Leon - The Leather Capital

We just paid a visit to Leon Friday/Saturday. For those interested in anything leather, Leon is the place to go! The Zona Piel in Leon is a one mile square area with little else for sale other than leather products. I cannot venture a guess as to how many shops there are but 3000 to 5000 wouldn't be an unreasonable guess. People go to Leon from all over Mexico to shop. One typical example was a woman that we saw loading a bundle of eleven pairs of shoes into here car. Other than this area, the new Outlet Mall and the centro plaza, the city of Leon is not much more than an industrialized city that isn't particularly attractive. We stayed at the Holiday Inn directly across from the Zona Piel and had lunch and dinner at two different restaurants. It seemed to us that the hotel prices were higher than most cities and restaurants were also higher priced.

Leon Slideshow: https://picasaweb.google.com/118146709599975173363/LEONGUANAJUATOMEXICO#slideshow/5548735482865841106

On the plus side, we discovered that it can easily be done as a day trip from Guadalajara. We left a Pemex station near our hotel and were sitting at our favorite restaurant in Tonala in exactly two hours and fifteen minutes.

Thanks for the pics Yuri. We missed the Zona Piel when we stopped there in April however we did spend a few hours in the Plaza. Seemed to be a very prosperous city. I love that picture of those zany cowboy boots.

I don't know which Web board he posted it on, but Rolly put on some pictures of those long pointy boots that were hilarious. There's even a dance to go with them. Hey Rolly, how about it?

Oy! You got that right. I can do without "motion detecting lights". Bad enough when you go up to a multi-hand-washing sink where half the faucets are permanently Off, and you find yourself wandering down the line with soapy hands, seeking the motion detecting one that's FINALLY in the "on" position.
I've noticed they have one of those light dimming thingies in the Nueva Posada bathrooms. Not the greatest feeling when the previous user leaves the room...and you in the semi dark.

5000 leather shops? Now that's extreme shopping.

After staying in quaint hotels (converted haciendas) in Patzcuaro and San Miguel de Allende, we were actually looking forward to a night in a more modern hotel with such amenities as adequate lighting, air conditioning, constant water pressure, and a king size bed. We arrived in Leon about noon but couldn't check in till 3pm. Upon check in, we went up to check out the room. Sure enough, we found plenty of lamps, wall light fixtures and an air conditioning system but could only figure out how to turn on one overhead light fixture in the entryway. Then I discovered a small box located just inside the door and figured out that one had to insert their key card in the slot to activate all of the other features including the TV. Put the card in the slot and everything worked but if you pulled the card to leave, then everything shut off with a slight time delay. Great for energy conservation but if you were like us with two key cards, you could defeat the system by leaving one card in the slot when leaving. I can honestly say that we have never seen a system such as this in all of our travels NOB!

yuri wrote:After staying in quaint hotels (converted haciendas) in Patzcuaro and San Miguel de Allende, we were actually looking forward to a night in a more modern hotel with such amenities as adequate lighting, air conditioning, constant water pressure, and a king size bed. We arrived in Leon about noon but couldn't check in till 3pm. Upon check in, we went up to check out the room. Sure enough, we found plenty of lamps, wall light fixtures and an air conditioning system but could only figure out how to turn on one overhead light fixture in the entryway. Then I discovered a small box located just inside the door and figured out that one had to insert their key card in the slot to activate all of the other features including the TV. Put the card in the slot and everything worked but if you pulled the card to leave, then everything shut off with a slight time delay. Great for energy conservation but if you were like us with two key cards, you could defeat the system by leaving one card in the slot when leaving. I can honestly say that we have never seen a system such as this in all of our travels NOB!

We discovered this in Hawaii while on business; thinking the cost of air conditioning was the issue. Rooms got really hot and humid while gone. Left our extra key in the slot and when the maid came to clean would take it out while we were gone. Guess who didn’t get any more TIPS. At the prices we were paying management was making a major mistake, IMHO, this company decided to not use them anymore.

[img][/img]

The above photo shows a different kind of urinal auto flush at the Puebla Viejo Restaurant in San Miguel de Allende.

"We discovered this in Hawaii while on business; thinking the cost of air conditioning was the issue. Rooms got really hot and humid while gone. Left our extra key in the slot and when the maid came to clean would take it out while we were gone. Guess who didn’t get any more TIPS. At the prices we were paying management was making a major mistake, IMHO, this company decided to not use them anymore.

ferret wrote:I understand your point of view Parker but.... What does management do about the guests who leave the air conditioning on and the windows wide open?"
A good air conditioning system should cool down a room in less than five minutes. Sorry, but if I were management I'd be using the same system to conserve.

Getting back to bathrooms...don't ya hate it when the automatic flush system flushes before you're ready?

The day that those new fangled bathrooms start bideting me and blow drying after...I will never set foot in another one...I'll just hold it 'til I bust.

I would say under some conditions that may be true, when and if the air conditioner is in good running condition and the humidity level is low. I would rather pay more in room rates than come back to my room, on a ½ hour break, to the room being all hot & muggy. At the prices they were charging IMHO, they should allow the customer this choice, and apparently so did the others because the next year we went to a different hotel.

yuri wrote: I can honestly say that we have never seen a system such as this in all of our travels NOB!

Ran into in at a hotel in Insbrook back around 2002 and didn't know what to do.
Had to go down to the front desk and have them explain it to me.
At least you were able to figure it out on your own, and I was 10 years younger back then.

Urinal with ice, I have seen that in many, many bars over the years. Really helps hold down the smell.
But I find the water cold.

yuri wrote:[img][/img]

The above photo shows a different kind of urinal auto flush at the Puebla Viejo Restaurant in San Miguel de Allende.

That's the "All you can drink Margarita" Yuri.............

Given the lack of quality of their food and drinks, you may have a point Bob!

Going back to the original topic of Leon and leather, one thing that was very noticeable this visit versus two years ago was the lack of knockoff merchandise. The Mexican media has had numerous stories about raids in Leon where they were confiscating licensed logo merchandise such as: Nascar, Disney, Looney Tunes, Coco Channel, Gucci and the list goes on! We did see a few street carts with such but saw very little in the stand alone shops. On the other hand, we did see a fair amount in other towns such as Tonala, Quiroga and other towns. Kathy stumbled on to a Gucci briefcase in Tonala:
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Believe it or not - this knock off was $290MXN!