Back Story – Home
The old hotel has a very interesting story albeit a little slim on details. It’s situated on a gorgeous stretch of beach along the Bay of Tenacatita near La Manzanilla, a little fishing village about 3.5 hours, 200 km south of Puerto Vallarta on the Pacific Coast of Mexico. If you go there you will walk probably one of the most beautiful beaches in the world & you can’t miss the hotel. It’s right there in all its devastated glory. For years I walked by it on the beach & every time became more intrigued, so, last December I finally jumped the wall with my camera & a pair of sturdy shoes instead of the usual flop flops, just in case I came across any scorpions or snakes, & I had a good look around. It was totally amazing & this little idea hatched in my mind about one day possibly doing a music video or something creative there. In July I had an opportunity to start on the Home project.
Here’s what I found out about the hotel that so far doesn’t have a name. In 1975 an accident occurred that closed it down. A boiler blew up killing at least 1 person & demolishing a central section of the hotel. I’ve heard rumors that it might have been caused by methane gas from the mangrove it was built on much like the gas explosion that ripped through the restaurant of a hotel on Mexico's Caribbean coast, Cancun, a few years ago.
Twenty years later in 1995 the atrium collapsed due to an earthquake just off shore of La Manzanilla that immediately spawned a tsunami. The water level rose 2 meters & destroyed everything along the shore. Somewhere in between the explosion & the tsunami the old hotel was completely gutted of anything of value, doors, windows, wiring & finally devolved into the condition it’s in today. But like everything in Mexico, it’s built of thick concrete & so the bones will likely be there forever. I’ve seen some pictures of its former days & it looked pretty swanky.
For the Home video shoot we went to the hotel on 3 separate occasions & timed it so we ‘d arrive just before the golden hour, in this case sunset. You’ve probably heard the term golden hour. This is a photographer’s favourite time of day to take photographs, that hour or so around sunrise & sunset when the angle of the sun is low & the colours are extra rich & saturated.
That being said, it was a nice place to visit but I wouldn’t want to live there.
Cheers,
Ron
The old hotel has a very interesting story albeit a little slim on details. It’s situated on a gorgeous stretch of beach along the Bay of Tenacatita near La Manzanilla, a little fishing village about 3.5 hours, 200 km south of Puerto Vallarta on the Pacific Coast of Mexico. If you go there you will walk probably one of the most beautiful beaches in the world & you can’t miss the hotel. It’s right there in all its devastated glory. For years I walked by it on the beach & every time became more intrigued, so, last December I finally jumped the wall with my camera & a pair of sturdy shoes instead of the usual flop flops, just in case I came across any scorpions or snakes, & I had a good look around. It was totally amazing & this little idea hatched in my mind about one day possibly doing a music video or something creative there. In July I had an opportunity to start on the Home project.
Here’s what I found out about the hotel that so far doesn’t have a name. In 1975 an accident occurred that closed it down. A boiler blew up killing at least 1 person & demolishing a central section of the hotel. I’ve heard rumors that it might have been caused by methane gas from the mangrove it was built on much like the gas explosion that ripped through the restaurant of a hotel on Mexico's Caribbean coast, Cancun, a few years ago.
Twenty years later in 1995 the atrium collapsed due to an earthquake just off shore of La Manzanilla that immediately spawned a tsunami. The water level rose 2 meters & destroyed everything along the shore. Somewhere in between the explosion & the tsunami the old hotel was completely gutted of anything of value, doors, windows, wiring & finally devolved into the condition it’s in today. But like everything in Mexico, it’s built of thick concrete & so the bones will likely be there forever. I’ve seen some pictures of its former days & it looked pretty swanky.
For the Home video shoot we went to the hotel on 3 separate occasions & timed it so we ‘d arrive just before the golden hour, in this case sunset. You’ve probably heard the term golden hour. This is a photographer’s favourite time of day to take photographs, that hour or so around sunrise & sunset when the angle of the sun is low & the colours are extra rich & saturated.
That being said, it was a nice place to visit but I wouldn’t want to live there.
Cheers,
Ron