Hotel Boutique Rancho Tecate

“Excellent stay at a historic ranch and vineyard”

My wife and I booked a week at Rancho Tecate for our first anniversary using a vacation voucher we received when we bought pots and pans at a bridal expo. We both speak basic Spanish, but reception and restaurant staff were very helpful when we couldn’t find the right words. If you are not comforta… lisää

My wife and I booked a week at Rancho Tecate for our first anniversary using a vacation voucher we received when we bought pots and pans at a bridal expo. We both speak basic Spanish, but reception and restaurant staff were very helpful when we couldn’t find the right words. If you are not comfortable with some Spanish, please you might use a translation app. Victor, Roberto, Eric, and Armando, as well as the evening shift reception woman (can’t remember her name!) are bilingual. The restaurant: Puerto Norte restaurant is excellent and modestly priced for formal and casual dining. If you are staying at the ranch or just passing through, make sure you stop to eat! The chef is famous in Mexico and award winning. His staff do a wonderful job preparing and plating everything. We regularly ate a meal or two at the restaurant, but also explored El Ruto Del Vino (Route 3) with our rental car and bought snacks before we arrived for meals on the go. For our anniversary night dinner, Eric, who is one of several bilingual servers, reserved us a four course meal with excellent steak and salmon as the main course. For $118 (equivalent) it included a bottle of wine from their winery. They accept US dollars. You have the option of dining outside on the patio or *inside of a modified traditional giant wine barrel that is about 15 feet high and round*. Pretty cool! The winery: we specifically picked Rancho Tecate because we love wine and wanted to explore the Mexican wine region. Several of their wines have won national competitions and they have something for every taste: dry, sweet, white, red, and a Rose that was excellent. The focus of the entire business seems to be their wine. The commercial owner of the property has let some building and property maintenance lapse beyond the main building that includes the restaurant/bar, but if you understand you are in a vineyard and agricultural operation, you can sip and overlook some of the aging. The premium wine tasting with Armando and Victor included a gourmet charcuterie of cheeses and fruit, as well as a history of the Ranch. The room: the room we stayed in was in an older “boutique hotel” with 12 rooms. The room itself could have used a fresh coat of paint in the bathroom, but was overall clean and well worth the free voucher we used. Cleaning staff did a great job when requested, but we had the Do Not Disturb card on the door for most of the stay. We didn’t spend a lot of time in the room during the day with so much to see and do in the wine region. The view of grapevines and meticulously maintained landscaping was wonderful to wake up to. The room has a smart TV and we were able to sign into all of our streaming services. There is a mini fridge but no microwave. We were the only guests at the hotel and utilized an outdoor seating area on the side of the building to read, snack, and sip. Up the hill from the hotel are vacation villas for rent as well as a number of AirBnB homes and cottages throughout the 200 acres. If we were going to stay again, we might consider the villas or an AirBnB stay until the hotel is further renovated. That’s not to say we had a bad time at all. We were only 20 yards from the pool and hot tub, which includes a pool building with changing rooms and bathrooms. We were 50 yards from the restaurant. It was pleasant. The ranch: we felt safe and secure with 24-hour security at the front gate. For $45 a person, you can ride Spanish horses for an hour around the ranch and view the lake, vineyard, private estates, and, if you ask for them: peacocks. The views of the surrounding mountains are stunning. We often walked through the vineyard and up the roads at sunset. The waterfall is off limits to visitors because an outside tourist drowned two years ago and it’s for your own safety. I agree that it should be (I’m from a region of the US where that happens at our waterfalls at home and stresses rural EMS). All staff cautioned us against going to the waterfall. The ranch is older and was more recently built up by a casino and horse racing magnate whose original home and structures are viewable. As a history buff who loves exploring, I was drawn in. Things to do off the ranch: we rented a car in the states and drove around having a blast. Make sure you get Mexico car insurance! Right across the street from the main gate is Huevos Republic, a casual breakfast/brunch restaurant. On Route 3 just outside Tecate proper are street food vendors. Along Route 3 going south are vineyards marked with blue signs and bunches of grapes. I would highly recommend a vehicle with clearance as there are many dirt roads off the main route. Use common sense! We didn’t explore away from the highway just to be safe. Ensenada is a beach and resort town about an hour and a half south on Route 3, which we might try for a beach or spa day next time. The border: the Tecate crossing into Mexico involves a single picture of your vehicle and they wave you through after seeing you have passports. Very simple. Near the border is a Walmart where we picked up sunscreen, some toiletries, and food that could be kept in the mini fridge. The National Guard rides around in large trucks with a mounted gun and is intimidating due to cartel violence. We didn’t linger in Tecate long or go after dark. It would be a good idea to read thoroughly the US State Department website about travel advisories and tips, but here’s one: the state of Baja California includes Tijuana, which reflects poorly on the state as a whole due to a higher population and therefore more frequency or violence. Tecate is a small town without the casinos and population that may provide an economy for cartels and drugs. Be smart and friendly and stick to the main roads. Locals were gracious for our business, especially in the small shops and restaurants. Returning to the US was also simple, 30 minutes on a weekday afternoon, but we understood what we shouldn’t be bringing back with us. We were not stopped for a full inspection by US Border Patrol. Read about what you can and can’t take with you back across the border.

vähemmän

“Love tecate”

We enjoy our stay in rancho tecate. The restaurant food and service excellent, we walk around the resort every day enjoying the vineyards, took a trip to the ruta del vino, enjoy dinner at the reina vinery and also vine testing at the ferrer viñero. Also a trip to the downtown and enjoy a good coff… lisää

We enjoy our stay in rancho tecate. The restaurant food and service excellent, we walk around the resort every day enjoying the vineyards, took a trip to the ruta del vino, enjoy dinner at the reina vinery and also vine testing at the ferrer viñero. Also a trip to the downtown and enjoy a good coffee and desert and the cafe Paris should be a must

vähemmän

“Good vacation”

The resort was nice ,rooms nice , didn't have jacuzzi on the room as shown on pictures but we had a good time I recommend to people who wants a quite and relaxing time. , It has a nice lake. And close to tecate street tacos ,very delicious