BajaNomad

Spring Break in Rosarito isn?t what it used to be

Anonymous - 4-11-2003 at 11:42 PM

http://www.laprensa-sandiego.org/current/break.htm

It?s Spring Break Season again, but don?t expect too much partying in Rosarito beaches this year. Some locals say the war and the fear among Americans to leave the U.S. are contributing to the low attendances.

By Pablo De Sainz

During last year?s Spring Break season, Javier Urrea made an average of $80 a day as a waiter at a club in Rosarito. This year, however, he?s not even making half that amount.

?There aren?t as many students this year,? said Urrea, as he was opening some beer bottles. ?It?s been really slow in this club, but also in the other ones. I think it?s happening all over Rosarito.?

And that can be noticed: Clubs are empty. Taxi drivers stand near their cars, waiting for clients. Waiters sit on the tables where students were supposed to be drinking and ordering lots of beer. Taco shops and other restaurants don?t have many costumers. The streets of Rosarito are like those from a ghost town.

On a recent trip to Rosarito, I was ready to party with some friends. I expected the clubs to be packed and full of students, and bikini contests and such. But it didn?t happen. Yes, there were a few groups here and there, but no crowds.

I interviewed several San Diego State University students to see if they were afraid to leave the United States for Spring Break. Some of them said they just wanted to relax and they weren?t afraid. Others, however, made changes to their plans and decided not to cross the border.

?I feel more secure in my own country,? said an SDSU junior who asked not to be identified.

Some club owners and waiters in Rosarito also said that the war in Iraq has affected the local economy, and, as noted, tourism has dropped.

?It?s been hell for me,? said David Caro, another waiter in Rosarito.

But this isn?t only happening in Rosarito. According to a recent Associated Press report, Cancun and other beach resorts in Mexico have experienced the downfalls.

?Before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, between 150,000 and 200,000 college students were descending on Cancun during the eight weeks before Easter. Last year the number slipped to just over 100,000 and could fall below 75,000 for 2003. A local hotel association said occupancy rates are down 20 percent from this period last year, when they slid 40 percent from spring break 2001,? the report said.

Although Rosarito tourism officials didn?t have official figures on this year?s visitors? rates, they agree the numbers are down from last year.

So this year the music and the alcohol and the bikinis and the fun haven?t been the same at all.

Urrea said that he hopes things get better during Holy Week, the two-week period when Mexican families make trips to the beaches.

?Hopefully people from Tijuana will come to Rosarito. Although they don?t spend as much as the students from the United States, I think I?ll make money.?

As the Spring Break season comes to an end, some students said they weren?t impressed by the mood in Rosarito this year.

?I?m so ready to go home,? said Kelly Cassey, a 19-year-old from northern California. ?This is my first time here and I thought it was going to be great. But it sucked.?

FrankO - 4-12-2003 at 10:53 AM

It's because the prices are no longer reasonable. It's hard to cross the border if you are only going to party when you pay north of the border prices for food/beer/lodging and get chitty, south of the border service. We used to day trip to Rosarito and Ensenada 2-3 times a month but it's not worth it anymore. We only go down for the camping/fishing and usually longterm/range trips. Last time we stayed at Rosarito Beach Hotel the waiters spent more time arguing about who had to serve us coffee for breakfast that I finally got up and did it myself. It's a great place to put in your rearview mirror. Points south is where it's at.

Dave - 4-13-2003 at 08:27 AM

Some of the best value in food and entertainment can be found North not South. Tijuana, if you know where to go, offers great food at reasonable prices. Perhaps someone should make a list. Then again awareness would probably spoil it for the rest of us.:lol:

JESSE - 4-25-2003 at 12:14 AM

I find it amusing that people and officials in Mexico "don't" know why tourism is down, and also blame it on the war.

As an ex manager of a major international theme restaurant in Tijuana, i can honestly tell you this is not only about the war or the current economic climate in the US. The problem is basically years of neglect on part of the Tourism secretary, lack of law enforcement and thus the feeling of safety for tourist, and a total lack of control of the quality of the services offered by "tourism" establishments in Mexico.

How is it possible that the walk way from the border to ave Revolucion in Tijuana still smells like urine and feces, and at the same time the tourism department spends thousands of dollars monthly on TV commercials promoting baja?

Let me add to that:

1.-People that sell fake silver to tourist with the blessing of the goverment.

2.-Waiters that are ex cons and are only waiting for an oportunity to take your money.

3.-Police that are corrupt and searching for a quick buck.

4.-Total lack of control and enforcement of current alcohol laws.


I could go on and on.

Braulio - 4-25-2003 at 09:10 AM

Jesse -

How's it going?

You're a lot closer to the tourist stuff than I'll every be - what I know about TJ is strictly from the perspective of a visitor - but let's not be too hard on the town.

For example there really are some good dining values there. For example:

The Dragon (Rojo) in the Rio Plaza Commercial Center..

La Fogata in the Rio Plaza area.

La Especial on Rebo.

Vittorio's on Rebo and about 10th.

La Escondida out on Las Palmas.

(BTW - I think La Costa on Rebo is over-hyped.)

If there's interest I'd be happy to name others.

Ditto with hotels - there are some real values in TJ.

I have some close friends with property on Rebo - I think what may have happened there is that some of the merchants got kind of lazy and stopped looking for ways to improve their businesses. Especially the second or third generation owners. Of course most of the top tourist offials come from this class.

Things were too easy for too many years making money selling 99 cent beers and cheap junk. Meanwhile the factory outlet went in at San Ysidro and took away a lot of the type of clientel that TJ should be attracting. The increase in Indian gaming hasn't helped either.

I still dig TJ - but it does need to change with the times.

I like Dave's idea of making a list for good stuff in TJ - if there's interest let's do it.

Take care .

Braulio

List of good stuff in TJ

Stephanie Jackter - 4-25-2003 at 11:23 AM

I LOVE the idea of making a list of the good restaurants and hotels in T.J. It might actually be just the thing to convince me (and others who've heard little but bad things about that town), to give the place a chance. It will also funnel business away from the old standards that may have gone downhill over time and to the places that deserve people's patronage the most because they do a quality business. Win/win for the good businesses and the consumers.

My only caviat would be that if you post it as a permanent feature on this board, someone should take responsibility for making sure it stays updated.

I say this from my own personal failure. I have a review of La Paz restaurants over on Fred Metcalf's board that is probably completely out of date since I haven't been able to get back to La Paz since 2 years ago, when I posted the review.

It's a drag, cause I know I've got to be disseminating some bad info at this point.
Some of the restaurants will have closed down and others will have gone downhill, but I haven't had a chance to check things out.

I used to look at Fred's completely outdated Ferry info page and think how untrustworthy it was for accurate news. Now mine is probably the same.

Hey Tucker! Any chance you'd be interested in checking out those places and seeing if they're still in existence and have good food? I'd be glad to get Fred to put you on as co-contributor on the restaurant reviews if you'd be willing to help out.....- Stephanie





JESSE - 4-25-2003 at 12:03 PM

Braulio,

Como estas? well off course Tijuana has some great and even world class places like Restaurants and Hotels, i was refering only to ave Revolucion, wich is the street that 80% of the tourist visit.

Tijuana has top restaurants but 95% of its clientele is Mexican, some are:

Villa Saverios
Hacienda 100 a?os
Chan's Place
La Espada?a
Casa Plasencia
Palma Azul
La Querencia
Rivoli


The problem is that tourist never get to see this side of town, they stay in ave Revolucion where they get ripped off, they are sold fake jewelry, and they are exosed to the faul smells of you know what, its pathetic how a street that could be a gold mine, has turned into a dump.

BajaNomad - 4-25-2003 at 01:20 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Stephanie JackterI LOVE the idea of making a list of the good restaurants and hotels in T.J.


I've loved the idea of doing such for the entire peninsula since 1996. See:
http://escapist.com/baja/

;)
Quote:
Originally posted by Stephanie JackterMy only caviat would be that if you post it as a permanent feature on this board, someone should take responsibility for making sure it stays updated.

I say this from my own personal failure. I have a review of La Paz restaurants over on Fred Metcalf's board that is probably completely out of date since I haven't been able to get back to La Paz since 2 years ago, when I posted the review.

It's a drag, cause I know I've got to be disseminating some bad info at this point.
Some of the restaurants will have closed down and others will have gone downhill, but I haven't had a chance to check things out.

I used to look at Fred's completely outdated Ferry info page and think how untrustworthy it was for accurate news. Now mine is probably the same.


Not as easy to maintain as some might think. You'll see that the escapist.com info is quite dated.

You'd be surprised how much work it is to simply make sure what you wrote in the past still applies.

BTW... if any of you would like to write reviews (without bias based upon your own business interests) about dining and/or lodging establishments in any particular cities/areas of the peninsula, you should contact me.

escapist.com continues to have considerable Internet traffic... substantially more than bajanomad.com.

--
Doug

[Edited on 4-25-2003 by BajaNomad]

Dave - 4-26-2003 at 10:06 AM

Great idea however I would ask that I have editorial oversight so that MY favorites not be listed. I hate waiting in line unless I'm the only one in it.:lol:

Speaking of lines: Yesterday I ate lunch in Rosarito at Tacos el Yaqui. IMHO none better!

Stephanie Jackter - 4-26-2003 at 11:27 AM

Baja Nomad: "escapist.com continues to have considerable Internet traffic... substantially more than bajanomad.com. "

I just checked out the LaPaz section of that site and liked your picks on Hotels and a few restaurants, though they could be outdated by a factor of two years just like mine and I wouldn't know it. When I do make it back to Baja and gain enough knowledge to not be speaking out of my hat, I'd love to be a contributor. For now, my well of knowledge is unfortunately, dry.

Have you thought of maybe merging the two sites into one to up the traffic? I don't know if that's desirable or feasible, but it might cut down on some maintenance.- Stephanie

In La Paz

Tucker - 4-26-2003 at 01:31 PM

Stephanie, even though I live here, It seems that my lifestyle has evolved to the point of not eating out much. I wouldn't be a good candidate for checking out the resturants, I've eaten dinner out maybe twice in the last year, I guess it's no wonder that I don't have a significant other! Seriously, I became ill after eating at a local eatery and am still a little gunshy.:no:

Stephanie Jackter - 4-26-2003 at 02:10 PM

Which one? May I ask? I hope it wasn't Mar y Pena. I know that was your favorite place for a while.

I remember I purposefully did not review a very popular place in La Paz - that cute cafe in between the condos and the upscale Italian restaurant right beside where the sailboats park in the bay. I picked up my napkin and smelled somebody's feces on it. There's nothing like an event like that to spoil one's whole day.

I'm sure when you got sick, you got really sick, though. One time I lay in something close to a coma for three days after urping my guts up for hours, having eaten a bad burger at a VIPS in Mexico City. Luckily, I was young and strong and came out of it all right, but I could imagine whatever that was having killed me had I been elderly or not in good shape.

I'll keep looking for a stand-in reviewer. Let me know if you run across anyone that eats out a lot that might be interested.- Stephanie

Braulio - 4-29-2003 at 07:26 AM

Stephanie -

Geez girl - I was just eating my breakfast here.

I for one will never use a napkin again.

Braulio