Where to Stay in Guadalajara

Where to Stay in Guadalajara.

I’ve been to Guadalajara a few times now. On my last visit I had an exceptional stay in an incredible apartment in Colonia Americana. On my previous visits I’ve stayed in the Centro Histórico. I´ll get to some specific hotel/apartment recommendations in a minute.

 

So what neighborhood to stay in Guadalajara?

 

For a short Stay: the Historic Center

If you’re coming for a quick stay and want to see the highlights of Guadalajara, stay in the historic center. It’s very pedestrian friendly and there’s lots to see including the Guadalajara Cathedral (very impressive), Palacio del Gobierno, Rotonda de los Jalisciences Ilustres, the huge Plaza de la Liberación, Teatro Degollado and the UNESCO listed Hospicio Cabañas.

I’ll say this though: on my last visit (November 2024), the historic center felt a little dodgier than on my previous (pre-Covid) visits. I’ve read that it’s perfectly safe during the day but that you should be more careful at night.

Still, if you’re visiting Guadalajara for a night or two, the historic center is recommended because you’re close to all the sites.

 

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Hotels in the Historic Center

Hotel Casino Plaza. The name is misleading – they don’t have a casino. But the rooms are very comfortable, it has its own restaurant and a gym. The location is great, just steps from all the highlights. And the prices are good.

 

 

Hotel Real Maestranza. Another very nice hotel right in the center, a little bit fancier (and slightly more expensive) than the Casino Plaza. Again, very nice rooms, a restaurant, a gym and a great location.

 

 

You can’t go wrong with either hotel above.

 

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For a longer stay: Colonia Americana

Colonia Americana is about 20 minutes outside the center. It’s a trendy neighbourhood with lots of restaurants, bars and cafes. Timeout Magazine named it the coolest neighbourhood in the world to visit in 2022 (I think that’s overdoing it – I still prefer Mexico City’s Roma Norte).

But still, it’s a nice neighbourhood with lots of restaurant choices, historic mansions, street art etc. Close to the apartment where we stayed I counted 3 really nice cafes including one at the ground floor of the building itself. Everywhere we went we had great food.

 

Apartment in Colonia Americana

Departamento privado en Colonia Americana. Fantastic apartment, one of the best I’ve ever stayed in. 2 bedrooms, a fantastic kitchen, washing machine, spacy, modern, clean. In a nice building surrounded by cafes serving good food, 2 blocks from Avenida Chapultepec which is the heart of the colonia.

 

 

The apartment was a good base to visit the center as well as to take a few tours to Lake Chapala/Ajijic as well as to Tequila. A popular pickup spot for tours in Guadalajara is the gigantic Fiesta Americana Hotel which is about 10 minutes away.

I cover these tours from Guadalajara here.

 

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I could give you a whole list of hotels but I’ll stick to these because they’re all places I’ve stayed in in Guadalajara. They’re all excellent accommodation options.

For those looking for much more detailed information on Guadalajara, I recommend this blog which is written by an American expat who’s lived there since 2009. A wealth of information for anyone looking to spend more time in the city.

 

 

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