We were irritated to arrive here and find that what looks like a great deal really is the same price as most nice hotels in Patzcuaro. THis place has a magnificent view and is a pretty house but is set away from the town. There is really only one room with a view which has a semi private patio. The restaraunt attached to it is a nice way to take it in.

hotel Ixhi in Patzcuaro very good relation cost-profit...and excelent location.. for the same price (USD 29 each day) i cant found another better...

This hotel is gay friendly and includes breakfast, they put flowers on my bed for a romantic stay and gave me a bottle of wine to celebrate my honeymoon. also they are pet friendly, beautiful view

This ecological hotel is cheap and clean , you won´t be disappointed. a great green hotel in Patzcuaro

Jesus Lara LA California

I really wish I could give the Eco-Hotel a better review. It's gorgeous - in setting, decor, and architecture. Unfortunately, the management was completely AWOL and the level of service doesn't come close to what was promsied.

We chose the hotel because of the good reviews here, the pictures on the website, and the initial helpfulness of the innkeeper when we communicated by email. Although I speak some Spanish, my girlfriend and I deliberately chose a place that advertised itself as bilingual because we wanted to make sure that we would have no problems working out logistics. In advance of our arrival, this proved true - the innkeeper was quite helpful in working out a (wonderful) driver to pick us up in Morelia and give us a quick tour before bringing us to the hotel.

As soon as we got to the hotel, our experience went downhill. When we got there, the only person to greet us was a 16 year old kid who spoke no English. He silently showed us our room and went away without any explanation or introduction. After sitting around bewildered for awhile, we decided to go into town to get a bite. I was able to get directions from the kid in Spanish without a problem.

When we got back, the kid was gone, replaced by an older man and a woman (not the innkeeper) to greet us. Between her limited English and my limited Spanish we worked out the time for breakfast. We assumed that the innkeeper would be coming later, but no one volunteered any information.

The next morning, there was still no sign of the innkeeper, nor any explanation about her absence. The "full breakfast" advertised on the website turned out to be instant coffee, juice, and a basket of bread. While wandering around the hotel, we also found a great brochure with a map and more info on the hotel and the city - why didn't anyone give this to us before, or at least leave it in our room?!? (the brochure also included another reference to the nonexistant "full american breakfast").

After exploring town for a bit, we returned to the hotel, where once again the 16-year-old was the only person there. Because we were set to leave the next day, we asked him if he could call a bus company for us to get schedule information. He then told us that he couldn't - he didn't have access to the office, and there was no cell phone reception!! So here we were - a good 15-minute walk from town without any telephone. considering that the management is concerned enough about security to hire guards around the clock, the absence of phone contact didn't exactly sit well with me. We then asked about the manager - he told us she wouldn't be in until after we were gone the next day. He gave us her number, but of course we had no way of reaching her from where we were.

We gave up on getting any kind of help from the hotel and tried our best to enjoy the rest of our visit. We even walked next door to the massage therpist for a rub - which we needed after the stress of dealing with this place.

And as far as I can tell, the "Eco" label is a bit misleading. The fact that we were given bottled water (as opposed to having a purification system in place) meant that we were throwing out plastic bottles right and left (no sign of recycling here). And in an age in which shade-grown coffee is accepted as being a 'greener' choice, why are they giving us Nescafe? (in addition to Nestle's overintensive coffee growing practices, the production of instant coffee isn't exactly 'green'). Of course, there may be green features we didn't notice - but in an 'Eco-Hotel', don't you think that would be part of the "welcome spiel"? then again, we didn't get a welcome spiel.

If you know Patzcuaro well and don't mind inattentive service and the occasional deceptive sales pitch, stay here - it's beautiful. For anyone else, stick to one of the more experienced tourist places in town. they won't be as beautiful, but they'll be a lot more helpful.

The Eco-Hotel was designed by its owner, a Mexican architect. Above all what makes the Eco-Hotel special is the location, above the city of Patzcuaro on the street that leads to a city park (picnic area and overlook). The view from the Eco-Hotel is in itself stunning, looking out over 2/3 of the lake and the villages located on its north edge. Recently opened after a few years of construction, the Eco-Hotel has a mexican and american management team that are putting in place a special vision for the hotel, a mix of environmental stewardship and incredibly warm hospitality. You won't find a better view in Patzcuaro and the rest of the experience measures up as well. We had a completely wonderful time during our stay at the Eco-Hotel for 5 nights in early April and suggest that anyone going to Patzcuaro should investigate the Eco-Hotel.

The five best attributes of the Eco-Hotel are:

1) The location - views, views, views. Also, being at the edge of the Calvario neighborhood above the city (but located very close to the city) give you a mix of separation which gives you a quiet place to stay but one that allows you to be in central Patzcuaro or the lake within a few minutes. An added bonus is having an American trained Licensed Massage Therapist who has his home office next door.
2) The food - breakfast is included in the room charge. The chef, Rita, lays on a tremendous spread each morning with a mix of cereal/granola, bread, eggs, coffee, etc. With special arrangement she will serve a dinner on the balcony overlooking the lake. Its hard to decide which to praise more, the view or Rita's cooking, suffice it to say that both are superlative. If you don't stay at the Eco-Hotel, you should go up for breakfast or arrange an evening meal. The food is some of the best in Patzcuaro.
3) The hospitality - the staff is very warm and make the stay a complete pleasure. From incredible breakfasts whipped up by Rita and crew to guided tours, even by the high standards of friendliness set in Patzcuaro generally, the EcoHotel staff is amazing.
4) The rooms/beds - The beds are very comfortable (not always the case in even high quality hotels in Mexico) and the room was exactly what we were looking for (including a spectacular view of the lake from our kitchen)
5) The Eco-Hotel is doing its best to minimize the environmental footprint the hotel has. From energy efficiency projects to growing organic fruit and vegetables on site, the staff of the Eco-Hotel are transforming the operation. This is exactly the type of project which needs support the most, one that was not originally designed with ecological values first and foremost. By diligently making the transition to a more ecological operation, the Eco-Hotel is demonstrating that operating in the greenest manner feasible can lead to an excellent guest experience and is viable for other hotels to follow their lead.