BTW, regarding ID, I agree it is unlikely they will ask for short-time. It used to be you could even book an overnight room without ID, but HK/Cascadas started checking recently.
I have also seen others mentioning the FMM tourist card, but in ~10 visits I have never purchased one. I always cross over the pedestrian bridge. The agent on the Mexico side usually takes a quick glance at my passport and waives me through. On two occasions, they asked a few questions and stamped my passport, but never mentioned the card. It could be because I am crossing on foot and only staying for 24 hours.
It's not clear to me, but it seems there are two hotels linked to CC: (1) Hotel Jalos and (2) Hotel Leyva (possibly named Hotel Posada de Santiago after remodeling). I may have that wrong, but piecing together the limited reviews, it seems like Hotel Jalos is their hotel for short-time engagements, and Hotel Leyva/Posada is a bit nicer and a better choice for booking an overnight room. I'm hoping someone can confirm. I probably won't get down there again this year.
This is one of the dangers of a single club (HK) and a single owner growing too big. I think things are better for everyone if there is healthy competition with a handful of other vibrant clubs. That's why I plan to focus on CC for my next visit (assuming that is completely unaffiliated with HK).
Great review! The new exhaustive bag check going into Cascadas is totally overkill. What's next, will we need to bend over and spread our cheeks?
Regarding the room deposit, my guess is that the more expensive rooms have the $50 deposit. I got the basic Cascadas room recently and it was a $30 deposit. The waiting at checkout, however, is a pain in the ass either way.
For my next trip, I'm thinking I will center my activities around the Chicago Club and book a hotel there instead of Cascadas. I really like having a room to relax and nap in between activities. I can still walk over to HK once during the visit and pay for the room fee as a one-time deal.
Comments made by craigers691