Let's first say - This hotel is $40 USD for a Friday night last minute. We are not talking a "FOUR STAR HOTEL" We are talking a one or two star hotel but with a 4 star experience. Now, with that in mind, I'll delve further into my 4 stars...
This place is like the cougar of hotels - it may not be shiny, beautiful and crisp but Hotel Nelson knows what it's doing and it gets the job done.
Hotel Nelson as been around since the 1950's and it shows. It shows in the elevator that makes you wonder if you'd have preferred to take the stairs. It shows in the tile in the bathrooms and the squeak in the floor through the hallways. It shows in the dark bar on the first floor and the paint that is layered upon layer through out the building. The entire hotel has a lot of charm. Here I am using the word "charm" to replace: history, dated, well lived in, and borderline dingy.
On a recent trip to TJ, we tried 5 other hotels on Revolution that are more highly regarded by locals only to find none of them had rooms available and ending up at Hotel Nelson. The hotel is in a great location right near the Arc de Tijuana and is easy to navigate to from the border, or back to the border after sleeping off some beers.
Hotel room: The keys for the rooms that aren't occupied are held in cubbies behind the front counter just like in old movies. A single queen bed with a table, chair, local cable TV and bathroom is $40 USD for one night. The paint on the walls isn't in the best condition, the windows are single pane so you can hear everything from the street and the toilet may or may not clog at any given moment. However, for a place right on Revolution Ave for a last minute bed when you decide you'd rather have a few more beers than cross over back to the US, I couldn't ask for any more. The staff speaks limited English but you could probably manage to get a room so long as you're not too drunk to be polite and read the limited signs in English. My budding Spanish skills and the friendly staff have made it work easily for me on several occasions. After you pay your bucks (they take card too) you will be escorted up to your room by hotel staff. They will hand over your keys, a trash bag filled with fresh toilet paper, towels for the shower and two small bars of soap before leaving you to check out your view from the window. You can hear mariachis, crowds and cars late into the night and again in the morning. I love being woken up by mariachi horns, but you may not agree, so keep this in mind.
Hotel Bar: The bar has very clear signs to prohibit smoking, but even though they are pictographs and don't require translation to any language, they don't seem to work. That's Mexico for ya. Caguamas (32oz bottles of beer) run a few dollars each and if you get a star on your receipt you get a free drink. I haven't had the mixed drinks, but they have a full bar if you're not into Mexican beers. I've talked a bit with some of the patrons but the bartenders don't seem to have the same conversational skills, or at least the desire to speak to Americans. No worries though, the service is prompt and they can work with you if your Spanish is limited. The bathrooms are typical for TJ and reasonably clean and stocked with TP and paper towels.
Hotel Restaurant: Breakfast of an omelet with beans and potatoes, chilaquiles (for me) and two beers was $13 USD with a great view of tourists and mariachis on the street. Service was prompt, beers cold and my food was delicious. The sauce on the chilaquiles alone makes me want to head back. I look forward to checking out their other menu items on my next stay.
This isn't the Holiday Inn, but if you don't have the patience (or maybe stomach) for some good old Mexican culture, there's one a taxi ride away. Expect to pay more than double what Hotel Nelson will run ya. read more