Hotel California: Todos Santos, Baja California - Immortalized in Lyrics on Waymarking.com

The Hotel California is located in the sleepy Mexican town of Todos Santos. The town is known around the world as a draw for laid back, artistic people. A lot of expats, artists, and surfers live or visit this area (as well as a lot of the Baja Sur).

The hotel was built by Antonio Wong Tabasco. Construction began in 1947, and the hotel was opened On February 5, 1950. The hotel has had at least two different names, at one time it was called, "Hotel Mission Todos Santos".

Despite there being no proof that this is the actual "Hotel California" that inspired the song, it is widely held by popular opinion to be the inspiration. There are a few things that fit the song lyrics:

1. The hotel is located on the Baja California Sur, and the name is the "Hotel California".

2. There is a mission located on the adjacent lot to the hotel. The town itself was started as a mission in 1723, centered around, and named after the Nuestra Senora del Pilar de La Paz Mission. The mission building has a prominent bell tower ("I heard the mission bell").

3. To get to the hotel, one would need to drive on a "desert highway".

4. Legend says that the girl in the song was the owner's daughter, Maria Belen Tabasco Castillo.

Of course, many of the clues in the song could be attributed to other places in California itself, as there is no proof that the Eagles ever visited the Hotel California in Todos Santos. A couple different people associated with the band have denied that any of the members of the band ever stayed at the Hotel California in Todos Santos,and that the rumour was started to bring more tourists to the town. They maintain that the song was allegorical, about the decadence and addictions of Hollywood, and California.

Despite the controversy, or perhaps partly because of it, Todos Santos is a popular day trip for tourists staying in Cabo San Lucas (also because of its reputation as a famous artistic town, similar to Santa Fe, or Sedona). Over the years, many reporters and journalists have made the trip to Todos Santos, to write articles for newspapers and magazines about the Hotel California, some of them in prominent publications. It has been argued that questions are asked and stories are slanted in whichever pre-conceived direction the writer was already leaning, however.

Several great articles:

Hotel California

"Hotel Where"

Hotel California - Any time of year, you can find it here

Musician: Eagles Name of Song: Hotel California Relevant Verse: On a dark desert highway, cool wind in my hair Warm smell of colitas, rising up through the air Up ahead in the distance, I saw a shimmering light My head grew heavy and my sight grew dim I had to stop for the night There she stood in the doorway; I heard the mission bell And I was thinking to myself, ’this could be heaven or this could be hell’ Then she lit up a candle and she showed me the way There were voices down the corridor, I thought I heard them say... Welcome to the hotel california Such a lovely place Such a lovely face Plenty of room at the hotel california Any time of year, you can find it here Her mind is tiffany-twisted, she got the mercedes bends She got a lot of pretty, pretty boys, that she calls friends How they dance in the courtyard, sweet summer sweat. Some dance to remember, some dance to forget So I called up the captain, ’please bring me my wine’ He said, ’we haven’t had that spirit here since nineteen sixty nine’ And still those voices are calling from far away, Wake you up in the middle of the night Just to hear them say... Welcome to the hotel california Such a lovely place Such a lovely face They livin’ it up at the hotel california What a nice surprise, bring your alibis Mirrors on the ceiling, The pink champagne on ice And she said ’we are all just prisoners here, of our own device’ And in the master’s chambers, They gathered for the feast The stab it with their steely knives, But they just can’t kill the beast Last thing I remember, I was Running for the door I had to find the passage back To the place I was before ’relax,’ said the night man, We are programmed to receive. You can checkout any time you like, But you can never leave! Location website: [Web Link]

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Date Logged Log User Rating   01/30/2023 icmsv visited it