Retire Early Lifestyle
Retirement; like your parents, but way cooler

In 1991 Billy and Akaisha Kaderli retired at the age of 38. Now, into their 4th decade of this financially independent lifestyle, they invite you to take advantage of their wisdom and experience.

The Doubletree by Hilton Hotel

Veracruz, Mexico

Billy and Akaisha Kaderli

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This was exciting.

We were going to a new city on the Gulf coast of Mexico, named Veracruz.

It had restaurants, an active international port, an aquarium, a naval museum and the original fort built by  Hernan Cortez in the 1500s.

Our $140USD roundtrip tickets from Guadalajara to Veracruz were a deal and the short flight took only an hour and a half. At the airport we grabbed a taxi for 260Pesos (about $13USD) to take us to the hotel.

The DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel

Our hotel was beautiful and it had terrific views of the active international port.

We had no idea how wonderful this view would be and how much we would learn about the ships coming from and going into the harbor.

Take a look at the palm trees in this photo.

Fierce winds here called Northerlies can get up to gale force. Gale force is described as winds that range from 31 to 63mph.

 In fact, we had 3 days of these powerful winds during our stay. We had never experienced anything like this, pushing us up or down the roads or making us walk crookedly due to its strength.

It was odd... One cannot see the wind, only the results of it. We'd turn a corner and almost get blasted off the sidewalk. There would be streams of sand wafting up over the streets from the beach (and into our clothes, hair, eyes). The Palm trees would be blown to one side as you see in this photo.

The circular door at the entrance of the hotel would simply HOWL with the sound of the wind coming through.

Do you remember seeing cartoons where the characters would bend at their waists, stick their hand out in front of them like a "STOP" sign and lean into the wind to make headway?

That was us.

View of the harbor across the street from our hotel

From our hotel room we watched the cargo ships arrive.

This malecon goes to the right all the way to the Aquarium, and to the left, all the way to the port itself.

There is a beach on the other side of this retaining wall where vendors would set up daily, and people would swim in the sea.

We could see the colorful tops of their umbrellas from our room window.

The Lobby

The lobby was lovely and very airy. We met with our friend several times here as we grouped together for day outings.

WiFi is provided all throughout the hotel.

There is a bar restaurant to the left, and if you look straight through the windows here, you can see the harbor.

Eduardo?

All front desk staff were terrific. Service was commendable.

Any time we needed anything or have a repair done, moments later we would receive it.

I can't tell you how refreshing that was.

Our room

Our large room had a king size bed, a table, desk, and two chairs. The view overlooked the ocean and harbor.

Surprisingly, this room did not have a mini-fridge which would have been useful.

Our nightly price was about $57USD.

The bathroom

A nice large bathroom with hot water and toiletries provided.

View from our room

It was better than watching a video, this live action out on the harbor.

One time we counted 5 or 6 ships on the horizon coming in, some of  them already entering the port. The tug boats were busy.

On occasion they would angle a ship in order to dock it, at other times they would steer it into or out of these man-made jetties.

We'd watch the waves get whipped up by the Northerlies and the vendors down on the shore selling to the beach goers.

People walked or ran on the malecon below.

Beautiful swimming pool

There was this beautiful swimming pool with a wading pool and hot tub.

I imagine that in the summer this pool gets lots of usage.

Complimentary breakfast

Included in the price of our room was a complimentary breakfast.

You had a choice of omelets or eggs any way you'd like them, fresh juice, coffee, tea and fresh cut tropical fruit.

This restaurant also served an expansive breakfast buffet, but it was not included in our room price.

Lobby bar and restaurant

The evening before we left, we had drinks in the bar lounge with this lovely view.

Our stay was terrific and we would certainly recommend this hotel.

Would we return?

Yes!

__________

DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Veracruz

Blvd. Manuel Avila Camacho 707

Veracruz 91900 Mexico

Tele: +52 229 923 5750

Email: VERMA_DS@hilton.com 

Website: https://www.hilton.com/en/hotels/vermadt-doubletree-veracruz/

For more stories and photos about Veracruz, Mexico, CLICK HERE

For more stories and photos about Mexico CLICK HERE

Retire Early Lifestyle appeals to a different kind of person – the person who prizes their independence, values their time, and who doesn’t want to mindlessly follow the crowd.

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