La Mission Hotel in Loreto - update

For a while recently the Mision Hotel had a big banner up that said, "A New Concept In Boutique Hotels."

This was just before they started stopping people on the Malecon for "breakfast and a free tour."

There are few visitors here, and between the new Mision and the four story Villas hotel near Domingo's there will be no shortage of rooms, but perhaps a shortage of visitors.

Work on the nearly finished Tesoro condos next to the Mision Hotal appears to have slowed or stopped.

I think we have several big projects here born in the time of the "irrational exuberance" that followed the initial construction and promotion from the Loreto Bay Company. I wouldn't be surprised if the Mision decays back to where it was before the remodel, just a little bit taller.

Edit: I'll attach a pic taken a few days ago.

[Edited on 11-14-2008 by Don Alley]

thank you ncampion for posting this information as it is valuable information to travelers to Loreto and for residents and businesses. It is disappointing news and confirms my suspicions that something "was up" when I saw their wholesale pricing as I believed the prices that they were offering me as an agent were too high for the market considering where the property is located.

The malecon although well located and with beautiful views is the noisiest place in town at night, maybe in all of the baja. I lived on the malecon for six noisy months back in year 2000 and couldn't stand it any longer so moved out of town in the hills. It has gotten worse over the years with cars cruising at low speed with HUGE speakers blasting thumping base so loudly that it shakes windows and hurts your ears. Also there are tailgate parties all up and down the avenue where partiers drink and pee in public and throw their garbage around while their car doors remain open so their loud base stereos can be heard as far as one to two blocks away. I also haven't mentioned the drag racing that goes on. It is the worst on weekends and starts around dark but goes on beyond 3 and 4AM. Often they are still at it when I arrive at the marina to send the boats out in the early morning. Residents and business owners have complained about it for years but it continues. If some former politico owned the new mission hotel something would be done about it but it is gringo owned so nothing will change. This is the truth not an exaggeration.

El Hotel Mision, now called "LA Mision" is on the malecon of downtown Loreto and is a historic landmark for Loreto. I believe it first opened in 1964 and rumors were that John Wayne and Elvis Presley have stayed there. It was the first hotel I stayed at during my first visit to Loreto in 1991 when we flew in a piper cherokee and when it was the center of the universe in Loreto, THE place to stay. "Our room" was right next to the bar pelicano within crawling distance that place holds a lot of memories. My husband worked there way back when alongside with the current diputado. That big rubber tree made excellent shade to sit under by the pool and enjoy down cold pacificos con limon y sal. We'd hang out and watch boats come in and tell fish stories with the other fishermen..... those days are slipping away but the interesting thing is that the very same tourist base that these new projects are poo-pooing is the same base that comes to Loreto and has supported this town through good times and bad.

People came to Loreto because there were no time share people to bother them, because it was quiet and laid back. So now what? Will we get a new kind of tourist just because they will open their doors? IMHO being in the travel industry in Loreto for 12 years and knowing this place intimately, this new hotel would be extremely wise to run like a real hotel and to promote to the client base that is already in place and established, at least for now. They should price themselves right between the Hotel Oasis and the Desert Inn (La Pinta) and they would have been able to take all of their business and build a client base, then they would become the center of Loreto's universe again. But greed has taken over and we have seen the results of greed lately and it is reverberating throughout the world.

Pricing for Desert Inn a deluxe room is $125/night including tax and for the Hotel Oasis garden view it is $125 plus 13% tax, La Mision in low season (may through early dec, going on memory) will be selling for $185/night plus 13% tax ($210) and this is a "Mountain View" room, the Ocean Front rooms will sell for $243/night tax included. Even Inn Loreto Bay is more economical at $175/night including tax in the summer low season and they have gotten smarter in offering a 4th night free incentive. Summer is the time period I book most as that's when the fishing is best, which is why I mention these seasons rates.

On another note, thank you rhintransit for the information on Domingo's Place. Domingo is very foolish to allow a time share seller in his establishment to bother patrons. I would be tempted to KO a timeshare salesperson who tried to bother me during a meal out. I have heard from the coconut telegraph that there is also a timeshare hawker in his other restaurant La Palapa. I will speak to Domingo and ask if this is true and if so, why he is doing this. Hundreds if not thousands of tourists throughout any given year ask me where to eat and I will not only not recommend restaurants that have in house timeshare hawkers but I will also warn them about them.

On the new timeshare thing- this is new to Loreto and currently unregulated. There are very few tourists in town right now and there are very many timeshare hawkers bothering them and even us residents. When a resident states that they are not interested it would be nice if the TS hawkers kept their nasty comments to themselves but they do not, they come close to threatening residents and snapping cell phone photos of them. It is hurting business in the center of town, Cafe Ole has lost much of their regular customers as have the giftshops near the downtown timeshare office. You would think they would "get it" hard pressure sales turn most people off and many are now avoiding that part of town, now they will have to avoid the malecon too? I have had many a conversation with frustrated business owners lately and at this point our hands are tied. I hope that we can all come together and put some reasonable restrictions on them so that Loreto will continue to be the charming, laid back and beautiful place that keeps people wanting to come back.

Time Share spiels

The fact is that Domingo's Restaurant is where the time share "free" introductory breakfast, lunch and dinner pitches are held. So he has a deal with them to host and is obviously being paid for the meals.

I had an agressive salesman hit on me and give me two free breakfast coupons at Domingo's including a complementary bottle of Kahlua and Tequila. These are the Villa Group salespeople selling the "Villa del Palmar" who have their office across from Cafe Ole.

Their project will probably fizzle out before you know it.