In short my family and I were targeted by a ring of extortionists claiming to be part of the "Nueva…read moreGeneración," and this hotel was involved. Where they really the cartel? We didn't stick around the find out.
After realizing the town was having a special event and streets were closed with carnival type games, fireworks, and music, we decided to book a hotel for the night. We wanted the adults to enjoy drinking and not worry about driving, and the kids to enjoy the fireworks and games without rushing. Three rooms were booked at the Plaza Jardin. When we all decided to call it a night, the room with the person who registered their number during the booking, received a call from two "comandantes" advising them who they were and threatening to harm our family if we did not listen to them. Amongst our group were 4 kids, so you could imagine the dilemma we were in. Throughout the almost 1 hour drive f back and forth, we'd realized the hotel employee was involved, the business outside the hotel selling drinks was involved, that we were monitored throughout the day, and that we were being watched via a camera in the room mirror and the 2nd floor of the hotel. All our rooms were on the first floor, towards the back of the hotel. Our rooms were divided by a patio where anyone from a higher floor would be able to see if we were walking outside. I won't go into detail in case one of those ass***** are reading, and they use us as an example of what not to do on their end. The point is after we all found out we were all physically okay, we decided to grab what we could, and make a run for it. We had family in town, who we'd failed to mention we were staying in town to avoid the awkward "stay with us." We didn't want to be a burden. We were a large group. The family lived near the city center, so in the middle of the festivities, close to midnight, we made a run for it. My cousin and I were the last ones out. As we ran through the hotel, I noticed the receptionist was not at his desk, he was standing at the hotel entrance keeping a watch and watched as everyone of my family members ran out. I yelled obscenities at him as I ran alongside my cousin. She later mentioned that when she turned back, he was smirking. Was it only a scare tactic? Not sure. We did not stick around to find out what they wanted and what they were capable of doing. I am sure the goal was to have us wire money. And they used scare tactics like good cop, bad cop, and mental warfare to try and break us. Using words such as "if you don't listen to us, your family will be leaving this hotel in body bags."
Bottom line, don't stay here. If you visit Tequila, leave the same day.