During that first visit we stayed at Hotel Casa Encantada. Not sure how I found it. Probably booking.com I suppose. However it came about, we were sold on the charms both of Pátzcuaro and Hotel Casa Encantada. If we have made 40 or 45 trips to Michoacán since, I would guess we have stayed at Casa Encantada something like 15 to 20 times. Maybe more.
We tried staying in Morelia a few times, both in hotels and airbnbs. And that was fine. Morelia is a bit closer to la CDMX. But traffic in and out of the city can be a bit of a hassle. Once you've seen the centro a few times I don't know that you need to keep going back. And maybe we also need a break, staying somewhere smaller for a day or two when we leave our 9 million neighbors back in Mexico City. Some of the stays we had on the south side of Morelia, as the city starts to go uphill a bit just beyond the zoo, were nice and pleasant with a cool view. But that phase passed, and we were drawn back to Pátzcuaro.
We also tried airbnbs in Pátzcuaro. And once in a while we will mix it up with a stay in Hotel Casa Naranjo, which is 100m down the street from Encantada. But more often than not we come back to Casa Encantada. Location is great. Hospitality is great. Breakfast included is always good. Reliable hot showers -- which is not necessarily a guarantee at some of the airbnbs. It's comfortable and pleasant and familiar and has become an important part of our Michoacán routine.
The owner, Victoria, and her dog Leah greet us during breakfast (failed to take pictures this time; will rectify that in April when we head back). Victoria's story is interesting for sure. And she and the hotel got a mention in a 2008 NYTimes story about 'artsy Michoacán' that I found re-published here.
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