Hotel Santa Fe

Hotel Santa Fe is an authentic small town Mexican hotel. Nothing about it is modern or fancy, but Mexican style is everywhere. The employees all wear traditional Huipiles from the Costa region, traditional tile line the stairs, tile murals line the walls, the gardens are immaculate, the rooms are adequate and the aguachile and mezcalitas are delicious. If you’re looking for 5-star hotel this is not for you, but if you want to enjoy a laid back and friendly Mexican culture you’ll immensely enjoy this hotel. The hotel is across the street from a beach that is probably not good for swimming due to very large waves, but for sunrise/sunset walks it’s the perfect place to lose yourself with the sound of ocean. Hotel Santa Fe is also walking distance to many beach front restaurants.

I typically don’t write reviews, but I feel compelled to share my experience with this place. If I could give it zero stars, I would. When I arrived, the payment I was originally quoted was not honored, and I was charged additional fees for my room. After paying, I was told I couldn’t check in because I was “too early” — even though I arrived just an hour before the official check-in time and had a sleeping toddler with means luggage. The front desk staff made me wait for two hours, and I only managed to check in after following up myself. The staff member seemed surprised when I asked again, which gave me the impression that she didn’t particularly care for my situation. Overall, I would advise others to be prepared for unexpected costs , bad food and less-than-helpful service. The hotel looks nice in pictures, but unfortunately, it doesn’t live up to its appearance which is very unfortunate because I had high hopes.

Spent 9 days here in January 2025 as a base for our first visit to Puerto Escondido. We upgraded to a junior suite which was very roomy and worth the money for a longer stay. Staff was excellent, restaurant was excellent, prices were reasonable and the location is pretty spot on. Right on Zicatela beach you can walk into town in 10 minutes or the 45 minutes out to Punta Zicatela. The property has 2 small pools one of which is adult only. Lots of trees and greenery this is a classic old property. There are lots of bars and restaurants just down the street from the hotel. Would highly recommend this hotel for a stay in PE.

Arrived at 11pm, and asked to change the room from a road-side noisy room to something quieter. The staff didn't want to help me. Asked again. Didn't want to help, after confirming only 80% occupancy. Returned a 3rd time (!) and insisted on a room change, and they finally agreed with a surcharge of $100 USD. No offer of assistance. Staff don't seem to care so much about the comfort of the guests. Not going back any time soon. There are better options nearby.

It looks good from the pictures, but this place needs a remodel big time, the rooms offer no services with small little TVs that are not smart TVs, no water pressure and the drain backed up in the shower, would definitely not stay here again.

Really mixed experience with this one. The outside is beautiful and charming but our room was straight up gross. Black mold up the tall ceilings, thick layer of dust on the ceiling fan, the shower was so gross looking we kept our shoes on when we used it. Walls were thin, we could hear every time our neighbor flushed the toilet and every baby cry. None of the doors or windows actually shut all the way so bugs come in freely, which does happen more in warm, beachy climates. Everything is very old and has not been maintained. Staff were nice enough but several of us had to waste time waiting for maintenance to come fix things. I checked out some of my fellow travelers rooms and they did seem to be in a bit better shape than ours, although no one was really happy with their room. The restaurant is good, the food is great. The hotel is right next to the beach, so we got to see amazing sunsets every day we were there. There's a lot of souvenir and beach supply shops nearby, tons of restaurants and bars. You can catch a cab to the city center for ATMs, markets and more shops, you just need to speak some Spanish as we didn't really run into anyone who spoke English. All to say that if you're looking for basic accommodations while you spend your days at the pool or beach, this should suit you fine. If you're looking for clean and comfortable lodging where you want to spend time indoors, this probably isn't the place for you.

Overall we liked our stay at this hotel. It is beautiful and the architecture is fascinating. They have two pools. Our room was clean, but it is old with rusty fixtures and old equipment. It was a quiet hotel with a comfortable bed. Plenty of hot water and AC. The hotel restaurant has a limited menu and room service charges a 22% fee. The trash is kept under the pool balcony, so you smell it in the heat when you are enjoying the beach view. There were many service items, like trays, cups and glasses, left outside our room for much of our week-long stay. The Internet service was very slow (8MBPS) in our room.

The hotel is in a beautiful setting with a veranda and restaurant/bar that overlook the Playa Zicatela in Puerto Escondido. The rooms are comfortable with effective air conditioning. Service in all parts of the hotel, including the restaurant and bar, was excellent. Food and beverage quality was excellent, and prices for lodging, food and drinks were a good value. The hotel can arrange tours to nearby places, including a bioluminescent lagoon.

Just checked in a few hours ago but must say that the staff has been amazing. We watched the sunset over the beach. Our server was wonderful and even helped break our large Peso bills into small ones. After our swim we headed to the restaurant/bar and ordered beers for our room and the bartender put in a large bucket with ice and gave us an opener. Also ordered a shot of Mezcal and the best shrimp cocktail ever. 4 stars just because furniture could use an update. Hoping the rest of our visit is just as good.

Really wish I could give this place more stars, as I truly had high hopes for it. Unfortunately, my experience did not warrant more than three stars (IMO). I'll start with the drinks: We ordered a margarita on the rocks, which was decent. Then a mojito, which was essentially seven-up soda in a glass with a muddled mint leaf. Not remarkable one way or another. The food: we ordered nachos and shrimp tacos. The nachos were decent. The shrimp tacos were DELICIOUS, and to be frank, the only thing elevating this rating to 3 stars. The service: AWFUL. Let me elucidate: the drinks and food were somewhat prompt, however, when we received the check we were paying with a credit card. When we handed our server the card with the bill, he said we had to fill in the gratuity line. So, we happily obliged. While he was watching us write in the gratuity amount, he protested and demanded more money. In all my years of dining out, I have never had this happen to me. In fact, I pride myself on leaving overly-generous tips, especially when the service warrants such a tip. This behavior is completely unacceptable, and I implore management to make a change, unless running off paying customers is a practice they reward.

This is a somewhat hard review for me because I would not give this place 4 stars if it were outside of Puerto Escondido. But you have to take Puerto Escondido for what it is: rustic. In turn, this place is rustic. Overall, the best part here was probably the breakfast. Delicious yogurt with fruit and granola and homemade toast with homemade jam. The coffee is Finca las Nieves, which the lobby sells ground or you can buy whole beans around the corner at the Finca's storefront. Sidenote: Oaxaca is one of Mexico's 3 out of 32 top producing coffee states, so coffee in Oaxaca should be good no matter where you go but that's not always the case. The rooms felt clean and the beds are comfortable. The front desk was very friendly and called cabs for us (there is no Uber in Puerto Escondido as of this review). There were always clean towels available at the lobby. The AC and WiFi worked great but someone else from my party staying in a different room complained about their AC. My only real gripe is the out of control bugs by the pool, which seemed to leave me alone so long as I was in the pool. If I was on the lounge chair, I was getting eaten for lunch, so be sure to bring or buy bug spray if you stay here.

Stayed in the villa on the hill. 10 of us - 7 high school grads (bros), 14 year old bro, and parents. Beautiful views. Perfect location. Hotel was great, ordered food to be delivered a few times. Bedrooms and bathrooms were great, cold A/C. Kitchen utensils could have been better (and shopping wasn't the easiest) but we made due. Loved the pool. Can't wait to go back!

We had dinner and a sunset watch here and loved it! To start, we had two mezcalritas on the rocks and aguacate relleno con camarón - avocado stuffed with HUGE, fresh-tasting shrimp. This could easily be a whole meal even though it is sold as an appy. After that, we shared coconut-fries shrimp that came with brown rice and perfectly-cooked veggies (Broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, zucchini, carrots). SO good. Our waiter was super friendly and fun but spoke minimal English, so we got to practice our meager Spanish. There is so much on the menu that I want to try! This is a gem, not to miss!

BEWARE of this hotel!!! The following is our horror story with the Santa Fe. It's a long one, but it's worth it. What happened to us there is almost funny. Unfortunately, only almost... At the Santa Fe, my husband had over 1000 Euros stolen from his backpack that was in our room. As soon as we noticed this, we immediately reported it to the front desk, who unfortunately assured us there was no one there at the moment to take care of us and the theft (after all, it was Sunday!) and we would have to wait until the next day. We then decided to call the police. In the hotel we were told that we could only contact them from the reception. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to call ourselves, but the employee wanted to take over. When the person on the other end of the line asked her if a patrol should be sent, the woman literally said: "no, that will only cause an unnecessary scandal". We protested loudly, of course (hoping to be heard on the other end of the line), but were then scolded by her to be quiet. We then had to walk the 30 minutes to the station ourselves to file a complaint. The next day, unfortunately, it was us again who had to take care that the tapes of the tapes of the security cameras were checked. Unfortunately, two cameras that were important for our concern were broken near our door, so we couldn't see anything in detail. After that, we were asked to talk to the manager of the hotel, who told us that he would not do anything for us because the money was not stored in the safe. He also let us know that he couldn't imagine for the life of him that we were robbed by one of the employees (according to the camera, only they could have been in our room). He said that everyone in the hotel was like a family and nothing like this had ever happened before. It was suggested to us that we had certainly lost or misplaced the money somewhere else. But the money had never left the room. What topped it all off was when the hotel management told us that it was our own fault that they couldn't talk to the staff first, because we had decided to file a complaint. This was now illegal for them. A few days after our departure, my husband was contacted by phone by the hotel manager. He noticed that a few weeks earlier a watch had disappeared. Afterwards, it became clear to him that it must have been a theft. He now also had a concrete suspicion as to which of his employees was the culprit. Suddenly there was no more talk of family. He even referred to this employee as "son of a b***h". So, contrary to his previous statement, there had been cases of theft before. And although he had not been the least bit accommodating when we needed help, he now asked us to change our statement of the complaint again and testify that we had caught the employee stealing because he needed evidence to put him in jail. At no point did it come up that this was how he was going to get us our money back. He was probably only concerned with protecting the hotel's reputation. So we should do him the favor, make a false statement and make ourselves liable to prosecution in order to put a possibly innocent man in jail. As I said, without any concession from the hotel up front. Of course, we wouldn't do that either way. And - it may sound contrived - in addition, my best friend and I had a mild case of food poisoning after our first dinner at the restaurant, so we couldn't leave our room for two days. And when we were finally able to stand and go out again, we were then unfortunately robbed. So: also beware of the salad...! If I could give Santa Fe minus points, I would.

Hotel Santa Fe is reasonably priced, excellent service, excellent unobstructed views of the beach. Close walking distance to the center. Don't need a cab to get around,everything is very close. Very clean swimming pools, has air conditioning, accepts credit cards, office maintains the safety deposit box for your valuables. Great bar and restaurant.

fancy hotel showing its age. nice swimming pool. laid back garden vibe. bar/restaurant really needs updating