The Meson del Refugio was the first hostel in Mascota. It was established in 1847, but has recently been restored maintaining its original architecture. It operates as a boutique hotel with all the amenities.
“Good evening, Don Juan” is typically heard every night from the inhabitants of Mascota coming across the Meson del Refugio’s night watchman. They hear the answer “Good evening”, but it isn’t the old man’s voice, it was that of the new owners of the hotel. The watchman had died a few months back, but people were so accustomed to his shape sitting in the shadows on the “equipales” (typical leather and wood chairs), that it was some time before they got accustomed to Claudia Gallo, the woman who bought the place in 1993. El Meson Del Refugio, located in downtown Mascota on Independence Street, is not any old mansion. Its structure was originally designed as a hotel in 1847, when it got a license for “housing people and horses”.
“That’s the difference between others and us. Most of the other hostels around here were originally ranch houses or haciendas that were redecorated to function as hotels. That’s why ours has such high ceilings and a front gate wide enough to let carriages through. It also has stables in the back where the manager’s house is now”, explained Claudia Gallo. “While we were remodeling, some ceiling tiles were removed, but instead of throwing them away, we kept them until the structure was revamped and we put them down again. We did the same thing with the floors, which were removed to install drainage and pipes, but we placed the original ones again. Everything that could be saved, was saved” she stated proudly. Although these new owners bought the property in disarray when it was non-operational, the assets of the property are rife with significance; like Don Juan, who was ‘acquired’ with the property. The old man who sat every night on the porch had grown up there. His father, Don Jose, had been the original watch man, until his death. When Don Juan filled his shoes, he was already 80 years old!
Not much official information can be found related to the hotel, since its owners have been numerous and the title deeds have been so many that trying to rebuild some history from them has been quite confusing. However, it’s the stories that are told about it that can help recover part of its history. “About five years ago, a Vallarta family came to spend a weekend at the Meson. They were celebrating their grandmother’s 90th birthday and decided to go back to her home town. When they arrived, the old lady walked to the water trough in the middle of the patio and began to cry. The family was worried; they had wanted to give her a nice surprise and instead, she seemed so sad! When they asked her what was wrong, she said that she wasn’t sad, but that this was where she’d grown up as a child. The trough brought back wonderful memories. When she was a little girl, she’d steal some nuts and take them to the trough to peel them with a fiber. She was very excited that the water trough was still standing” tells Claudia.
This water trough that made this woman so emotional had once been used to water the horses. They had needed three or four people to roll it to the middle of the patio.
The Meson has 14 rooms now, one of which is a suite. All rooms have their own bathroom and all the amenities of modern living. They have a bar and some art exhibits on display. In spite of the stories surrounding the Meson, there are no tales involving ghosts or anything like that, so the management asks that if any are seen, please report it to the office so they can charge for the additional guest.
