Hotel Belmar - ageless beauty.

Located in the historic Olas Altas neighborhood of Mazatlan the Hotel Belmar is Mazatlan's original beach front hotel. Built in the 1920s, by wealthy California Louis Bradbury, it is now the oldest functioning hotel in Mazatlan. During its time it was one of the finest hotels in North America. It had a large elegant ballroom and a restaurant for fine dining.
In the 1940's and 50's it hosted Hollywood celebrities such as Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Mae West, John Barrymore, Ava Gardner and John Wayne, room 48 his favorite booking. Many of the celebrities flew to Mazatlan to fish for big game.
 At one time the Belmar had four pythons which were often seen snoozing in the lobby where guests and the pilots would have to gingerly step over them when checking in . They were used to keep the rats under control. [Any way that is what I read ]
In 1944, the grand ballroom was the site of the unfortunate assassination of Sinaloa's Governor.

You can still stay here. In fact it is very reasonable - About USD40 a night for two queen beds and bathroom
Going into the old patio area. So much tile work here - the signs kind of take away from it's elegance. 

 It featured hand painted tiles from Spain and Mexico The artwork dates back to the 1920's.

Looking towards the back where there is a patio area. I like all the angles and textures. 

Angles and arches. metal work, tiles, stones tiles and art work. Several different tile designs here. 

Brick around the arches. Iron work along the balconies. Three different tile designs in this small area. 

The fountain no longer works. It has been filled and tiled over. Two big murals. Walkway with wooden supports painted white. 

Close ups of murals. I've read that the art work is all original. 

Olas Altas area in the past. 

These strike me as strange. Why red brick? And a very short door. Where does it go? You can see there the fountain has been filled in. 

Closer look at some of the tiles. Lots of shades of blue. 

Three four five different designs of tiles here. Lots of angles and textures. 

More murals in the hallway -  sorry about the focus. 

Lots of smaller tile pictures scattered around the area. 

Needing some repair here and there. Lots of different things to look at. Inside of arched doorway is bricked too. Several different tiles used in this area. 

These are different. Every time I see this I wonder why so many different tile designs. Have some of them been changed over the years?

A niche with the Virgin watching over everyone. And yet another different tile. 

Another section of different tiles. These are all hand painted. 

And that is the end of the tour. This is just one small area of the hotel. Didn't go in any rooms, or take picture of the pool area. Maybe someday I'll be able to take the time to get inside.