edge, you are taking up too much space!
"Could do better if he tried!" Report card comments from most of my grade school teachers. Sadly, still true!
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David Nuevo
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| Quote: |
i always carry a headlamp. if you aksed, i bet ofc could have scrounged up a candle or 2 for you.
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Ever try to flush a toilet with a candle? Look - the place is a disgrace; if you guys want to put up with
that crap (no matter what the rate/night is), go ahead.
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