Since the Church is so close it sounds like they are almost inside the hotel at times.
The Mission Church of Pilar is located directly adjacent to the hotel and mission bells are heard daily.Hotel California is accessed by driving down a long desert highway from either Los Cabos to the south or La Paz to the east.Although the present owners of the hotel do not have any affiliation with the Eagles, nor do they promote any association, many visitors are mesmerized by the “coincidences” between the lyrics of the hit song and the physicality of the hotel and its surroundings. Many of the other legends are less black and white and continue to fascinate the public. However, one rumor, fabricated in the 1990’s by someone with no connection to any owners of the hotel, states that the Eagles once owned it. Whether fact or myth, nobody knows for sure. "Baja is flip flop funky… Todos Santos… lined with artisans shops, and it is here that you will find The Hotel California.”ĭuring the 1960s and 1970s, the precise details of the hotel’s history are a bit “hazy” – not uncommon for the culture of that particular era in general… There are numerous stories.
It’s future was to become even more intriguing. This was just the beginning of the hotel’s colorful story. This of course made him quite popular and ironically he opened a general store named “La Popular.” He then opened the first gas station in Todos Santos directly next door to the hotel further establishing his reputation as a visionary. In the 1950’s, “El Chino” brought ice from La Paz to Todos Santos for the first time ever, and the Hotel California’s restaurant and bar served the only cold beer in town.
Wong changed his name to Don Antonio Tabasco which didn’t work as well as he had planned since he soon became known as “El Chino,” meaning “The Chinese Man” rather than Don Antonio Tabasco. Wanting the locals to believe he was Mexican, Mr. Wong lived in the 16 room hotel with his wife and seven daughters. Wong, after three years of construction, it opened on February 5, 1950. The Hotel California was founded in, 1948, by a Chinese immigrant named Mr.