Favority Stays: Hotel Mezzanine

In beautiful Tulum, we stayed at Mezzanine, a boutique hotel owned by New Zealanders that comes with a talented Thai chef and a friendly and helpful staff.  It is hip and stylish without the pretension. 

The only warning: every Friday night, the hotel hosts a party complete with a famous guest DJ from around the world.  The party attracts lots of revelers and the music plays until the early hours.  So if you will be in Tulum on a Friday night and are not exactly a night owl, consider staying elsewhere. With the exception of Friday night, Mezzanine is quiet and chill.

The hotel is located just a few yards from the ocean.

Mezzanine has only nine rooms, and none of them have alarm clocks, AC, TVs, and telephones (the hotel does provide Wi-Fi). It is completely solar-and wind-powered (most of Tulum's beach-front hotels are off-the-grid). Every part of the hotel is absolutely beautiful.





We opted for one of the ground-level rooms, which has the cheapest rate. It has an open floor plan, which took awhile to get used to. Other than that minor issue, we found our room comfortable, and I loved its modern decor.



The hotel allows free use of its bikes.



Mezzanine has a restaurant that serves delicious Thai-inspired food





To put it simply, this place is heaven!

Favorite Stays: The Argonaut Hotel

During a long weekend trip to San Francisco (October 2008), we stayed at the Argonaut Hotel, which was exceptional.  I decided on this hotel partially because of its high rating among reviewers on Tripadvisor.com and partially because I have had great experiences with Kimpton Hotels.  Our room and the public areas were clean and stylishly decorated (the hotel has a nautical theme).  The employees were so friendly and helpful.  Even though the neighborhood is crowded and busy (Fisherman's Wharf), it was quiet inside the hotel.  There is also complimentary daily evening wine reception. The four-story timber and brick landmark building was built in 1908 as a warehouse for the California Fruit Canners Association. 

The lobby:







I think these chairs are adorable.  People sat here during the wine reception.

The building:

The hotel is located on the corner of Jefferson and Hyde.



Our room:




I love the L'Occitane toiletries the hotel provides.



Our delicious California-style chowder with French sourdough bread (a meal can't get more San Franciscan than that!) at the hotel restaurant, Blue Mermaid Chowder House: