| FREQUENTLY ASK QUESTIONS |
| Q Your prices are way below comparable places in the La Paz area. WHY? A First of all, there is nothing comparable with our "Hacienda" here in La Paz. We know it sounds snobby, but it is true. We are a retired couple and a few years ago Renate had the splendid idea that we build a place where we can meet nice and interesing people from all over the world and so we did. So, the "Hacienda" is our hobby and we keep the rental to the bare minimum to cover the cost. This way great people with "small pockets" can afford a first class vacation too. Our Hacienda is also a fund raiser for the local Orphanage, Old Folks Home and the RED CROSS. What ever is left after the business year will be donated to these really needy organisations. Have a look and CLICK HERE |
| Q Do we have to bring bed spread and towels like we have to do at other vacation rentals? A Yes and no. Since there is a different law for hotels and vacation rentals, we are not allowed to supply anything besides the furnishings. Please bring just the towels you want to take with you to the beach. We lost already way to many!! We will have all the other towels for you. Also, don't bring any sheets. Officially, we will lend them to you and when your vacation time is over, you will give them back to us. |
| Q Do the accommodations have Air Conditioning? A Beside the Palapas, all places have A/C. All houses are very well insulated and since the temperature, especially at night, is very comfortable, the A/C is usually not needed. To be fair to those guests who don't want to use the A/C, we did not include the use of it in the rental cost. Our commercial electricity is outrageously high. So, if you want to use the A/C, we have to ask you for a share of $ 50 Dollar per week just to cover some of the cost. But as said before, most likely you don't need the A/C. |
| Q Are there hidden charges like we find at other places and do you have higher seasonal prices? A Why? We think that it is not fair to charge extra just because it is a certain time of the year. So we keep the same low prices the whole year since we have season all year round. The winter sees the "snow birds" and from May on we host the serious fishermen and scuba divers. Of course the government want their share too, so we have to add the tax, which is right now 10 % and 3 % Hospedaje, to the listed prices, but this is something you have up north too. Oh, and we charge you $ 20 Dollar for the final cleaning and laundry. It doesn't matter if you are here for just a week or a year. As mentioned on the home page, we are not allowed to accept credit cards, so bring cash or take the card to use the bank machine down here to advance the dinero. |
| Q How do we make a reservation and when do we have to pay? A Since everything is nowadays computerized, you can make the reservation by e-mail. On our home page is a PayPal button and when you click on it, there will be a new window open. Just follow the directions for the reservation confirmation of $ 150 Dollar. Keep in mind that the reservation deposit is non refundable. If you cancel your vacation for any reason you did a good deed for the Red Cross and our other charities. You will receive a confirmation of your reserved accommodation in your e-mail in 24 hr. or less. The balance will be taken care of on the day of your arrival or the next day. Keep in mind that we are a non profit organization and can't accept "plastic" You can bring the balance along or draw it out of a teller machine down here. So, bring your card and the PIN number. Most of the teller machines have Pesos and Dollar. NO, we don't charge a security deposit even so sometimes we really wish we had. IMPORTANT: We honor all pre - reservations for one week. If we have not received the PayPal confirmation after this time, the reserved place will automatically go back to the vacant property list. If someone else inquired after the week and makes the confirmation, then it is gone. At first, we did not understand all the other vacation rentals, who charge their total bill in advance, but after several bad experiences, we learned why. Our problem is that we still trust people too much and since we are doing a good deed with our Hacienda we believe that our guests will be honest and most of them are. But then, along comes another bad one and again we are so disappointed and can't understand why there are such bad people out there. |
| Q Can we stay with more than the designed people at a place? A Sure, if there is no other alternative. But remember, since we charge just a minimum, we have to ask you for $ 10 Dollar daily for each extra guest to cover the cost of water (very expensive), power (very expensive too), extra towels, sheets and so on. Most of our accommodations have a Futon/Sofa in the living room that works as a double bed and we have an extra bed too. |
| Q How about transportation? Do we need a car? A We have a special deal with the Airport Taxi Company. Juan Carlos will bring you from the airport in La Paz for a much lower fare than normal to the Hacienda. Then there is the local bus, leaving about every 30 minutes from El Centenario to downtown La Paz. If you like to be independent, you can rent a car. Here are all the major car rental agencies with a wide array of cars. Remember, rental cars are very expensive in Mexico. Renate always says that I'm a "mother hen". OK, here is the "mother hen" speaking: If you take a rental car, PLEEEEASE make a full coverage insurance with a small deductible and a legal insurance too. Sure, it is not cheap, but it keeps you out of jail in case of an accident. Your credit card coverage is NOT valid in Mexico!! If you can drive a stick shift, we have a "Kraut Machine", VW beetle and a VW Fox for our guests for free. If you come with the whole family, we even have a couple vans. This are our private cars and you only have to pay for the full coverage insurance with a small deductible which it is about $ 200 Dollar for a whole week if you don't have a Mexican drivers license. Just see the agency here and buy the insurance for it. Some of the agencies up north will insure you down here too. Just check it. We don't care where you get it from, important is you have an insurance, but sometimes they are even more expensive then the ones down here. Keep in mind that we won't let you drive without insurance. We already had a few times the "pleasure" to get a guest out of trouble and we don't want to do it again. Oh, and please treat the car accordingly. It has to hold a little bit longer. |
| Q Can we bring our dog along? A If your "Fido" is well behaved and if you pick up after him, why not! Q Are stray Mexican dogs a problem for our dog? A Without exception, all Mexican dogs are very friendly and going along fine with any other dogs. They are even faster on their backs and spreading than Monika Lewinsky. |
| Q We want to bring our Laptop, do you have internet connection? A Yes, even so it is more complicated here than up north to set it up, we have high speed, broad band wireless internet. So, sit by the pool and check your mail, see the "naughty sites" or, God forbid, do some work. |
| Q Do you have shower and toilet facilities? A We never thought that we would have to mention any of this on our web site but we were asked it several times. We have no idea where some people spent their vacations before. Sibiria? OK, we have an outhouse about 50 yd away from the living quarters, walking along the cess pool. Since it is a "dry" system you can find it even at night without a flash light. Just follow the strong odor. NO OPEN FLAMES PLEASE!! There is a long tree trunk to sit on and since it is a 6 seater, you always find some company and enough subjects to talk about with your neighbor, like the delicious dinner yesterday and the great garlic souce you can still smell, any digesting problems and you can share the morning newspaper of course to use for a different purpose than just reading. This is not only econimical, it protects the environment too. WATCH OUT FOR SPLINTERS WHEN YOU MOVE !! For # 1 and showers just use the pool like everybody else, but please go in and don't do it from the jumping board. OK, JUST KIDDING !! We have here a first class resort like place and we think it is kind of .. you know what .... to ask those questions. |
| Q Where can we do laundry? A There are plenty of laundromats in town with full service. Just drop the laundry off and tell them which item you want to have folded and ironed. If you want to do it yourself, we have a washing machine and solar dryer (clothesline) for you. |
| Q We like to stay longer than just a week. Do we have to pay always for a whole week or are there daily rates too? A OF COURSE, OUR PLACES ARE PRO RATED!! Let's say you will be here for 11 days, we divide the weekly rate by 7 and then multiply it by the actual days you are here, in this case by 11 days and if you like to stay for a whole month at "El Paraiso" you also can deduct 10 % from the listed rate. Sorry, but this is all we can give you. |
| Q We like to come in the summer but it is so darn hot down there. A We could give a very short answer with just the second and the nineteenth letter of the alphabet. OK, let's be civilized. The city of La Paz is pretty hot in the summer time. The houses and the black top of the roads will heat up and it can be quite toasty. Nice training for some people after they finished life here on earth. HA. We always see that we are out of town by mid day when we go shopping. Just a little outside, here at the inner bay, we have very comfortable temperatures. Even in August it will be in the mid to upper 80ies to rarely the lower 90ies in the daytime with 0% to 10 % humidity. That makes the greet beer taste even better Ha. By mid morning start a little breeze from the north coming over the water and the temperature is very comfortable. Every night at 20:00 hr. ( this is 8:00 PM for the 24 hours inpaired ) comes the Coromuel wind. This is a wind from way down the South Pacific, cools off already over the water and even more coming across the desert. In a matter of just 30 minutes there will be a really big drop in temperature and the low at night is around the mid 60ies to upper 60ies and only in exceptions in the lower 70ies. So, it is really a fantastic climate here. But only the La Paz basin has this typical desert micro climate. Just a few miles south or north is a totally different picture. |
| If you have any questions not answered here, please feel free to drop us an e-mail and if it is really important or really stupid, we will also answer it on this page. Ha. In case it is your first visit in beautiful Baja, we like to send you some general information. Just click at the e-mail button or click HERE and write:"First visit" in the subjekt line |
| We really like to get something off our chest: People believe that with our low prices there must be something wrong and most of them expecting a kind of run down places. Keep in mind, that we have a very nice and clean setup and we love to welcome nice guests here. As mentioned before, it is our Hobby!! We have a very high lodging rating and you can expect a really great place for a fantastic vacation. We see all the time when our guests arrive the surprise that everything is like it's shown at the web site and even better. We don't have to put fake pictures on our pages just to look good. We look good. |
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| Q What does your beach look like? Can we swim there and is it safe? A Just click on BEACH |
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