La Paloma Resort Review

Have you stayed at La Paloma? Here's your chance to tell other owners what it's really like. How big is the pool? How hot is the hot tub? What do you wish you had known before you left home?

Are there so many rooms available because of the fear of violence? Is there a problem with the resort? What are the "rules" we need to follow at this property that we don't follow at all the others? We have reservations for mid-March, however I'm beginning to rethink the wisdom of this!

Also, can anyone tell me where the resort sits within all those condominiums? Do we have an ocean view? Are we close to the beach? I'm a Cabo nut so it's gonna be hard to beat! Thanks in advance.

The units owned by Worldmark are at the back of the resort, close to the road. Some have an ocean view. To get to the ocean, you'll be walking a block or so through beautifully landscaped grounds.

Part of the reason for the vacancies is, almost surely, fear of violence--which in my opinion, has been brought on by the American media's coverage of the Mexican drug war violence. We've owned our home in Rosarito for over 11 years now; we spend over half the year there each year. We do not feel threatened; if we did, we wouldn't go. We have a lovely home in the U.S. that we love--but we love Rosarito more.

I can't speak to rules that are different from other resorts; I have no knowledge of them.

I visited this resort a few years ago with my family. We drove across the border to the resort in our own car which I highly do not recommend. People drive extremely fast and cut you off. We came close to an accident probably ten times. The resort is not the easiest to find...we passed it and were stopped by federalies with guns. Once we finally found the resort, the gates were locked and no one was around to unlock them. We finally found a grounds keeper to let us in. It was a horrible experience and we felt like we were in a twilight zone movie because there was no one there. The cafe was closed most of the time and we saw very few staff. All the pools and hot tubs were empty except for one. When we traveled to Rosarito, we felt completely uncomfortable. There were plenty of Americans but most were drinking and partying and there was nothing for kids to do. We did however find horses to ride, but the beaches were littered with garbage and the horses were skin and bones. We were booked for 6 days but left after 2 days and drove to Palm Springs. It was HORRIBLE! I thinking others feel the same since there are so many vacancies. I would not recommend this resort and Im wondering why Worldmark still owns it. Its not good at all.

Your experience is, of course, your experience, and I'm sorry you had such a negative one in the area that we've come to call home. I suspect most of your problems would have vanished if you had been in possession of more information about the area.

In 10 years of, by choice, spending the majority of our time in Mexico, we've come to feel more secure in Mexico than we do in the U.S. In fact, PBS and CBS have a joint project filming right now about what an undiscovered gem the area from Tijuana to Ensenada is; it will be airing in September.

Your problems finding the resort could have been eliminated with better directions, which I could have given you. The point where you were "stopped by federalies with guns" is a regular, fixed point government checkpoint, not unlike an airport checkpoint or border checkpoint. For Americans, the guns are starteling at first, but we've encountered armed check points in other countries and don't find them disturbing: where the armed federalies are, the drug lords aren't.

The cafe on property was definitely not a good choice for knowing what was available in the area. Local restaurants are filled with friendly people and good food at very low prices. When you "traveled to Rosarito," you probably had no idea where to go and wound up in the tourist zone with the clubs for teens and young adults--definitely not a family atmosphere. That wasn't a good sample of Rosarito.

You needed to have more information about what the area offers, and it's unfortunate that you didn't because the lack, obviously, left a very bad impression and probably ensured that you won't ever give Rosarito another chance--and that's too bad for both you and Rosarito.

We are going November 5 2011 and want to know about surfing at that time. Is a full wet suit needed due to the cold water or is a half one bearable. Anyone?
Most of the posts for this resort are quite old. Any comments from recent stays?
Are there BBQ's to use? Should we buy water to drink? Can you walk around with alcohol and take it to the pool?
Dorothy

Dorothy, send me an email at Pstreet1@aol.com and I'll email you stuff on the area. My friends who surf use a full wet suit in the winter.

The link to this thread doesn't seem to be working. I'm posting this to see if a new post makes it work again.

I was at La Paloma the second week of April with the family for spring break. I am not a big fan of resorts that are not fully Worldmark owned and ran. This trip was different! The resort was great and so was the staff.

There were a good amount of kids at the pool each day but fully expected that and there was plenty of kids for mine to play and have fun with. The resort had a good security staff that kept things quiet in the evenings so no problems with any late night disruptions.

The resort was a lot closer to town than I imagined so having a rental car made for quick trips to the store for anything needed. I would suggest the Calimax on the north end of town for most things but Wall-mart for others as Calimax has a limited selection. Mainly Calimax is a bit cheaper on most things.

Some posts have complained about the views being blocked but we found them to be fine. The balcony is fairly long so if you want a better view you can always move your chair a bit and see around the palm trees.

The resort could use some help with things to do. If you go to the office they seam a little out of touch with things to do around town. Also local maps are very hard to find. You would be best to find one online before heading there as we did not find any at the resort or in town outside one from the tourist center in town and it was only the town itself. Also you will find "PSTREET" posts here and Pat has a very nice collection of about 20 emails that are a must read for inside information on all kinds of restaurant info as well as driving directions and what to expect in Rosarito (Pat....you should publish your experiences in a book!).

Before I left for La Paloma I was confused about the washer and dryers and if they have them. Our room had the WM wash/dryer stackers across the walkway from our room. We noticed that someone was in the closet daily but had no problems with anything missing. I think they were just making sure you don't put anything on top of the hot water heater (they could use a small shelf in there as setting your detergent and dryer sheets on top of the dryer is to high to get to easily).

Most of the channels on TV will be in Spanish. The office does have a nice handful of DVD rentals for winding down at the end of the day. One tip we noticed is if the TV guide lists the show in English the show will be in English (we never did figure out how to turn off the Spanish sub titles).

Mama Mia's was a nice restaurant with a friendly staff (contact "PSTREET" for reviews of others). They were normally empty so when someone shows up for something to eat you get great attention. They are more than happy to deliver to your condo or even pool side as well. They are closed on Wednesday as a lot of places are so don't plan on trying them out on that day.

The main club house has two pool tables. The WM office is more than happy to provide the equipment so stop in there first. The other club houses are more like lookout points overlooking the beach. Not much outside of some chairs to sit and relax.

We never felt unsafe during our stay at La Paloma. Everyone we meet in and around town was very friendly. I had my reservations about traveling there but after arriving I realized that was all media at it's best!

With all said the week was very enjoyable and can not wait to go back some day!

Thanks for the kind words; I'm so glad you enjoyed yourself--and it's really nice that you posted your experiences. I really do get incredibly tired of reading things people write about how unsafe Mexico is--and I find that those who write those things haven't been there to see for themselves: instead, "they've heard....."

We Stayed at La Paloma June 22-25 2012.
We had no issues with this resort. The resort was well maintained inside and out. We booked 2 rooms and we were side by side, it worked out great.
I noticed people saying the pool was dirty, We had NO problems there, it seems as though La Paloma got that part fixed. The beaches were clean and the whole family enjoyed it, a bit too cold for me.
Overall this resort surpassed all my expectations!

I love this resort. The staff are friendly (the front desk guy is a little chilly) and very helpful. It is generally very quiet and peaceful. It was very clean and well maintained. I would suggest the following:
1. Calimax is the best place for groceries. Although they will laugh at you when you buy only 2 green chili peppers. Apparently everyone buys them by the gross. The fresh fruit is LOVELY! Go first thing in the morning for fresh tortillas. Best breakfast ever.
2. Buy a small bottle of Clorox to make a disinfection solution to soak your fruit and vegetables (and eggs). I used 1 TBSP bleach to 1 gallon water. Wash the items before you soak them and then soak for 15 to 20 minutes.
3. We really enjoyed the pools with the grandchildren, but one of my favorite things to do is go at sunset and place your beach chair on the cliff overlooking the beach. You will have an amazing time watching the sunset and watching all the pelicans diving into the surf for fish. The best things in life are free!
4. Not a fan of hot tubs, I can't help but think they are a breeding ground for all kinds of yucky stuff. I'll pass.
5. Ask the front desk to book a massage. For less than $30 you will get the most amazing one hour massage. She is good.
6. If you drive across the border to the US, plan on at least and hour and a half and all kinds of annoying sales people knocking on your window. DON'T BUY!!! It is so much less expensive in Rosarito. DO BUY the fresh churros. Yum...

Just like a visit to Chicago or New York City, don't walk around at night. I have never felt unsafe, but just don't be stupid.

We plan on going back again.

When you go back, if you are interested in my list of restaurants we like (we live in Rosarito over 6 mts of each year), email me at Pstreet1@aol.com and I'll get them right back to you.

I stayed at La Paloma a couple of weeks ago. It was my first time and was excited to go regardless of what ppl say how its not safe...But i been wanting to go! And im glad i did! I had a great time and the resort was nice, safe and clean and so close to the beach.

What i didnt like was that i found out Worldmark only owns a small portion of the resorts property and the villas i had seen online were not part of Worldmark..The Worldmark building is the tallest one. I had a ocean view it sucked it was not what i expected i thought i would see a good amount of the ocean but i didnt as Worldmark is closer to the hwy than the ocean and all i saw was the rest of the resort, palm trees and a lil strip of ocean view. The pool looks bigger in pictures, when i got there the pool was small what a joke! I explored the whole resort property and saw the other 3 pools and they were not that much bigger.
Luckily i was there for the beach not for the pool so i spent most of my daytime out on the soft sand and buyin fruit off vendors relaxin with a drink. Besides the pool and the not so good view everything else was awesome! The beach access was very close to the Worldmark bulding it was just down a lil path and i was there already! THe weather was beautiful and so was at night.. it was 90 degrees i was on the beach and it felt perfect! We also hit DT Rosarito and went grocery shopping and went to eat at Los Pelicanos Hotel Restaurant..excellent customer service and food! I ordered Deer steak and Squid steak both tasted sooo good!And hit up a couple of clubs.

The Unit in itself was nice..the balcony was long it came with BBQ and table w/ chairs..everything worked except the stereo remote which wasnt a big deal..Very clean and everything was there..I did not like the beds they were outdated the mattresses were uncomfortable, the twin beds were even worse then the Kingsize bed, they were stiff! The sofa bed was worse then the rest of the beds i felt the springs in my ribs! That mattress was ready for the trash! I feel the most important thing in a nice room/resort is the bed! Your suppose to be able to get a good nights sleep while on vacation and be the most comfortable there...and Worldmark keeps FAILING to invest in nice beds/mattresses..any motel would have better mattresses then this or the same quality..The beds are def low budget!

And lastly...While staying at La Paloma me and my friend experienced some strange things in our unit. The first incident happened while we were in the dining area talkin and i heard water splashes coming from the master bdrm it sounded like the shower was on and within seconds it stopped.. We looked at each other confused then just brushed if off. Well then my friend saw a towel move on the ring hanger and also the cabinets to the stereo were opened.. when we came back to our unit they were closed. The next day i heard the shower again from the master bdrm while we were in the living room ..i immediately walked to the bathroom and the shower was on and it was slowly turning off on its own! I was shocked and confused i didnt know what to think..i eventually also forgot bout it..Then on the last morning there...We were barely wakin up and we were talkin in bed and all of a sudden we hear music playin ..Im thinkin maybe its coming from outside since we did have the balcony window open..i got up and went to the living room to find the stereo had turned on by itself! It was playing one of our CDs!! By this point i was like theres definitely something here! Ive never expereinced anything like this before anywhere ...I wasnt scared though i was just confused and tripping out and tryin to figure out a logical explanation for it but there wasnt! I will be going back i had so much fun and it was a good experience all the way around!

Hey sounds like you may have sipped on a bad maragrita..! We stayed in La Paloma in a 3 bdrm last Feb. and no strange things went on..Lots of ambient noise there and wind drafts and vibratio from the elevator. May be your explaination. Doors and cd are another thought but so are the faultering memories of 2 people sharing a place. I believe the cd player was a multi disc, may have cycled around to the beginning and restarted or has a program to start it..........

Haunted?

I just returned from a week at La Paloma.

Good things:
Great resort. The unit was very clean and the staff was very friendly and accommodating. The pools were very clean and well maintained. The grounds were very groomed and beautiful. Great security; we felt very safe. The beach is wonderful. Once again, very well maintained.

Recommended by the front desk, we booked seats on a lovely wine tour led by a man named Isaiah. He was very charming, very knowledgeable about the area and very friendly and talkative. We loved the drive to the wineries (about an hour and a half from La Paloma resort). The scenery was gorgeous. The people at the wineries were just delightful. So friendly and classy. We loved tasting the many different wines offered in the Baja area. The two that stuck out in my mind were Fuentes (such a great little place) and La Cetto, a larger winery that offered tours. We also went to a third place with a wonderful assortment of cheeses, tapenades, pastries, fresh bread, and of course wine. The name of it escapes me but it was very nice. On the way back to the resort, we stopped at a fine restaurant where I believe the meals would have been $25-$30 a plate in the US, but cost us a total of $19 per couple, including a large pitcher of sangria. Very nice. I tried beef tongue for the first time - smothered in mole sauce, it was incredibly delicious! Another in my party tried ostrich and really liked it. There was a beautiful wedding going on at the time that we were there and it was fun to see different customs.

We spent a day in Puerto Nuevo and ate at La Pescador. Great food, lovely service, friendly and accommodating staff.

Traffic on the tollway was fine. The roads were well maintained and we felt safe driving in the area. Watch signs carefully, though; they are not as well-lit as US signs and they don't warn you in advance of the exits.

Good shopping at the north end of town - the area where Walmart is. Great produce and selection at Walmart (and usually I avoid Walmart like the plague). The pastries from Walmart were really delicious. We ate at a bar in that mall with great food and friendly service (the name escapes me but the restaurant had a martini on the outside).

Bad things:
We really disliked Rosarito. I had higher hopes because of some wonderful reviews by PStreet. Unfortunately this little city just wasn't to my taste. We found it very dirty and crowded (this during the off season, too). There was tons of construction, which led us through parts of town where we felt very uncomfortable. We worried about hitting people who just walk in the street and the other drivers seemed to pay no heed to traffic signs and rules. Vendors selling things were very aggressive. The restaurants didn't seem very clean. We drove through several times, hoping that once the "I'm in a different country" shock factor wore off, our opinions would change. They didn't. The truth was, the farther south we went, the better we liked Mexico.

The weather was very chilly. We had been watching forecasts and just happened to hit a cold spell.

Overall it was a pleasant, relaxing stay. I would consider returning in warmer weather (perhaps in September or October when it is closer to grape harvest). We would have enjoyed our stay more if we could have gone in the ocean but unfortunately we chose the wrong time of year for that.

Can't help wondering which restaurants I recommended that you didn't like. Sorry if my recomendations were bad ones for you.

Pstreet1, first of all, I apologize. I realize my comment could have been taken as offensive when I did not intend to insult or offend. Thank you for your many positive reviews of the area and it was because of your reviews that we chose to visit La Paloma. For the most part we enjoyed our stay; we just didn't like downtown Rosarito. It wasn't any particular restaurant that we found unclean, but in walking down the street and looking in at the establishments that we chose not to eat at any of them. Perhaps we were being paranoid Americans. I never read your personal emails that are mentioned in the threads about La Paloma so I can't say you recommended bad restaurants. You were right that this area is not scary and dangerous like many people think it is. We just preferred the other cities to Rosarito. If/when we return, I'll email you for your restaurant recommendations - I'll be happy to be proven wrong.

I'm soooo glad you didn't go to restaurants I recommend. There is absolutely no doubt that your experience in Rosarito would have been entirely different had you had my emails. I would bet anything on that. I don't recommend anything that's within walking distance of La Paloma (except Yaqui's Tacos which are an institution in Rosarito, and if you didn't get tacos there, you missed experiencing what the whole town gives 5 stars to). We don't live at La Paloma; we live at kilometer 38.5; La Paloma is about kilometer 27. A number of my favorite restaurants are south of us--though I don't recommend Puerto Neuvo because it is such a tourist spot, and locals just don't go there. I really hope you'll come back armed with lists that give you some choices you wouldn't know about from just driving or walking along and looking.

The current street construction is an annoyance to all of us, too--but the streets they divert you to are totally safe; in fact, Yaquis is on the street you are diverted to when you are going north. Hopefully, the construction will be completed by summer--but this is Mexico, so......sometimes, .....things take longer.

Just returned yesterday from La Paloma and had an excellent time.

This was our first time at La Paloma, but not our first time to Mexico.

We definitely felt comfortable, safe, and secure.

Our biggest down side on this trip was recrossing the border in Tijuana to the US on a Friday afternoon... It took us 3 hours and 15 minutes to travel 6/10 mile to cross the border. It would not have taken so long if customs on US side had all lanes staffed and open. Ridiculous!

Front desk staff was very helpful and friendly. Daniel was especially helpful.

According to front desk, new mattresses. Ours was very comfortable.

Although we only had one meal at the restaurant onsite, it was convenient and we enjoyed our meal. We generally ate the majority of our meals in local restaurants recommended by the front desk or others and was not once disappointed. Had a wonderful New Year's Eve four course meal at Susanna's in Rosarito.

It is true that La Paloma is not exclusively a Worldmark resort, but we did not encounter any down side to that fact.

We had a great view of the ocean, beach, Rosarito Hotel and Pier from our unit...

La Paloma is easy walking distance on the beach to Rosarito Hotel and Pier.

We enjoyed shopping and sightseeing in Rosarita, Puerto Nuevo, and Ensenada. Toured with BajaDayTripper/GoBajaEasy to Ensenada, including Blowhole. Tour guide Isaias was fantastic.

We mostly used local taxis to get around and felt comfortable, safe, and secure.

We found the locals friendly and surprisingly bilingual.

We came home with new leather bags packed with very reasonably priced quality souvenirs, particularly arts/crafts. Tourism is suffering in Mexico due to what is being portrayed in the media and as a result some good deals can be had if you haggle.

We will definitely be going back soon.

Hi! I'm planning to go with our family to La Paloma in July. It's our first time to this resort - we have 3 kids - 23, 22 and 17 - and we're hoping for a fun vacation with surfing, snorkelling, beach stuff. I've read the reviews, it seems like to gorgeous resort, so we're looking forward to it. Anyone have any suggestions on those type of activities in the area? I'll be emailing pstreet as she seems to be the local expert Thanks! Tricia

We stayed at La Paloma in 2012. Really a nice resort, very close to the main road. Even though a winter storm blew through while we were there, we had a great time. It is safe and easy to walk to Rosarito, especially via the beach. We enjoy bargaining for souvineers (really, it is ok to say no and walk on if you are uncomfortable haggling!)and found several tasty places to eat. Lots of fun at the Rosarito Beach Hotel: bit of history, many movie stars stayed there during Prohibition as Rosarito is a short drive from Los Angeles. Perhaps quicker border crossing then, though, ha ha.

Speaking of border crossings, it is always a good idea to plan for a long crossing and be pleasantly surprised if it is quick. We find driving similar to driving in most foreign countries: just a little different than in the US. The main highway past La Paloma will take you to Puerto Nuevo, aka the Lobster Village. If you enjoy seafood and margritas it is a great place to while away the afternoon. The local lobsters are really tasty.

Another very fun day can be spent in the wine country, just a little further down the road. Ask the Host and they will set you up with information. If you are going to Ensenada, inquire if the cruise ships are in. If it is a day they are not in port, it is quiet and we find the prices tend to be lower than when competing with 1000's of tourists.

The decor is nice, the pools average size (they never seemed too small for the amount of people using them) and we really liked wandering the paths in the resort with a short walk to the beach. We found adequate TV in english, too.

We also enjoy walking the beach and taking in the sunshine. Walmart and Calimex were both good for picking up essentials (like the beach toys we forgot). I hope you enjoy your visit as much as we do when we go!

Going to be there for the first time from Nov 2-9. I'm so looking forward to it! I have all the emails Pstreet1 sent and am looking forward to a nice relaxing trip with tips from a local. Will post my review when I return.

We just got back from 7 nights in Rosarito. We enjoyed it very much. PStreet1 sent me all her recommendations and information, which was extremely helpful. Everyone we met was nice and we had no problems getting around.

We shopped at the CaliMax, WalMart and the Commercial Mexicana. Each was great for different things. Beware of the traffic if you’re trying to get to the Commercial Mexicana from the south – there’s a 4-way stop just off the freeway and lots of traffic (been a long time since I’ve seen anyone drive in the sidewalk)

We ate at the following:
• Rosarito Hotel (lunch) – good food, nice surroundings and we loved the piano player. I had the “small” (5 oz) grilled fish with rice and beans. Cooked perfectly.
• Splash! (breakfast & dinner) – great food, wonderful staff and the views can’t be beat. I had the machacca for breakfast and the seafood salad for dinner. We also had the steamed clams as an appetizer and the tortillas were to die for.
• La Fonda (original Dimitri’s) – food was good (the Mexican coffee was terrific).
We were there at sunset and it can’t be beat.
• Bettucini’s (dinner) – pizza and beer, what more can you say?
• Pappas and Beer – very much a young/college place, but off season and mid-afternoon a nice place to have some food and listen to music on the beach

The resort is very quiet, even with kids in the pool on the weekends. This is probably due to the fact that it’s a residential complex and not just for tourists. We were much more comfortable here than at Coral Baja, but we do like both.

Our only problem was coming back to the US. We must have missed a sign and somehow ended up in the “fast pass” lanes. That netted us about an hour waiting for the second level inspection. Since it was our first time, we just got a lecture, but if you’re caught multiple times, they will tow your car. I’ll look more closely next time.

Just got back from a 5 night stay at La Paloma with two girlfriends of mine. Before going, we emailed PSTREET1 (Pat) and she sent us everything we would ever want to know and more about the area. She is AMAZING and we appreciated all the information she sent us. I literally printed out all her emails on restaurants, taxis, wifi, wineries, police, shopping, and more, and then tabulated everything for quick resource. It was our very own personal Mexican guide and we kept it with us throughout the trip.

So onto our stay. My friends and I are all 40 something, married women with kids in case you're wondering who is writing this review. Here's our thoughts: La Paloma resort was very clean, and the staff friendly and helpful. We stayed in a two bedroom unit with a beautiful view of the ocean from our back patio. We spent every morning and every night with a cerveza in our hands watching the sun rise and then the sun set. It was amazing!!! We also felt very safe as there is a security guard at the front gate, and roaming security guards throughout the resort campus. On one of our evenings, we played pool in the clubhouse area, and it was large, quiet, and clean. We had a great time!

The beach was clean and gorgeous, with ENORMOUS shells that we collected. We were warned by two random local people not to roam the beach after sunset or early in the morning (one woman told my friend she should be careful and showed her a huge stick with a giant nail in the bottom she used for protection). We were also warned to stay away from the bridge, which we did. Aside from the warnings, we never felt unsafe, and saw only joggers, dog walkers, and people just enjoying the beach. Because it was November, the beach was fairly empty and the weather was mainly in the 80s.

Upon arrival, we flew into San Diego airport, and took Go Baja Easy (the resort recommended them and arranged with them directly for our pickup) and it was perfect. The driver met us at the Southwest terminal where we landed with a little sign with our name on it. He spoke perfect English (not expected, but helpful), and was very knowledgeable about the area, the border, etc. It cost $120 to take us to La Paloma (approx 1 hour ish), and we split it three ways. We tipped him %20 and paid American dollars.

The next day we took the Guadalupe Valley Wine Tour (also with Go Baja Easy, same driver) and is was AMAZING. I can't recommend this highly enough!! We didn't cheap out, and paid the extra expense for the deluxe tour ($125 per person), and boy were we impressed. Plan to spend an entire day. Just relax, kick back, enjoy the tour of the wine country, and the great tour of that part of Mexico. The tour only promises 3 wineries, but Isaiah took us to 5. He also appeared to have a good rapport with the wineries and made sure to take us to the wineries with wines we would like (we discussed this during the drive). Lunch is not included, and we thought it might get uncomfortable as we weren't sure if we were supposed to buy his lunch or not. He quietly told our waiter in Spanish to give us all separate bills, and we enjoyed our lunch together. We then finished off the tour with our 5th winery then headed back to town. Isaiah also was very knowledgeable about the Federales, the military, and the local policia, and calmed our nerves when we first saw the military and their AK weapons on patrol.

We spent the 3rd day in Rosarita; shopping, walking downtown, and went to lunch at Tacos El Yaqui. Very delicious, but the flies were killing us, so we woofed down our food and went back to shopping. That night we ate dinner in Puerto Nuevo. We caught a random taxi ($15 one way) and asked him where he liked to eat. He recommended Ortega so we went there. Very delicious pina coladas, and the lobster was very good. We paid $24.99 for a full lobster dinner, including a medium lobster (huge!), rice, beans, tortillas, chips, salsa, and these amazing cheese biscuits. Good lordy, we couldn't believe how much food there was! We rolled out of the restaurant, and were literally bombarded with very aggressive salespeople in numerous street stands. Same thing in Rosarita, but they weren't aggressive there. We really didn't enjoy Puerto Nueva, but would definitely return for the food. Great!

Catching a taxi everywhere was fairly easy, but mostly we relied on our resort to get us a private taxi. The resort works with several taxi drivers directly and they were honest and kind. Going into town was generally $4 plus a $1 tip, and he even waited for us one night while we shopped for groceries. Very nice man. Plan for no seat belts, and some broken windshields, however. We did Roshambo to see who had to ride shotgun..lol

Another thing we would recommend on the resort is Mama Mia's restaurant, onsite. Ray runs the place, and was so helpful and sweet to us. The food was very good, nicely priced, and they even deliver to the rooms if you wish. We just hung out down there, enjoyed the night, and enjoyed our food on the nights we didn't feel like going out for dinner. Very convenient and good if you just want to chill out. We made sure to tip him very well and paid in American dollars (pretty much for everything).

Pat recommended renting a car, and we will consider it for next time. We were all very unsure of ourselves, the roads, the security checkpoints, getting over the border, etc., so we opted to pay the extra expense of taxi rides. We also didn't plan to go very far, so taxis worked for us, but if we were planning on really seeing the countryside, a car would definitely be more convenient. Go Baja Easy also has tours, etc. of Ensenada. We considered this, but changed our minds and stayed local one day.

Will we return? Absolutely. The local people were friendly and helpful, and we never felt unsafe. We did get jilted by one taxi driver who attempted to charge us double for the ride back from Puerto Nuevo, but my friend pointed to the security guard at our resort and asked him if he wanted to allow him to settle the matter, and the taxi driver said no and drove away. We ended up paying him an additional $5 for the trip. He was a random driver we caught after dinner. It is worth the money to just ask the driver to stay instead of trying to catch another one. Again, the resort will handle this for you if you just call down. Each time we called the desk for a taxi, they would tell us 8 minutes, and no kidding, it took exactly that. Awesome.

Hope this review was helpful. We truly enjoyed our stay and have a ton of great memories!! Thank you again to Pat at PSTREET1 for all the helpful information!!!!

And.....you didn't get to the really good restaurants! NEXT TIME. When you have the car.

We are going for a week, 7 days the end of March 2015. I am wanting to do some deep sea fishing? Anyone have info where to go and who to charter.

http://its4reels.com/
Good operation and right now the yellowtail fishing is fantastic. The main problems is you would have to drive to Ensedada for the charters. Not familiar with anyone in Rosarito.

We are only a couple weeks until we leave, 3-20-15. I will give my feedback once we are back. Thanks for the fishing tip, however we have a larger group. I found a couple places in Ensenada. We are driving our own vehicle. Little nervous but think it will be fine.

You will be fine--and you'll wonder why so many people talk about the dangers of driving.

My family and I just spent 7 days at the La Paloma resort. 3-21-15 to 3-28-15 our spring break. We decided to drive into Mexico with our own vehicle. I have to admit I was super nervous about this. Its posted well to get to the resort we still missed out turn lol The resort in not posted super well. By the end of day two I was totally comfortable driving (Mexican style) lol
Here is my take and tips to share used what you want or none 
The restaurant at resort, don’t waste your time unless it’s late and you must like we did. Average at best. And they don’t rent margaritas… WTH…..
Bring cash and try not to use credit cards. There is an ATM at the Rosarito Hotel works great. About $10 total fee and gives out USD.
If you like casinos there are a few. If you drive North from the resort to Wal Mart ( we shopped there) its right next door. Great security and super friendly dealers. All they have is roulette and machines.
Brother in law got the typical stomach crud for few days. Wal Mart sells some pills worked great.
If you go south to the Lobster village (and you should) a good deal is 4 halfs of lobster, rice beans, chips and salsa and a free margaritas for $16. Be warned they will flock to you like flies to rent you lobster. As you turn right (west) go all the way down to the end and go left (you can’t go rt) two doors on rt upstairs. Great views good food and drinks were legit and not watered down. Be warned on the way back is a military check point. No issues at all. I will say the police were friendly and professional.
We walked the beach a lot. Love it! Under the pier you can ride horses for $10 for 30 min. was simple and fun. The drinks down on the beach were watered down I would not go back. Chips and salsa probably the best in town. I enjoy the haggling and back and forth stuff. The beach is full of it. Oh… The fresh Churros on the beach are amazing! $2 bag!
When we left I talked with a security guard and offered our leftovers from our stay. He took EVERYTHING lol even left over pork chops. I guess the maids take most everything. So the night before you leave stop and offer it, they appreciate it. Security was very good at the resort. They have lots of rules…follow them! Lol
Free Wifi in main club house works well. Free Wifi in main pool and restaurant area also.
We crossed into Mexico no issues, we did get flagged over and talked to but not searched. Another family we went with got searched and still only took 20 min. They are looking for criminals; if you aren’t one don’t worry.
On the way out TJ was a mess. Got lost again, even saw the sign and somehow got on the wrong side of the concrete walls. Made a few circles and finally got it rt lol Be prepared to be hassled the whole time you wait to cross the border. We left the resort at 715am, done with the border at 830am, super-fast and easy. I was prepared to for couple hours. Anyways that’s my take. Overall loved it and will be back!
Oh, we drove to Ensenada and went bottom fishing. Was Awesome! Place called Sergios 619-399-7224. All day 7a-3p $70 pp…. great price and totally legit! We ate fish all week! Remember you are in a cash culture, you can haggle everything!
Oh they have towel service, if you want fresh towels call front desk and pile them outside the door….bam! Fresh towels. Any other questions email me. FYI we went with a large group 14. Included 5 kids- 4-17… they loved it!

Cliff

So glad you had a good experience--and found driving to be an o.k. experience.

Does anyone have information about a shuttle from the San Diego airport to La Paloma. Worldmark recommends Go Baja Easy, but it seems very expensive. Should we just rent a car at the airport and go across ourselves? We are leaving in 10 days, so hopefully someone is reading this now!

so did you find out shuttle information? how was the trip? i have wanted to go but am leary of discovering that part of Mexico

Can't stress enough that you need to check out the site www.howsafeisMexico.com

You'll see some pretty eye-opening statistics. We've owned our home there for 18 years now and have lots and lots of friends in the area. Not one of us has EVER experienced anything even remotely scary/threatening/intimidating. I know no one who has ever paid a bribe to a cop--or even been in a situation where one might think that would be a possible course of action. The roads are good. As a female, I am not afraid on the streets alone. We drive where we want to go when we want to go. The people are friendly and helpful, and many, many speak English. If they don't and you need help, they'll rush off and get someone who does speak English and can help. The American media has done a terrible disservice to Mexico in terms of making it seem unsafe. Check out www.howsafeisMexico.com for sure!

If you have questions, send me a private message and I'll email you "stuff" on the area or answer questions. I'll answer questions here also, but my emails will answer most of your questions--and probably answer questions you didn't know you had.

When you send me a private message asking for my emails, be sure to give me your email address so I can send them.

People frequently ask "Do I Need a Passport To Go to Rosarito?" I'm posting the reply I wrote for Trip Advisor. The law requires one; many people travel without one. You'll have to make your own decision.

I don't know that I can answer your question to your satisfaction, but I'll try.

LEGALLY:

1. U.S. law requires you to have a passport to re-enter the U.S. That has been the law since 2009.

All U.S. citizens traveling outside of the United States by land or sea (except closed-loop cruises) are required to present a Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) compliant document, such as a passport or a passport card, to return to the United States. https:/…mexico.html

2. Minor children have special requirements. This link to an article in U.S.A. today is very thorough:

…usatoday.com/laws-children-passports-travel…

As others have said, the passport controls at the southern border are often not strict. It is not unusual for a car to be waved through with only a cursory look at documents such as drivers' licenses. Many travelers still travel with a birth certificate (an original, not a photocopy) and experience no problem. However, sometimes travelers without passports have a great deal of trouble and are detained for hours. Is it likely you will be detained? Honestly, probably not. But is within the immigration officer's prerogative? Yer it is. If you are detained because you don't have the proper documentation, do you have a right to be upset/angry and to complain? No, you do not; you have violated the law.

Will they, eventually, let you back into the U.S.? Yes.

ENTERING MEXICO

LEGALLY

1. You must present a valid U.S. passport or passport card in order to enter Mexico. Although documents may not be routinely checked along the land border, Mexican authorities at immigration checkpoints approximately 25 kilometers from the U.S. border will often conduct vehicle and document inspections and require valid travel documents and an entry permit or Forma Migratoria Multiple (FMM). If you enter by land and travel further than 25 kilometers into Mexico, you should stop at an immigration checkpoint to obtain an FMM, even if not explicitly directed to do so by Mexican officials. https:/…mexico.html

2. Tourist Travel: U.S. citizens do not require a visa or a tourist card for tourist stays of 72 hours or less within the 20-30 kilometer “border zone." U.S. citizens traveling as tourists beyond the “border zone,” or entering Mexico by air, must pay a fee to obtain a tourist card, known as an FMM, available from Mexican consulates, Mexican border crossing points, Mexican tourism offices, airports within the border zone, and most airlines serving Mexico. The fee for the tourist card is generally included in the price of a plane ticket for travelers arriving by air.

In actuality, if you are driving into Mexico, it is unlikely you will be asked for a passport or a visa even if you are staying more than 72 hours. At the border, the presumption will be that you are staying 72 hours or less. If you are staying longer, do you need a visa? The answer is that it is legally required, but it is unlikely you will ever have a chance to show it to anyone.

3. Personal Effects: Tourists are allowed to bring in personal effects duty-free. Per Mexican customs regulations, in addition to clothing, personal effects may include one camera, one personal computer, one CD player, 5 DVDs, 20 music CDs, and one cellular phone. Tourists carrying such items, even if duty-free, should enter the "Merchandise to Declare" lane at the customs checkpoint. Travelers should be prepared to pay any assessed duty on items in excess of these allowances. Failure to declare personal effects may result in the seizure of the items, plus the seizure of any vehicle in which the goods were transported, for attempted smuggling. https:/…mexico.html

In actuality, I have never known anyone who declared these items in the "Items to be declared" office--but that is the law.

You are limited to one liter of alcohol per adult when you enter Mexico. Any other alcohol will require paying duty if you are in one of the cars that is stopped for inspection. The duty is no higher if you simply drive through hoping you won't be stopped than it is if you drive over to the "Items to be Declared" lane. They do care about alcohol (and of course, firearms) if they inspect the car, so be sure you have the receipt for what you actually paid for the alcohol with you to produce for assertaining the amount due. There is no fine for not having declared the alcohol; you just pay the duty.

In summary, the people on this forum who have said they don't have passports and don't have a problem are recounting their experiences. The law is the law.

You will have to decide what you are going to do regarding entering Mexico and returning to the U.S.

I stayed for a week with friends at La Paloma January 2016. I had some people who did not want to come with us because of what they had heard about Mexican crime. Glad I left them behind. I never felt unsafe, the crime stats I read (CIA website) showed lower crime than many US big cities, and I have to say that is way I felt having lived in Chicago, San Francisco, and Seattle.

We had breakfast every morning at the small restaurant on the property because while it looks unassuming, the food is delicious and the service is unbeatable. We had bad weather, but the hot tubs were available and the masseuse was well worth paying For! I think the unit looked more updated than shown in some of the pictures posted on the Worldmark website, and it was very clean and comfortable. We had dinner at Caesar's twice in Tijuana. That was so wonderful and such history! I am going back again in a few months.

Glad it was a good experience. If you'd like my restaurant recomendations/things to do/etc., send me a private email with your email address and I'll get them out to you. Rosarito has a lot to offer, and it sounds like you still have a lot fo discover.

In my emails about Rosarito, I've mentioned to some of you that there is entertainment you might like and told you about Alex and Miguel. Well, Alex and Miguel are currently in Rio playing at the games--and when they get back, you can wander in and enjoy for no cost if it's a regular night, or if it's a concert, for about $10.00 a person cover charge.

This video is from Rio. Alex and Miguel come on stage at 25.19 (just move the timer). After that, there's about 1 minute of messing with the sound system, and then, they do themselves proud!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6j5pIeyLZw

We stayed at La Paloma in November. It was a wonderful experience. We flew into San Diego and rented a car for the week. Everything went as planned and the resort staff were great.

A special shout out to Pat (Pstreet)! I asked and received her tips for the Rosarito area. What a fabulous source of really great hints and knowledge that really helped us with our planning and stay.

We are already looking forward to a return trip.

Tony

I'm really glad my emails were helpful. Just a reminder note to people--I'll generally see your request sooner if you send me an email rather than just leave it on the forum or in a private message.

We're leaving for Israel for 10 days tomorrow, so I won't see any requests until we get back.
Pat

We're back. AND I want to issue a warning: do not, under any circumstances use UBER in Tijuana or Rosarito. The taxi union is violently opposed to Uber, and lately has been acting against Uber; you don't want to be anyplace near an Uber driver who might be a target.

This is a video promoting Baja--specifically the area from San Diego to Ensenada. I agree with everything they say in this video, and I know several of the people shown in the video. They aren't promoting anything specific, so it isn't advertising, but it is definitely promoting Baja itself. If you are thinking about a trip, you might enjoy it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBrEZVHmh78