Hotel Rancho San Cayetano

My wife and I stayed here 13 years ago and loved it so when we returned to show our kids the monarch butterfly migration, we automatically booked here. It has gotten larger over that time and largely for the better: new and bigger rooms, more farm animals on the property, more flexible menu, a large outdoor dining area, bikes (including kid-sized) to ride, and table tennis tables. All of these features were great enhancements and really helped with kids (and adults). We loved getting a delivery of firewood and having a fire in our room when the nights got chilly. There were a few small snags: the restaurant service was not very proactive and the meal times were not tourist/family friendly (breakfast didn't start till 8.30am, which is hard to combine with butterfly excursion times and lunch didn't start till 2.30pm - even if that is normal for Mexico, it is very abnormal for hotels, and was terrible when you have young kids - I really think they need to change this). The other downer was that the very nearby mountain currently has no butterflies, so you have to drive hours to the nearest one that does - had I know that in advance, I would obviously have booked a hotel near there as there is no other reason for us to stay in Zitacuaro. Before booking, it may be wise to ask which mountains are getting the most butterflies, if that's what you are going for and don't want long drives. However, if you simply want to stay on a beautiful property, then this remains an absolutely gorgeous place to stay.