Whoever believes the NONSENSE about this being a "safe hotel", ..OBVIOUSLY did not put anything worth more than $50
in the hotel safe. TRUTH is; the hotel desk clerks have an arrangment with the local "cops" on the corner, and NOTHING is to be put past this group of crooks!
I had stayed there in the past, and had no trouble, though I did hide my cash in my locked suitcase. This recent LAST time, I ignorantly decided to trust the desk clerks with a sealed envelope of $700 in it, to be kept in the hotel safe. Came back after dinner that night, only to find a cop patiently waiting for me in the lobby, with the desk clerk who handed me my belongings, and said simply, " he wanted me to leave, no reason given.
One minute later, because I started to protest, {it became clear, this was all part of the plan}, the cop threw some handcuffs on me, drove me to a vacant corner,.. and you can imagine what happened there,.. , and then emptied my pockets taking only the envelope with the cash in it that he was tipped offf over, and was after.
$700 is not worth a life, but believe me- they would have done anything, to get that money. This was reported to the state dept in D.C., where it was quietly dropped, the Mexican embassy (ignored) and the San Diego police, who refused to take a report.
So go ahead and stay at the hotel nelson!

The Hotel Nelson is located in the heart of downtown TJ, on the tourist drag, Avenue Revolucion. On the first floor, off the lobby, there is a barbershop and a cafe. The rooms run around 45 or 50 bucks. While the rooms are a bit frayed and worn, in my few times at this hotel, I have found them to be clean. Getting a good, long night's rest is probably not going to happen at the Nelson: the street noise, the bars and the music and the craziness of TJ goes on into the wee hours, but that's one of the reasons I choose to stay in TJ---the people-watching, the street-life, the excitement of that. At the Hotel Nelson, you are a few steps from the red zone area of street prostitutes and brothel bars along Coahuila and Constitution, etc., and if you frequent those streets, please do so with some caution and common sense. Don't be stupid by breaking the law, being drunk in public, etc., and you will most likely be OK: I know there are regular troubles with cops and scams, but I've not run into problems personally, and "watching your back", not letting your guard down, is a good idea. The Hotel Nelson has been a good place for me to stay: to enjoy TJ and not have to scurry back to the border. Staying the night can be fun and the Nelson's location is right in the heart of it all.