Refugio Romano would be classified as a bed-and-breakfast if breakfasts were included in the room rate. (Meals are available for purchase.) This small and attractive property has only three guest rooms, the orange, grey, and blue rooms. The rest of the property consists of appealing common areas, a kitchen/dining room, and the owners' residence. Traveling with my trophy wife and brilliant son, we chose to stay in the blue room because of its three beds.

Refugio Romano is located on the northeast corner of Real, two steep blocks above the main drag, on a lofty perch overlooking the town. It is owned and operated by Mexican-native Mayra and Italian-born Lucio, a former pro basketball player in Italy. They are charming and genuinely nice people. Refugio Romano is a labor of love twenty years in the making; Lucio cut and laid the beautiful stone walls himself. When we visited in early March of 2011, Lucio was only two weeks from finally completing his decades-long construction project.

With a little advance notice, the owners are happy to offer guests home-cooked meals. Lucio made us a tasty Italian dinner on the night of our arrival, and he prepared a wonderful breakfast on our morning of departure.

The Guia Roji Mexican Road Atlas says Real de Catorce is "a place of some interest for certain kind of tourists." The town is small, many of the buildings are in ruins, the north-south streets are nearly vertical, and there isn't much to do in town after you have visited the surprisingly interesting church, the mint (now an elegant museum and gallery space), and the shops and stalls along Lanzagorta street. If staying more than one night, consider getting out of town on a horse, a vintage Willys Jeep, or on foot.

Real has undeniable rustic charm. With teenagers riding horses around the central square, and the braying of donkeys during the night, It feels like a throwback to an earlier time. Locals refer to the presence of a spiritual energy here, perhaps concentrated in the spiral rings that mark a mountain-top ceremonial site of the Huichol Indians.

Refugio Romano, like the town, has its quirks, which might include a balky door latch or a misplaced hot water faucet or perhaps furniture that rumbles on the roof terrace during a strong wind. But, as with the town, the charm of the place overwhelms any quibbling defects.

A word to the wise...be careful if using a Garmin GPS navigator to find Real de Catorce. Our Garmin directed us to the dangerous "back door" route into the town (through Estacion Catorce) that can only be negotiated with a high-clearance, four-wheel drive vehicle. Three people died on this road a few days before we tried it and found we had to turn back. Use instead the cobblestone road that begins 11 km west of Cedral and ends at the long, one-way tunnel where you'll have to wait your turn before driving through.

We hope to return to Real and Refugio Romano one day. Guess we're just a certain kind of tourist.