Joker Hotel
Mexico Hwy. 1, Ensenada, Ensenada Municipality 22800 Mexico
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#33 of 50 hotels in Ensenada
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HOTEL STYLE
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Wifi
Pool
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Non-smoking hotel
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Non-smoking rooms
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Mexico Hwy. 1, Ensenada, Ensenada Municipality 22800 Mexico
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San Diego Intl Airport
110.7 km•
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I have actually stayed here multiple times now. I find it to be one of the best deals for a hotel I know of.
I'll start with the very few downsides:
It's not pretty. It's really not. It kind of looks like it was nice in its prime. Now it looks like a cheesy hotel with a gimmick that was once probably a great concept. Basically it kind of resembles a castle type setting.
It's distanced from the night life. I'm talking a good 8-10 minutes from the tourist area with clubs. In the daytime that same area is the tourist zone, so you are also 8-10 minutes from that.
Also, the area it's in isn't pretty, you are now in the actual city of Ensenada and not in the nice tourist area. Like most tourist places, you go a few blocks away from the tourist zone and there is a fairly drastic change of atmosphere. It's not bad by any means though, just doesn't have that downtown/tourist feeling.
Now for the good:
It is safe. I've read here about guards with guns. I've stayed a total of 5 times now in dating back to February 2010 through just recently in September 2010 and have not seen this on any of my stays. I drive a BMW, I carry my laptop and usually a PS3 with me. Nothing has ever been stolen. My car has never so much as had a dirty look set upon it while I have stayed there. I have not run into anyone weird or shady while there.
The staff is helpful. 3 of my return stays now I have rented their House. It is a 2 bedroom/2 Bathroom furnished home they have just behind the normal rooms. All 3 times there were reunions with friends and drinks. And the staff has been extremely courteous. Twice I've been looking for cards which the staff was kind enough to find for us. When I needed to order pizzas they gave me the number and asked if I wanted to call from there in the office, which I went ahead and did, and they talked to the driver to make sure he got there. In short, extremely helpful.
Rooms are clean. Simple enough. They're clean.
Have I mentioned the price yet? it's pretty cheap. When I've stayed alone or with 1 other person it's been 35 dollars. 35! I can't think of any other time i've spent that on a room. The house they rent has room to comfortably sleep 10 people (2 large beds, 2 normal sofas, 1 foldout couch/bed) and it's only 100.
In short. If you don't mind being 5-10 minutes away from the downtown/tourist area, this place is incredible. You can't beat the price and I can personally tell you it's safe and secure.
I'll start with the very few downsides:
It's not pretty. It's really not. It kind of looks like it was nice in its prime. Now it looks like a cheesy hotel with a gimmick that was once probably a great concept. Basically it kind of resembles a castle type setting.
It's distanced from the night life. I'm talking a good 8-10 minutes from the tourist area with clubs. In the daytime that same area is the tourist zone, so you are also 8-10 minutes from that.
Also, the area it's in isn't pretty, you are now in the actual city of Ensenada and not in the nice tourist area. Like most tourist places, you go a few blocks away from the tourist zone and there is a fairly drastic change of atmosphere. It's not bad by any means though, just doesn't have that downtown/tourist feeling.
Now for the good:
It is safe. I've read here about guards with guns. I've stayed a total of 5 times now in dating back to February 2010 through just recently in September 2010 and have not seen this on any of my stays. I drive a BMW, I carry my laptop and usually a PS3 with me. Nothing has ever been stolen. My car has never so much as had a dirty look set upon it while I have stayed there. I have not run into anyone weird or shady while there.
The staff is helpful. 3 of my return stays now I have rented their House. It is a 2 bedroom/2 Bathroom furnished home they have just behind the normal rooms. All 3 times there were reunions with friends and drinks. And the staff has been extremely courteous. Twice I've been looking for cards which the staff was kind enough to find for us. When I needed to order pizzas they gave me the number and asked if I wanted to call from there in the office, which I went ahead and did, and they talked to the driver to make sure he got there. In short, extremely helpful.
Rooms are clean. Simple enough. They're clean.
Have I mentioned the price yet? it's pretty cheap. When I've stayed alone or with 1 other person it's been 35 dollars. 35! I can't think of any other time i've spent that on a room. The house they rent has room to comfortably sleep 10 people (2 large beds, 2 normal sofas, 1 foldout couch/bed) and it's only 100.
In short. If you don't mind being 5-10 minutes away from the downtown/tourist area, this place is incredible. You can't beat the price and I can personally tell you it's safe and secure.
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Date of stay: July 2010Trip type: Travelled with friends
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Great place to sleep for the next adventure day in Ensenada with family. Place is clean, spacious room & the pool is clean. There is a lil bar same property makes it good to go relax and the restaurant food is good to. Its a lil out of town but really secure to stay park the car front of your room the hotel is kind of funny looking paints and etc but its fun something new. The service is great and price is great too.
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Date of stay: May 2013Trip type: Travelled with family
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
I stayed for four nights at the Hotel Joker and had a very pleasant experience. The hotel is nothing fancy at all, but it is clean, has telephones in the rooms, good heating/air unit, television, a pool, and a restaurant on the premises that offers decent meals. The staff in both the hotel and restaurant are VERY nice and accomodating, but I do have to agree with the other reviewer that it is helpful if you speak Spanish. One of the desk clerks does speak some English, but most of the others in the hotel and restaurant do not.
The hotel is about 3 miles from downtown Ensenada, so it is not very convenient in that sense. Most of the guests seem to be people traveling en route to destinations further south since the hotel is right on the 'highway' (although it's more of a main strip than a highway at that point.) For more information, you can visit their website, which is hoteljoker.com
By the way, I paid 300 pesos a night in late February, which was a little under $30, but I suspect I was given a discount because they were very amused by me and my Spanish!:)
The hotel is about 3 miles from downtown Ensenada, so it is not very convenient in that sense. Most of the guests seem to be people traveling en route to destinations further south since the hotel is right on the 'highway' (although it's more of a main strip than a highway at that point.) For more information, you can visit their website, which is hoteljoker.com
By the way, I paid 300 pesos a night in late February, which was a little under $30, but I suspect I was given a discount because they were very amused by me and my Spanish!:)
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Date of stay: February 2008Trip type: Travelled solo
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Check-in / front desk
Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
I just got back from a night's stay at the Joker. I chose the Joker because of the price was half what the other hotels in the area were asking. I paid $40 for the night. This is the Easter 'high season' in Mexico with many of the hotels full or close to it. The Joker Hotel is about a mile from Estero Beach and the beautiful Estero Beach Resort which I originally hoped to stay at. The price at the Estero Resort was prohibitive so I took a chance on the Joker. The Joker had a good web presence and I vaguely remember seeing it on a pass through back in January. It didn't look to bad at the time.As far as amenities and comfort, I would rate the Joker a one or two. It's certainly a no-frills operation. The rooms are not spacious but adequate in size. Singles come with a king size bed. There is a TV and writing table. My first impressions were not good. The door leading into the room looked tired and sagged on it's hinges. The door knob and key had a very loose and worn feel. The room was bland though clean. The bathroom had the essentials and was stocked with towels and soup dispenser in the shower.Like Iraq, Baja was invaded by tens of thousands of Americanos and their machinery. Off-Road vehicles, ATV's and SUV's occupied every available patch of beach from Playas to Ensenada. All those gringos and not a one to be found at the Joker. The hotel was completely filled up with Mexicans from all points north and south. For me this was fine. But if you were looking for some peace and quiet, then you picked the wrong hotel. Spanish music cranked from either rooms or car stereos. I'm still not sure where it was coming from but it was coming from everywhere and loud. Tables and chairs were set up on the walkway on the second floor. Sort of a bleacher section to watch the tiny pool area which was packed full with kids and adults. The grounds are sprawling with a barbecue area, lawn and playground. All put to good use for this weekend. It was fun to watch a soccer game and families barbecuing. A short distance junk. It wasn't trash but flaming stuff from God knows where. Maybe there was a garage sale that went bad. The playground was obviously built with good intentions. I've never seen so many uses for large wornout tires. They were strung through with rope and hung and also piled high in stacks. I looked down a stack and noticed it also doubled as a trash can. So convenient. After finding out which lights worked I relaxed for some TV. Only one of five channels was viewable. Later I checked out the restaurant and was very impressed but didn't try the food. Downstairs is an independently owned karaoke bar. Pleasant enough with dance floor.Overall I had a good experience at the Joker. I'm not too picky when alone and have experienced worse. The desk clerk tried his hardest to be helpful but without success. I needed a refrigerator but he couldn't tell me which rooms had one. I got lucky. "Is it non-smoking," I asked. "Our rooms are all non-smoking, but people smoke in them anyway," he replied. Talking to him later outside, he looked me direct in the eye and asked "what are you looking for"? Oh, nothing for me today thank you.
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
The joker was really good, I think the reason why it was excellent because i spoke spanish it was easy for me to communicate, I really didnt have to drive at all! the manager called the taxi for me and drove us downtown for 10 dollars only, on the way back the same taxi guy came back and picked us up. You really need someone who can speak good spanish and know how to talk. as a result i got some good deals and a good discount. So i will continue going there and take advantage as much as i can. I kinda do admit they need some adult movies or some good cable channels!! service was great though. junior
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
LOCATION
MexicoBaja CaliforniaBaja California NorteEnsenada MunicipalityEnsenada
NUMBER OF ROOMS
40
Prices are the average nightly price provided by our partners and may not include all taxes and fees. Taxes and fees that are shown are estimates only. Please see our partners for more details.
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Claim Your ListingJOKER HOTEL: See 5 Reviews and Traveller Photos (Ensenada, Mexico)
Frequently Asked Questions about Joker Hotel
Which popular attractions are close to Joker Hotel?
Nearby attractions include Hussong's Cantina (4.4 km), La Bufadora (4.4 km), and First Street (1.4 km).
What are some of the property amenities at Joker Hotel?
Some of the more popular amenities offered include a pool, an on-site restaurant, and a lounge.
What food & drink options are available at Joker Hotel?
Guests can enjoy an on-site restaurant and a lounge during their stay.
What are some restaurants close to Joker Hotel?
Conveniently located restaurants include Muelle3, La Guerrerense, and Birrieria La Guadalajara.
Are there opportunities to exercise at Joker Hotel?
Yes, guests have access to a pool during their stay.
Are there any historical sites close to Joker Hotel?
Many travellers enjoy visiting Rivera del Pacifico (4.2 km), Catavina Rock Paintings (Las Pintas) (5.3 km), and Aduana Maritima (4.3 km).