Criteria for a $7 USD Room

It was the only private room listed for $100 pesos in the guidebooks I'd researched. The next lowest price was $200 pesos. Always looking for a bargain, I decided to check it out.

When I got to Casa Elvira, the first thing I liked was the location. Safety is the #1 criteria when selecting a place to stay. It was on a main, highly-populated street with plenty of pedestrian traffic. Family-owned, it also helped that the entire family lived there from the grandma on down. They also owned the attached, relatively expensive restaurant situated right on the beach. There was controlled-access to the hotel. Residents were given a key to the outside gate to use after-hours. It was also half a block from the Naval Base which had plenty of armed guards milling about.

Next on my list is cleanliness. The room was very basic. If you've read my previous posts, you know that I don't require much. Neat & clean, it had a bed, fan, dresser, table, and a huge bathroom two doors down.

My third criteria is a hot shower. The shower temperature was described as "cool and refreshing." After experiencing the heat and humidity in Zihuatanejo, Mexico, I decided to be adventurous and try it. I take cool showers when it's super hot at home anyway, so I was sold. I decided to take the room and paid for two nights in case I wasn't too thrilled with the place.

So far, so good. It's a little noisy in the evening, but I adjust by reading until it quiets down about 1 AM. I sleep in and awake at 7:30 for a brisk morning run along the beach. I think I'll stay a while.