It’s a shame we ever stayed at Casa Estrella: We
will never be happy anywhere else again.
Thanks, Donna
My friend Donna Bryson recommended we spend time in the
World Heritage city of Guanajuato, where she and her family enjoyed a vacation
a couple years ago. Since Donna was my favorite partner in exploration when
were young, single and living in NYC, I trusted her advice and we decided to
visit for five weeks or so on our way north from Tlaquepaque.
Lodging proved to be a little bit of a challenge, though.
Guanajuato is a colorful, astonishingly well-preserved city of 150,000 with
narrow cobblestone alleys and winding underground tunnels carved out of rock,
neither of which was very welcoming to our wide black Tacoma Toyota truck.
Hotels and apartments in El Centro (the historic center) don’t have convenient
parking, if any at all, and guests have to navigate narrow, steep pedestrian walkways to get to their entrances
– hardly practical when you have as many possessions as us, in addition to
three cats and two bikes.
So we widened the search beyond Guanajuato City, and ended
up at
Casa Estrella Vacation Rental Homes in Valenciana, a village about two
kilometers up the mountain from Guanajuato. And although it would have been
nice to be able to step out of our lodging right onto one of Guanajuato’s nine
plazas and walk a block or two to a restaurant, Casa Estrella offered unique
benefits that made it the perfect choice for us.
Car- Friendly
Casa Estrella was one of the only places to stay in
Guanajuato that offered secure parking for the truck, though because of the
hillside location, getting the vehicle out the couple of times we used it was a
spine-tingling tight, logistical challenge. So once we parked the Tacoma, we left
it to collect dust, and used buses, cabs or Uber to get around. Buses only cost
7 pesos (37 cents) a ride, and Uber or a cab cost 60-70 pesos ($3.65-$4.20) per
ride.
Once we got down into Guanajuato, we used our feet for
transportation.
Pet-Friendly
The staff at Casa Estrella happily welcomed our three cats
and considered them part of our family. And the cats loved our two-bedroom apartment,
Casa Estrellita, from the moment we opened their traveling cages and released
them from their travel confinement. Ellie swiftly took over a round blue chair in
the living room, though all three cats alternated through at one time or
another. Kaylee liked to hang out high up on the second-floor landing, regally surveying
her domain. Noxy ambled from bed to bed, and eventually befriended a corner
chair in the dining room. He managed to escape one day when the cleaning crew
came, and relished the opportunity to amble around the little courtyard below
our apartment before coming back to our door and waiting for someone to notice
he had been gone.
 |
| Kaylee |
 |
| Equinox and the Monk statue |
 |
| Smoitie in the kitchen |
One day, Casa Estrella’s resident cat Toby, who was the spitting image of our old cat Jiji (who died in 2012) except for a scarred right eye, came to the door and meowed loudly, as though asking our cats to come out and play. Lex and I did just that, hanging out on the stairs petting Toby for a long time. Toby belonged to Inge, a Dutch retiree who dispensed wellness advice, astrology readings, and essential oils from her little apartment across from the fountain below us. The cats never met him.
 |
| Toby, the Resident Cat |
People- Friendly
We knew Casa Estrella was going to be people-friendly from
the moment we parked our car. First, the manager, Javier Salazar, greeted us
warmly. Then three male staffers swooped upon the truck and rapidly carried all
of our heavy suitcases, duffle bags, musical instruments, and other assorted
paraphernalia up the stairs to our apartment before we even had a moment to
breathe. What service! By the time we could blink our eyes, our stuff was in
our rooms and we were ready to settle in.
Casa Estrellita
Our two-bedroom apartment, Casa Estrellita, was absolutely
stunning. With a warm pallet of many-shaded oranges and royal blue, with bright
pink accents, its warm glow enveloped us. The dining room had a bar with a wine
rack in one corner, and a domed brick ceiling with a chandelier hanging over
the handmade round wooden table. A newly-constructed breakfast patio overlooked
the city of Guanajuato below and awe-inspiring mountains beyond (and Javier
brought a lounge chair when he saw how much I enjoyed spending time there
reading).
 |
| My favorite breakfast spot |
The kitchen was large and well stocked. The dinnerware
consisted of individually crafted, hand-painted ceramic plates, bowls and mugs
from the local Gorky Gonzalez Pottery Studio. The rest of the house was also filled
with decorative pottery – on shelves, walls, the bar, along the steps and even
on the fireplace mantle—from Gorky Gonzalez, Mayolica Pottery of Santa Rosa,
and other local artists.
Both bedrooms, on the second floor, were generous, with
sliding doors and balconies showcasing the incredible view of Guanajuato and
the mountains. Beds had heavy, hand-carved headboards. The master bedroom even had a fireplace and a
changing room, and the master bath had a sunken jetted tub, which Aryk enjoyed,
and a hand-painted sink, which Noxy occasionally napped in.
 |
| Master bedroom with fireplace |
 |
| Second bedroom with king-sized bed |
The volume and quantity of the artwork throughout the
apartment made my jaw drop daily. A brightly-painted, skeletal, smiling Catrina
statue stood inside the front door, next to a small painting of a Lucha Libre
warrior. A handcrafted wooden monk statue looked down from a lighted alcove at
the bottom of the wide stairway. There were painted ceramic serving platters, a
full-length copper lamp, a basket crucifix over the bed in the master bedroom,
a Diego Rivera print in the main hallway, hand-woven rugs, and tapestries.
 |
| Catrina |
 |
| Mayolica |
 |
| Mayolica |
 |
| Diego Rivera print |
The Grounds
And beyond our apartment, there was so much more to explore
and enjoy! Casa Estrella’s public space was beautiful and comfortable, with
leather couches, a huge solid wood dining table with a tile-covered wall over
the banquet, a large covered deck, even a big double-kitchen for use by guests
staying in rooms without kitchen facilities. (Casa Estrella also provided a delicious, healthy daily breakfast for an additional fee, consisting of yogurt, granola, fresh fruit, tamales, and coffee.)
 |
| Yoga with Blanca |
Beyond the main building, there was a swimming pool and a
Jacuzzi. Down the steps, the Fiesta Fitness Room offered an elliptical,
complete weight set, free weights, Bosu, exercise ball, barre and more, as well
as a large patio for weekly outdoor yoga classes (by Blanca of Casa Quatro in
Guanajuato) offering the mountain view as the perfect “dristy.” There was also a
spa room for massages, a botanical garden, a tennis court, an RV park with a
beautiful bathroom and shower, an organic garden, and other public spaces.
Wellness
I mention all these things because Casa Estrella’s focus is
on wellness, and I left feeling so relaxed and serene. Javier, the manager and
concierge, gave us exceptional service to made us feel truly pampered. If you
ever decide to visit Guanajuato, you can learn more about Casa Estrella here.
Tell Javier that Lisa sent you!
 |
Saying goodbye to Javier., the manager and concierge at Casa Estrella.
Hasta luego! |
\
No comments:
Post a Comment