To fully take advantage of all of Valle de Guadalupe’s great eating and drinking options, it’s best to stay at one of the many hotels along the wine route. This will put you at a good distance from Ensenada but much closer to the area’s fine dining and wineries. For most of the hotels mentioned here, I recommend renting a car: it’s the easiest and most convenient way to move around the valley. Some hotels have their own transportation, but it won’t be on your schedule.
While accommodation styles range from luxury desert suites, to chic rustic hotels and even glamping in the middle of the grapevines, most lodging in this area is expensive. Budget at least a few hundred dollars a night and think about visiting during shoulder seasons — the high season here is during the summer and fall months — so that you can find some off-season pricing. Below is a list of some of my favorite places to stay in Valle de Guadalupe, all with great service, food and vistas.Â
Mira
A new addition to Valle de Guadalupe’s many great hotels, Mira was built with both sustainability and comfort as top priorities. The already expansive packed-earth suites feel even bigger when you slide open the glass doors and add the outdoor patio to the space. The surrounding views of the valley are lovely. A small jacuzzi sits ready to be taken advantage of, and a gas fire pit will warm you afterwards.
I’ve never seen a more perfectly stocked kitchen and mini bar: local wine, canned cocktails, frozen pizza, Mexican coffee with a hand grinder and pour-over filter cup, popsicles and a dozen other more little extras that remind you that you’re in one of Mexico’s best places for food and drink. Mira has a swimming pool and other facilities, including an on-site restaurant set to open this year.
Rancho Sordo Mudo, Carretera Ensenada-Tecate, Km 75
The San Diegan
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A pandemic baby, The San Diegan is laid-back Baja cool: a vintage 31-foot Airstream camper van that has been outfitted to wrap you up in coziness with the creature comforts of home. Put a jazz record on the turntable, light a stick of incense, slip into the jacuzzi or sip wine on the outdoor patio. There’s a complete outdoor kitchen with grill, an outstretched hammock, electric dirt bikes for rent and an outdoor shower and bathroom, plus a small indoor bathroom for when you’re in for the night. The San Diegan also happens to be steps away from one of Baja’s best restaurants, Finca Altozano, and their new casual spot, Lupe Erizo.
Carretera Ensenada-Tecate, Km 83
Villa del Valle
Villa’s eight homey rooms, wraparound porches and high-ceilinged living room and library were all designed using passive solar design principles and as little added energy as possible. In fact, owners Eilleen and Phil Gregory were two of the first Valle de Guadalupe hoteliers to adopt sustainable construction methods. The earth-toned walls are colored with pigments instead of paints and all the bathroom products are organic, made in-house.
You might think that sustainability can’t also be comfortable and beautiful, but Villa de Valle proves you wrong. The hotel’s gorgeous Mexican villa aesthetic is complimented by the warm hospitality of the staff and owners. Besides growing lavender and olives for the products they sell, Villa’s massive organic garden also supplies the in-house chef with what he needs for the hotel’s 5-course tasting menu, which you can reserve in advance. I recommend doing just that: the menu was one of the top three meals I had in Valle de Guadalupe on my most recent visit.
Rancho San Marcos Toros Pintos S/N, Km 88
Encuentro Guadalupe
Ethereal 1-room cabin rooms hover on stilts over the undulating landscape of northeastern Valle de Guadalupe. As one of the valley’s first boutique hotels, Encuentro set the standard, building small rooms that tread lightly on the surrounding nature and whose minimalist design encourages guests to get out and enjoy their surroundings. The pool and bar area with views of the valley below is stunning any time of the day and a glass of wine snuggled up to one of the outdoor chimneys on the patio is beyond enchanting.
Carretera Tecate Ensenada, Km 75
Bruma Wine Resort
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Bruma offers three different types of accommodation on their 180-hectare property. My favorite is Casa Ocho, a collection of large suites that cluster around outdoor patios, al fresco dining rooms and a luxurious swimming pool that looks out over the vineyard. If you get antsy you can always play a game of tennis on the courts or pump some iron in the gym, but you’re more likely to end up on one of the leather couches at the Bruma garden tasting room, taking a tour of the winery or hanging out around the massive family-style tables at Fauna. The Bruma market, which is a new cluster of hotel rooms integrated into their central space where the resort’s wine garden, bakery, tasting room and shop are located also great for a little more buzz and activity.
Carretera a Vinicola La Cetto, Fraccionamiento A-B, P74, Francisco Zarco
Finca La Divina
Perfect for groups of families that want to stay together, Finca La Divina is a 3-bedroom house plus a small casita close to everything in Valle and not far from Ensenada either. The house has a delightful in-ground pool perfect for warmer weather, an outdoor grill and bar area and lots of large dining spaces for big groups. The bar inside the main room offers beer and wine for sale — self serve, of course — and the price of your stay includes a homemade breakfast at the house. There is ample parking if folks are coming in various groups, and the house is set back off the highway in a small little neighborhood that’s secluded and quiet.
Carretera Ensenada-Tecate, Km 93.5, San Antonio de Las Minas
Cuatro Cuatros
One of my favorite past experiences in Valley de Guadalupe, Cuatro Cuatros has deluxe glamping tents set up on platforms in the midst of their vineyards. The tan canvas tents have a luxury safari vibe to them with comfortable beds, upholstered chairs and individual bathrooms with indoor-outdoor showers. The winery is lovely in general, with a lookout a few kilometers into the vineyards that looks over the gorgeous Pacific and is often rented for events and weddings. This property has added apartments and other residences since I was last there, so the space may be slightly more busy than it was before, but the peace and quiet of the evenings I spent here couldn’t be beat. If you want to be closer to Ensenada, Cuatro Cuatros is your best choice.Â
El Tigre, Carretera Libre Tijuana-Ensenada, Km 89, El Sauzal de Rodriguez
Lydia Carey is a freelance writer and translator based out of Mexico City. She has been published widely both online and in print, writing about Mexico for over a decade. She lives a double life as a local tour guide and is the author of Mexico City Streets: La Roma. Follow her urban adventures on Instagram and see more of her work at mexicocitystreets.com.
