Guest Services at Casa de las Flores Bed and Breakfast in Tlaquepaque, Mexico

Personal Shopper, Guide, and Local Factory Expert

Our "first-call" driver at Casa de las Flores is Luis.  He is an expert guide and driver.  If you are furnishing your home, or an exporter looking for factories and products, Luis is an invaluable resource.  He speaks English, and has saved guests time and money by finding just what they are looking for at the best price.  His van seats 7 and has air conditioning. For in and around the metropolitan area, Luis charges $US 20.00 an hour for 2 guests.  As the number of guests goes up he charges a little more.  For further afield (Chapala, Tequila and within that general range) Luis charges $US 25.00 an hour for 2 guests with a minimum of 4 hours service.  If you need less than 4 hours the rate can be arranged with Luis.

For destinations that are further you will have to write us so Luis can give you a quote.

Shopping Advice From Your Host at Casa de las Flores

Luis has assisted thousands of guests over the many years to purchase things for their homes here and abroad - even folk art purchases at artists' studios.  As a guide and driver his help has successfully saved guests thousands of U.S. dollars.  He can direct you to a master craftsman who has made some custom-made furniture to make your dream house just perfect, or to a wonderful one-of-a-kind piece of art to be the jewel in the crown of your special retreat. 

But please remember that this is an external service.  None of the places that Luis will take you are necessarily recommendations by Casa de las Flores or him.  This is a service to get you in contact with goods and services you need and want.  In another country and even with your driver's functional English and your (maybe nonexistent) Spanish there can be room for misunderstandings. 

Luis is a pro and has offered such services to thousands of clients with great success.  We certainly would never take a guest to a purveyor of goods whom we have heard questionable things about or have had unsatisfactory follow-up commentary from guests.  But a lot can happen to a business in, say, the 3 months since Luis last took a guest to a certain factory.  For instance, the whole carpentry staff could have changed and the quality of the work is not the same, or a company could have been sold and have new owners.  So please use your good sense and get things in writing, including: the dates things will be done, the shipping and packing obligations, and all the other things one must work out. 

If you, for instance, have agreed on a specific finish for a table you are having made, and you ask the maker for the I.D. number of the finish or a color chip, and they do not have such a thing (as most will not) then do not count on that finish being exactly as you thought when it arrives.  There is a lot of room for error.  Say the piece is to be made 6 months down the road.  You pay the deposit, and on the 5th month when the carpenter goes to purchase the wood for your piece, inflation has eaten half your deposit, or the tropical wood you had picked can no longer be found, or there is an embargo of some sort.  Or if everything goes as planned and 5 1/2 months later it is time to finish the table, Juan the clerk who took the order is no longer there.  He did not exactly say what the finish is, but your carpenter believes he knows it well. When the piece arrives the finish is a lot more red than you had imagined.  If you are thrilled with the change then you are a perfect person to commission things in Mexico.  But if you are going to get heartburn every time you sit down to dine at your too-red table, you have a problem.  And remember it could be confusion on your part.  After 6 months you are not remembering things correctly, or maybe you saw the table in the bright light of the shop but in your dining room it looks a lot darker.  Anyway, there is room for a hundred misunderstandings.

For Americans and Canadians maybe buying custom-made items for the first time, this is a new experience.  It was for me.  I certainly could not find anyone where I lived in northern California to make me a baroque hand-carved side table.  So buying, retaining and commissioning hand-made pieces is a whole new experience for most of our northern guests, and comes with its rewards and drawbacks.  And remember there is something to be said for retail, which Luis also knows, for fabrics and already-made pieces.  What you see is what you get.  That easy chair that you picked out in the factory but you only saw in one of their catalogs looked great, and arrived just as it looked in the picture, but as you cannot sit in a picture you found the chair looked great but was a nightmare to sit in.

If you commission a piece of art by folk artists on your own - none of the artists are dishonest - but let's say you commission a piece but alas!  How to get it home?  You mention to the artist that you would buy the piece if you could get it to California.  The artist remembers that his nephew will be going to California sometime in the next month and the nephew will take it.  Problem solved?  Actually the problem has just begun.  The nephew finds out that his uncle does not have the money for his ticket and he can`t go.  Or the nephew does go, but the piece does not fit in the overhead compartment as he had thought so the piece goes into the hold poorly packed and arrives in pieces.  So please be your own advocate. 

If you ask Luis to assist you in packing or shipping, as he has often done for guests, again that is between you and Luis.  Luis drives for Casa de las Flores exclusively but he is an independent operator and is not part of the official Casa de las Flores staff.

Luis successfully helps people make their dreams come true - but please do your part and be a practical and conscientious shopper.

Folk Art Tours

Over the years that we collectors and folk art enthusiasts have been searching the studios of fantastic local folk artists, we have become friends and compadres of many of the artists.  One of the many special things we can offer are tours of local folk artists' homes and studios.  It is a fantastic way to meet wonderful artists, see some great art, enjoy the company of delightful people, and most importantly have entry into peoples homes and lives that you as a visitor would not normally have a chance to see.  It allows you to experience another side of Mexico that would otherwise be hidden from you as a traveler.

Translator Service

Our driver Luis speaks English pretty well.  But if you need better language skills, or if Luis is busy and you would like someone to accompany you as a personal translator (transportation not included), the cost is: $US 15 an hour for personal translation and $US 20 an hour for business translation, for a minimum of 4 hours.

Special Services and Events

With advanced notice we would be glad to help organize almost anything you might be interested in.  We have held weddings on the property, barbecues, special meals, cocktails, birthdays, musical events, tequila tastings, Mexican wine tastings, and cooking classes.  Or any other special event that you might like us to organize.  Some of these services such as weddings or other large events if held on the property might have conditions such as renting all of our rooms for a minimum stay.

Ask us at Casa de las Flores about other tours and services that you might be interested in.