Robert Redford stars as 'perfect guest' at Rosarito Beach Hotel

The Rosarito Beach Hotel considers all visitors to be important guests, but during June and July one guest in particular stood out.

He went by the name of Mr. Miller but there was no disguising who really was staying at the Baja California resort: Robert Redford.

The legendary actor occupied a two-bedroom penthouse on the 17th floor of the Pacifico Tower, and while he undoubtedly enjoyed spectacular ocean views and famous Baja hospitality, this was a working trip.

Redford was across the border for the filming, at nearby studios, of director J.C. Chandor's "All Is Lost," about a lone man's struggles against the sea.

For the spacious seaside hotel, which is still rebounding from negative publicity generated by drug cartel-related violence in Baja California, the business was much appreciated.

Production staff, including Chandor, occupied 140 rooms. Redford, 75, chose to stay at the hotel over a nearby mansion to be closer to his colleagues.

The actor and hotel staff reportedly did a good job of maintaining secrecy. Redford relied largely on room service and attempted to hide beneath a baseball cap when he did stroll about the hotel grounds.

He was described in a news release as the perfect guest.

Jorge Morales, a waiter at the hotel's Azteca restaurant, said that only one guest that he knew of recognized the true identity of Mr. Miller during his many restaurant visits.

"I told the customer that [Redford] was making a movie and was very tired," Morales said. "Please don't disturb him."

Morales was Redford's personal waiter and often served the actor Puerto Nuevo-style lobster and Don Julio tequila.

Before checking out, the actor posed for photos with Morales and other staff members. They, in turn, were struck by how unassuming Redford turned out to be. "The guy being so famous, how could he be so humble?" Morales said.

Redford also displayed a sense of humor. When asked to identify his favorite Mexican food he responded, "My favorite food is tequila."

He's the latest of many Hollywood stars who have visited the Rosarito Beach Hotel. They include Marilyn Monroe, Frank Sinatra, Rita Hayworth and John Wayne.

Of the drug violence among rival cartels, which two years ago made daily headlines and frightened many tourists into thinking all of Mexico was unsafe, Redford said this: "It's unfortunate, since there are so many areas of Mexico that are safe to visit. More people should know."

"All Is Lost" is due to be released in 2013.

-- Top image shows the Rosarito Beach Hotel. Credit: ©Pete Thomas. Second image shows Robert Redford on the pier in front of the Rosarito Beach Hotel
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Actor Robert Redford visits Tijuana

Written by

Sandra Dibble

Robert Redford and his wife, Sibylle Szaggars, during a visit to the Tijuana Cultural Center last weekend. — Cecut

9:38 p.m., June 18, 2012

TIJUANA — Robert Redford, the actor and director, has been in Baja California this month filming a new movie at the Baja Film Studios in Rosarito Beach.

Written and directed by J.C. Chandor, “All is Lost” tells the story of a man fighting for survival while adrift at sea.

The 75-year-old actor took a break from filming Saturday for a guided visit through Tijuana’s Cultural Center (Cecut) in the city’s Río Zone, together with his wife, the German artist Sibylle Szaggars.

The couple stopped by an exhibit of of Baja California artist Angel Valráin the center’s El Cubo gallery, and visited the Cineteca movie theatre, according to a news release. Redford told his hosts that he used to visit Tijuana as a teenager to attend bullfights.

For dinner, the actor and his wife dropped in at Mision 19, the restaurant owned by chef Javier Plascencia that has been the focus of much U.S. media attention in recent months.

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Expatriates Express Confidence in Baja California

By Ron Raposa

About 70 community leaders in Baja California’s expatriate community recently attended the first summit of the "Baja Image Committee." It was organized for foreign residents who want to promote a positive and accurate portrait of the region.

The two-day summit, entitled “Building Baja’s Tomorrows Today,” was held June 8th and 9th at the Rosarito Beach Hotel, Mexico, which provided free lodging and meals for those attending.

The event was a response to requests from many of the thousands of expats who live in the region. Many have expressed a desire to do more to help convey an accurate picture of life in Baja California, especially to people living in the United States.

The summit featured testimonials from many of those residents, including some who said reports of scattered drug-related violence in recent years had made some friends and relatives reluctant to visit.

Those concerns are considered a large factor in the decline in tourism and visitors over the past several years, although a strong rebound was noted this past Easter and Memorial Day weekend, the traditional beginning of the summer season.

The summit included a panel discussion, as well as presentations on methods of gathering and distributing accurate and positive information, plus using social networks.

Hugo Torres, head of the Baja Image Committee and a former Rosarito mayor, said that “always telling the truth” is critical for such efforts to succeed. It is essential that government officials work hard to correct any problems that do exist, he added.

Baja California State Tourism Secretary Juan Tintos and Arturo Martinez, director of visitor assistance, told of government efforts to make visitors more comfortable and welcome, including the 078 assistance number which is in operation 24 hours day seven days a week.

Steven Kashkett, U.S. Consul General for Baja California, also attended to give an off-the-record briefing.

Rosarito resident Ken Bell, who leads the expatriate committee of the Baja Image Committee, pointed out that much work remains after the summit to accomplish goals that have been established.

Bell, as well as Rosarito’s tourism delegate Cesar Rivera, were summit moderators.

Other speakers included Emerson College Professor Gregory Payne, who has established a "Rediscover Rosarito" project that he said can be applied to all of Baja California. “You’re all your own TV networks,” Payne said, referring to the access that everyone has to post videos on YouTube and similar sites.

Chris Hill, of the "Live Mexico" campaign, and representatives of Allison & Partners public relations also spoke.

Expatriate residents from Rosarito, Ensenada, San Felipe and Tijuana who attended the summit are expected to share information and strategies for promoting a full, accurate and positive regional image with others in coming months.

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Tijuana at 30 miles per hour

By Sandra Dibble, UNION-TRIBUNE

August 30, 2010

Sandra Dibble holds a cup of clamato juice, a popular treat in Baja California, on Sunday in Rosarito Beach

This was a difficult assignment: In the space of just a few hours, give my new editor, Hieu Tran Phan, a tour of Tijuana. On one quiet Sunday afternoon, what could I possibly show him? Tijuana has about two million people, hundreds of neighborhoods, vast contrasts. After 16 years of reporting here, driving across Tijuana still fills me with a sense of wonder, and more than anything I wanted him to get a sense of the city’s rich texture and variety.


We started at Colonia Federal, a tiny neighborhood just southwest of the San Ysidro border crossing, cruising past the house where drug smugglers once dug a tunnel. Now a binational group has taken over, converting it into an arts center, La Casa del Tunel. We headed east into Colonia Libertad, to the top of a steep hill that offers a breathtaking view of the border. Then down into the Zona Rio, past the giant pastel globe and deep red cube that make up the Tijuana Cultural Center, past the Via Corporativo, a new office building that is Baja California’s first certified green structure.

Zooming down the Via Rapida, a highway that crosses the city, we headed toward El Cerro Colorado, Tijuana’s tallest hill and the gateway to eastern Tijuana, where the city has been growing rapidly in recent years. We drove and drove, past the huge boxlike factory buildings that make up El Florido Industrial Park. Past tens of thousands of tiny houses that make up the newer housing developments.

In El Nino, we stopped for tacos and ran into a church group from San Clemente whose members had come to build houses. We pressed on, toward Tecate, into Valle de las Palmas, where authorities are planning a satellite city with more than one million residents.

We drove down Boulevard 2000, and in no time found ourselves in Rosarito Beach, taking in the waves of the Pacific Ocean. Then back into Tijuana, to Colonia Chapultepec, whose large hillside mansions reminded Hieu (he was raised in Vietnam and Orange County) of the hills of Laguna Beach.

A day after our tour, Hieu says he was struck by the city’s contrasts and the determination of its residents to make the most of their circumstances, wherever they may find themselves

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