Republica Pagana — Hotel in Baja California Sur

República Pagana is a masterclass in illusion. It lures you in with its moody, cinematic interiors, an air of exclusivity, and that effortlessly curated aesthetic that makes you think, yes, this place understands luxury. But once you settle in, the cracks start to show—some figurative, some very, very literal.

Take something as simple as coffee. Most hotels, even budget ones, offer an in-room coffee maker as a basic courtesy. But here, coffee is an upgrade, reserved for “superior” rooms. The rest of us? We are invited to leave our rooms, head to the rooftop, and—because, of course, it cannot be charged to our room—bring our wallet. And after all that, the price is somehow higher than in a specialty café. Something effortless has been turned into an inconvenience. But it’s not just the coffee. The room lacks basics—no cups, no mugs, no wine glasses. Just a single glass, as if guests don’t drink water or enjoy a quiet moment on their balcony. The closet doors, already coming loose at the hinges, reinforce the sense that not every design choice was built to last.

Then there’s the service. The staff is warm, welcoming, and eager to help, but they seem to be working in a system that doesn’t quite function. There are plenty of them, yet requests take time, and essentials get overlooked. Housekeeping tidies the room but sometimes forgets details—like replacing the towels they’ve taken. And so, the inevitable moment arrives: you step out of the shower, reach for a towel, and find… nothing. You call the front desk, wait longer than you should, and stand there, wet, wondering how a hotel so focused on aesthetics can fail at something so basic. The inconveniences continue. The balcony light refuses to turn off, leaving you with two options—close the blackout curtains and sleep in total darkness, or let an artificial glow fill the room all night. The rooftop pool, though beautiful in photos, is too cold to enjoy, making it more of a decorative element than an actual amenity. And then there’s the elevator situation: upon check-in, we were casually informed that the elevator serving our floor might malfunction and leave us trapped inside. Their advice? Avoid using it.

Even the atmosphere struggles to hold together. Luxury hotels operate seamlessly—details fade into the background, scents are inviting, and service is invisible yet ever-present. At República Pagana, the illusion breaks the moment you step out of the elevator and are greeted not by the subtle, evocative scents of a high-end hotel but by the unmistakable smell of frying oil. It lingers in the corridors, clashing with the image the hotel is trying to sell. And if the scent doesn’t disrupt the illusion, the sight of supply closets and service areas left ajar—fully visible as you walk through the hallways—certainly does.

Nothing captures this imbalance better than the Champagne Call button in the room—a dramatic flourish meant to make guests feel indulgent. A single press, and a chilled bottle arrives at your door. But here’s the irony: ordering champagne is effortless, yet getting a towel, a coffee, or a properly stocked room requires patience and persistence. República Pagana has mastered the art of grand gestures, but it struggles with the essentials. Take the complimentary pencil in the room, for example. It reads “Hijo de la República”—Son of the Republic—a playful nod to the name, hinting at a young, social-media-savvy clientele. It’s the perfect metaphor for the entire experience: a hotel designed for digital appeal, where guests, instead of enjoying a seamless stay, are subtly nudged into becoming unpaid brand ambassadors. But instead of filling our feeds with beautifully curated photos, we find ourselves compelled to leave a review—just to feel a little less like we’ve been played. República Pagana understands what luxury looks like, but it has no idea what...

I debated between 2 and 3 total stars for a while. We really didn’t like our experience here, but I ultimately gave 3 because while I was disappointed, I think I had too high of expectations.

Let me be super clear - you are paying for a trendy hotel NOT a luxury hotel. For the price (cheap for American standards, but relatively high compared with other hotels in the area), I expected a luxury hotel. This hotel feels like they were trying really hard to create a trendy, luxury hotel but they kind of just missed the boat on a lot of basics that nice hotels actually have.

A few things that give away that this is not a luxury hotel:

Super uncomfortable bed. Mattress was hard as rocks and our backs hurt.

Room amenities - There was only one hand towel and one face towel. Yes 2 body towels, but I expect more towels at a luxury hotel. Again, 2 robes but only 1 set of slippers. And there’s no coffee/beverage station in the room. Not sure if all of this is intentional to save money on their end - if so, it feels cheap to me - or careless. But either way at a luxury hotel these small things are not missed.

Rooftop pool / bar - Don’t be fooled by the photos of the small rooftop pools. They are open to the public through reservation, so as a guest you have to reserve far in advance. When we arrived on a Friday, all the pools were reserved during the ideal days & times. This also is the same for the small restaurant / bar on the roof. Sunset hours were already completely booked for the weekend we were there. I understand a business has to ensure they’re set up for success with a full restaurant; however, it just felt cheap and not luxury to not even be able to enjoy our own hotel’s rooftop. Would setting aside some tables for guests be that challenging?

Room design - Yes, on the surface level the rooms look very cool & trendy. But after you use the room for a few hours you realize that zero thought went into the practical pieces of the design. For example, while there is dramatic lighting in small niche places (e.g. a small spot light on the alcove in the shower where the shampoo bottles are, which clearly took effort & money to put in), there is absolutely zero good light for make up anywhere in the room. Another big issue I found - there is no flat surface in the bathroom to lay out toiletries despite there being ample space. There is only an organic shaped sink that is super not practical. Finally, my last small peeve is that there was only one hook for towels when clearly most guests will have 2 ppl.

Overall, I think I mistakenly thought this was a luxury hotel. My husband and I joked that this really felt like a few friends who have no experience and no business opening a hotel were like “let’s build a super trendy hotel” and just ran with it.

After walking around the small town area, we saw many other hotels that were either the same price but looked way nicer or way cheaper but still nice that we would have rather stayed at.

If you stay here just know what you’re paying for and level set your...

The design of the hotel is off the wall. I imagine the architect/designer was one of those eccentric geniuses who so lack common sense that they aren't safe to be let out alone, the type who would go out for a pint of milk but come back with a combine harvester. And no milk.||On first sight the hotel looks amazing. The rooftop bar is an incredible space and there is a real wow factor when entering your room for the first time.||The view of the ocean is stunning, the furniture and furnishings, art etc. are top quality, right down to the really fluffy slippers and extra strong tissues. The bed is huge and the bathroom a very good size.||There were, however, a number of issues.||No tea/coffee making facilities (we managed to prise a coffee maker from them, provided with some reluctance).||The bed was too hard for our taste and not comfortable.||Some impracticalities - no bedside tables. The bathroom only had one hook, and minimal shelf space - all of the cost seems to have gone into the statement wash basin. ||We were really confused by some issues - only one handkerchief sized hand towel for two guests, and only one glass.||There was a constant bad drain smell from the bathroom, which they couldn't fix. ||Housekeeping and attention to detail were lacking - slippers missing on arrival, room service inconsistent, sometimes responding quickly, sometimes needing to be chased. Cleaners sometimes washed cups, left sweet treats, folded sleepwear, othertimes not. ||The lift was temperamental, often refusing to stop at the 4th floor.||The corridor is black - ceilng, floor and walls - with dim lighting, so it is really hard to see where you are going or where to tap your room key.||And the main issue - noise. Internal and external. The 4th floor suffers from early morning noise from a cleaning storage cupboard and later night noise from the bar on the 5th floor. ||External noise is even worse. Music from the nearby bars, music blaring out from cars, windows open, seemingly competing with each other for who can be the loudest, parading backwards and forwards all night, and being joined by motorcyclists whose main aim seems to be to out rev each other. It is a cacophony, especially bad on a Saturday night and on event occasions when the malecon is closed to vehicles and the road in front of the hotel becomes the main promenading strip.||And then, when it all eventually dies down and you finally get to sleep, you may find yourself woken up any time from 2.30 - 6 a.m. by the loud and persistent crowing of a nearby cockerel.||No chance of a return...