Staying at Hotel Villas Casa Morada, San Cristobal de las Casas, Mexico

Mexico certainly surprised me. I loved the food, the people and the variety of things to see and do. In between all the tours of Mayan ruins, football stadiums and getting my fix of tacos and enchiladas, it was also my girlfriend’s birthday. So rather than settle for another night on a night bus or sleeping on a settee or in a hostel dorm, we opted for a night of pure luxury in the cool city of San Cristobal de las Casas. We chose the Hotel Villas Casa Morada, which is a cosy 4 star hotel and this place simply exceeded all expectations.

As well as being my girlfriend’s birthday it was also our last night in Mexico on this trip and we went out on a pure high by choosing this place. Here are 10 totally cool things that we loved about our night in this hotel.

1. Complimentary Welcome Cocktail!!
That’s right – we had just put our backpacks down, settled into the room when we get a knock on the door. It is from Roberto the receptionist and he delivers us on a tray, two exquisite Mexican cocktails waiting to be devoured! A big big surprise!

What was the cocktail? It’s known as a Juan Perez Jolote and contains a local indigenous drop of alcohol called bosch as well as coffee and grapefruit juice! Perfect introduction to our room in this hotel.

2. Impressive Range of Toiletry Products
I had been using the same bar of soap for about a month and some old hotel shampoo. Then we arrived into Casa Morada and find an impressive range of quality toiletry products. This included toothpaste, mouthwash and a shaving kit, so now I have no excuse for having a beard!

3. Relaxing Garden
Mid afternoon arrived and I decided to have a cold Sol beer in the back garden doing some reading and writing and it was just so peaceful and relaxing.

My girlfriend joined me for a while and had some juice and nachos, but the rest of the time I just loved the tranquility and relaxation of it.

4. Birthday Surprise
It was my girlfriend’s birthday the night we were there (you can follow her on Travelling Hong Kong Girl) and we were in for a big surprise!

The reception staff asked me if I could get my girlfriend out of the room for 20 – 30 minutes so they could put something in the room. So I knew a surprise was coming but I didn’t know what. My girlfriend Panny was loving the room so much that she didn’t want to leave it though.

However I got her distracted with juice, nachos and sweets in the back garden and the staff went in and decorated her room! There was a birthday sign above the bed, flowers all over the bed, fresh flowers in a vase on the table, a birthday candle and sweets! It was just amazing when Panny walked in and saw it all!

5. Friendly Staff
If you’ve followed my adventures over the years, you’ll know I spent a lot of time working in hotels, bars and restaurants – in customer service. This means I always judge people for their customer service skills and the staff here at Hotel Villas Casa Morada were very friendly, welcoming and caring. They always said hello and checked things were OK.

6. Safety and Security
The room has a safe and it’s a safe place to stay. I always maintain that this is a must for any place you stay.

7. Bath Robe
I admit I’m not the cleanest traveller ever, but having freshened up with a superb hot shower, instead of donning a towel, I made use of the bath robes. It just feels like luxury when you sit in a bath robe, blogging away!

8. Kitchen

The novelty of having a kitchen is exactly that for me – still a novelty. We normally don’t get our own kitchen when we travel. We could cook our own food, make use of the fridge and enjoy the self catering aspect of it!

9. Super Breakfast
The next morning arrived and after a cosy sleep we had a breakfast that included Mexican coffee, cereal and a Mexican style omelette. Perfect way to start the day (by the way I haven’t even mentioned the previous night’s dinner yet – as that merits a post of its own!).

10. Cosiest Bed in Weeks
When you wake up in the middle of the night with mosquito bites in yet another dingy hostel you sometimes feel the backpacker lifestyle isn’t as good as it sounds. That’s why you need luxury now and then and the bed in the Casa Morada was easily our cosiest bed for weeks and weeks.

So I hope my girlfriend Panny loved the birthday surprise and the awesome night in a four star hotel in the cool city of San Cristobal de las Casas.

I totally recommend basing yourself in the Casa Morada, you can click on their link at the top and book it but also through Agoda and the usual outlets. Here’s the full address:

Avenida Diego Dugelay No. 45,
Barrio El Cerrillo, CP 29220
San Cristobal de Las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico.
Phone numbers: (967) 678 4440 and (967) 674 5449
Fax: (967) 678 1859
E-Mail: [email protected]

Here are some videos I made at the Casa Morada: