Plugged as “Ajijic’s most unique and romantic boutique hotel,” La Nueva Posada is recognized by international travelers, Tapatio tourists and local residents alike as a delightful place to nest, wine and dine, and experience lakeside living at its best.
Last year La Nueva Posada quietly marked the milestone of 25 years in business, run with great acumen and geniality by three generations of the Eager-Hinojosa family.
As they forge ahead into the next quarter century, matriarch Judy Eager, son and head honcho Michael, and granddaughter Wendy sat down with the Reporter to share memories and insights on turning their personal dreams into a flourishing enterprise.
Judy and her late husband Morley pulled up their Canadian roots in 1975, settling at lakeside to take over management of the original Posada Ajijic.
It was a dicey venture from the start. Through ups and down and by the sweat of their brows, they turned the place into a charming rustic inn and the town’s most popular watering hole. But insurmountable complications arose a decade later after the property’s elderly owner passed away.
By then Michael and his young bride, native villager Maria Elena Hinojosa, were fully involved in keeping the business afloat.
“We had been paying a fixed rent of 1,000 dollars a month,” Michael explains. “But once Doña Josefina died, her heirs suddenly wanted to jack up the rent.”
Though they managed to work out rental terms to stay on for another five years, the bi-national clan put their heads together to pool resources and plot out a pathway to build their own hospitality business.
“María Elena and I already owned the waterfront land where we planned to build our dream home. My parents sold Casa Tortuga, their own Villa Nova dream home, and I put some other real estate on the market until we had enough to get the core done,” Michael recalls.
Meanwhile, everyone was asking them when they were going open “the new posada.” And that’s how they came up with the moniker La Nueva Posada.
On July 27, 1990, they threw a going-away party at the place they were leaving. “Everyone got drunk and we all threw our glasses into the fireplace. I haven´t stepped back on the property since,” says Michael. “Too many emotions and memories reside there. All five of my children were conceived in those years.”
A week later they opened the doors of La Nueva Posada, with bar and dining services and nine guest rooms. The rest, as they say, is history.
The vagaries of running a Mexican business have perpetually kept the Eagers on their toes. The secret of their success can be chalked up to creative thinking to adjust to changing circumstances coupled with rock solid family unity.
While Michael remains at the helm, his grown children have taken on management roles and his spouse and mother are still on board as key advisors.
After extensive remodeling, today’s La Nueva Posada comprises the main dining room and a private salon area that have replaced the original bar, 19 guest rooms, and the shady outdoor dining area and lush gardens with commanding views of Lake Chapala. Across the street sits a complex of eight resident villas occupied by full-time renters, built specifically to fill a local market niche.
As testimony to the family’s wise decisions and business smarts, Trip Advisor posters give La Nueva Posada high marks, typically commenting on its lovely setting, fine international cuisine, flawless accommodations, tasteful décor, modern creature comforts and reasonable rates. Above all, they consistently stress the warm hospitality of the proprietors and their employees.
A Nevada couple who were recent guests qualified it as one of the rare travel stops that “lives up to the pictures and the hype,” adding, “what sets this hotel apart is the incredible attention you get from the owner Michael Eager. He is there every day and is always available to answer any questions you may have, either about the hotel or the history of the area. The staff is equally as friendly.”