Rich in parking lot of Hotel Belmar Mazatlan, Mexico
I wrote a long post about my poetic and undying love for the Hotel Belmar, located at Paseo Olas Altas 166 Sur, in the old part of Mazatlan. Unfortunately, I somehow lost it. So pictures will have to suffice for the moment. Let me just say that if you like quirky, creepy, old, cheap hotels, this is your place. Supposedly Mazatlan’s oldest hotel, the place weeps fading grandeur. Our room was clean, the staff is cool, and plenty of interesting expats appear to live in the hotel on the cheap. If you get a room in the newer part of the hotel, you’ll find it comfortable, clean, and relatively modern. If you ask for a (cheaper) room in the Colonial part of the hotel, you’ll walk down echoing half-abandoned hallways to find a room with high ceilings and an amazing mix of ancient furniture. This place is a serious treasure.
Also, if you would like to read more about my perhaps surprising devotion to Mazatlan, pick up a copy of the 14th edition of The People’s Guide to Mexico. (Cool random note: the Hotel Belmar’s rather funky website clearly states that they are gay friendly.)
All photos by Felisa Rogers
Random weirdness in hallway to parking lot.
Lobby of the Hotel Belmar.
Hotel Belmar Mazatlan
Gina and Rich Mazatlan
The hotel is giant and half abandoned.
One of Hotel Belmar’s parking lots. 
Random Maztlan shot. photo by Felisa Rogers
Gina explores Mazatlan.
Excellent torta de pierna and juice at cheap comedor in the old part of town.
Great pix! Makes me wanna go to Mazatlan just to stay at the Belmar….and I haven’t wanted to go to Mazatlan in a long time, mind you, since they took away the last free beach at northernmost tip of town!
Yes, you would adore the Belmar.
It is a cool old hotel where you can spend a couple of hours just exploring the closed areas of it. I love staying there, gay friendly or not.
Yeah, I wish I’d taken a picture of our room. These pictures really capture the decay, but not so much the actually comfortable aspect of the hotel. Leave it to me…
I stayed here as a young kid with my parents. Do you know they used to give a very large boa constrictor the run of the place? It helped keep the mice and rats in check.
Wow. I can only imagine that that added to the hotels bizarre ambiance…Who knows? Maybe it’s still around. (Though I rather wish I hadn’t conceived of that idea.)