So. The awards for the best places to stay go to (in no particular order):
Costa Azul B&B,Valparaiso, Chile
'Valparaiso's Best View', boasts their website, and we have to agree. This little B&B is up on one of Valparaiso's many hills, away from the tourist centre where most people stay. The views over the city and the bay from your very own room window are unbelievable! It's run by a super friendly Slovenian couple, who cook you an amazing breakfast to order every day, and we even got a free bottle of wine on arrival. Best coffee in Chile too.
 |
| View of Valparaiso from Costa Azul |
Probably our favourite of all, this calls itself a hostel but could easily be a boutique hotel! It's quite new and the French owner has done it all up from scratch. The rooms are lovely - really big and with amazing showers - and breakfast is all homemade, from the bread to the yoghurt. You can also use the kitchen, which is brand new too and extremely well-equipped. The hostess, Marie-Laure, was so lovely and had travelled all over the world too so we enjoyed chatting over a pisco sour. She asked us what we thought of the room prices, and when we admitted we thought she could easily charge double, she said she likes to keep the prices down to encourage younger, backpacker travellers to stay there.What a legend!
 |
| With our hostess (and her world scratch map) at La Sombra del Viento |
Rendezvous Guest House, La
Paz, Bolivia
It's more expensive than most places in Bolivia but still an absolute bargain by Western standards. Rooms are hotel standard with really comfy beds and there is artwork all round the hotel. The breakfast was an epic buffet spread of everything you could wish for! Free bottled water all the time, a kitchen to use, and a huge DVD library complete the package. The owner, Zach, is American and was a fantastic host, even letting us stay in the spare room in his family home when we wanted to stay an extra night and the hotel was fully booked!
It's more expensive than most places in Bolivia but still an absolute bargain by Western standards. Rooms are hotel standard with really comfy beds and there is artwork all round the hotel. The breakfast was an epic buffet spread of everything you could wish for! Free bottled water all the time, a kitchen to use, and a huge DVD library complete the package. The owner, Zach, is American and was a fantastic host, even letting us stay in the spare room in his family home when we wanted to stay an extra night and the hotel was fully booked!
 |
| Cable car in La Paz |
Kinde House, Quito, Ecuador
This was where we opted to stay for Christmas, and it was an excellent choice. It's run by a friendly Ecuadorean family, who invited us to their family gathering on Christmas Eve and even cooked a special Christmas dinner for us. They also drove us to places themselves several times, including to the out of town bus station that was at least a 25 minute drive (for no charge). Rooms wouldn't look out of place in a posh hotel and had such comfortable beds. It's also a 2 minute walk from an amazing craft beer / pizza pub, Bandido Brewing.
This was where we opted to stay for Christmas, and it was an excellent choice. It's run by a friendly Ecuadorean family, who invited us to their family gathering on Christmas Eve and even cooked a special Christmas dinner for us. They also drove us to places themselves several times, including to the out of town bus station that was at least a 25 minute drive (for no charge). Rooms wouldn't look out of place in a posh hotel and had such comfortable beds. It's also a 2 minute walk from an amazing craft beer / pizza pub, Bandido Brewing.
 |
| With our hostess at Christmas dinner in Quito |
Mi Casa Guatape,
Guatape, Colombia
This is a proper backpacker hostel with dorms and private rooms available, and one that does everything right! Lovely sunset view from the balcony over the reservoir, excellent kitchen (massive rack of spices, which is a godsend in Colombia) and perfect location for climbing up the Piedra del Peñol. Quite a small hostel with a great communal area, so really good for meeting fellow travellers. It's run by an English / Colombian couple, so no problems if you don't speak Spanish! We wished we hadn't booked our next place ahead as we could easily have stayed several more nights.
This is a proper backpacker hostel with dorms and private rooms available, and one that does everything right! Lovely sunset view from the balcony over the reservoir, excellent kitchen (massive rack of spices, which is a godsend in Colombia) and perfect location for climbing up the Piedra del Peñol. Quite a small hostel with a great communal area, so really good for meeting fellow travellers. It's run by an English / Colombian couple, so no problems if you don't speak Spanish! We wished we hadn't booked our next place ahead as we could easily have stayed several more nights.
 |
| On the way from our hostel to the Piedra del Peñol |
Hotel La Calzada del Santo, Santa Marta, Colombia
We stayed here as a mini treat on the recommendation of friends, and ended up being here nearly a week after I got ill (probably zika!) and Kev injured his foot. We couldn't have asked for a better place to be stuck though. The rooftop terrace with hammocks and even a tiny splash pool had great views of the city. The staff were fantastic - the lady in charge even gave me painkillers and some gel for my aching back and warmed up a heat pack for me! Possibly best of all was the breakfast, which included an enormous plate of fruit with at least 8 different types each day. Yum.
Casa Baba, Taganga, Colombia
Casa Baba wasn't about luxury - it's a small hostel with just three very simple rooms. What really made it stand out were two things. Firstly the incredible view right from your room window. Taganga is right on the Caribbean coast and has to have some of the most beautiful sunsets of the whole continent - and Casa Baba's location near the top of a hill is a prime spot for watching them. There's even a little terrace even higher up, with rocking chairs! Very relaxing. And secondly, the lovely French / Colombian couple that run it. David and Salome were wonderful people and we loved chilling out and chatting with them.
We stayed here as a mini treat on the recommendation of friends, and ended up being here nearly a week after I got ill (probably zika!) and Kev injured his foot. We couldn't have asked for a better place to be stuck though. The rooftop terrace with hammocks and even a tiny splash pool had great views of the city. The staff were fantastic - the lady in charge even gave me painkillers and some gel for my aching back and warmed up a heat pack for me! Possibly best of all was the breakfast, which included an enormous plate of fruit with at least 8 different types each day. Yum.
 |
| The Town Hall in Santa Marta |
Casa Baba wasn't about luxury - it's a small hostel with just three very simple rooms. What really made it stand out were two things. Firstly the incredible view right from your room window. Taganga is right on the Caribbean coast and has to have some of the most beautiful sunsets of the whole continent - and Casa Baba's location near the top of a hill is a prime spot for watching them. There's even a little terrace even higher up, with rocking chairs! Very relaxing. And secondly, the lovely French / Colombian couple that run it. David and Salome were wonderful people and we loved chilling out and chatting with them.
 |
| One of the many gorgeous sunsets in Taganga, from Casa Baba |
Hosteria Villa Cardon, Cachi, Argentina
In the small village of Cachi in northern Argentina, we didn't expect to find one of the best little B&Bs we'd ever stayed in! But there you have it. We had a good feeling about this place as soon as we arrived (with no reservation) - we managed to negotiate a substantial discount on the online rate, and we were given a free glass of freshly squeezed orange juice (a rarity in Argentina). There were so many well thought out little touches, like candles outside the rooms at night and tasteful room decoration. It was also probably the most spotlessly clean of anywhere we stayed. Everything in the bathroom was shining!
In the small village of Cachi in northern Argentina, we didn't expect to find one of the best little B&Bs we'd ever stayed in! But there you have it. We had a good feeling about this place as soon as we arrived (with no reservation) - we managed to negotiate a substantial discount on the online rate, and we were given a free glass of freshly squeezed orange juice (a rarity in Argentina). There were so many well thought out little touches, like candles outside the rooms at night and tasteful room decoration. It was also probably the most spotlessly clean of anywhere we stayed. Everything in the bathroom was shining!
 |
| View over Cachi |
Hotel Rustico Cerro del Valle, San Agustin de Valle Fertil, Argentina
This was another surprising find in the middle of nowhere - we stayed a couple of nights in order to visit Ischigualasto Provincial Park. I can't say enough good things about this place. The rooms are rustic but perfect, with wooden furniture actually handmade by the guy who owns it. Our room had the most impressive minibar we've ever come across - not your usual generic drinks but an amazing selection of local wines and produce, at reasonable prices. The sheep's cheese in rosemary-infused olive oil was to die for! And the couple that run the place really went out of their way to make everything perfect for us. They organised our trip to Ischigualasto and made a huge effort to get us the cheapest deal possible; they sat us down with a map of the area and gave us some recommendations; and they even drove us back to San Juan, the nearest city (2 - 3 hours away)!
Chez Mario y Solange,
Montevideo, Uruguay
This was another surprising find in the middle of nowhere - we stayed a couple of nights in order to visit Ischigualasto Provincial Park. I can't say enough good things about this place. The rooms are rustic but perfect, with wooden furniture actually handmade by the guy who owns it. Our room had the most impressive minibar we've ever come across - not your usual generic drinks but an amazing selection of local wines and produce, at reasonable prices. The sheep's cheese in rosemary-infused olive oil was to die for! And the couple that run the place really went out of their way to make everything perfect for us. They organised our trip to Ischigualasto and made a huge effort to get us the cheapest deal possible; they sat us down with a map of the area and gave us some recommendations; and they even drove us back to San Juan, the nearest city (2 - 3 hours away)!
 |
| The 'Submarine' rock formations in Ischigualasto Provincial Park |
This is a cross between a B&B and a backpacker hostel, and one that has got that balance perfectly. It's quite new and clearly so much thought had gone into the retro decor. We loved the chairs made of tyres and even the beds were built from crates! Fantastic hosts, great breakfast with really tasty granary bread (not easy to come by in Uruguay) and good location in the centre of Montevideo too.
 |
| The City Gate on Independencia Square, Montevideo |
All of the above are places that were roughly within our normal price range (around £25 - £35 a night) - maybe slightly more, but not a posh hotel or anything like that. We did also occasionally have a splurge for a special treat, and some of these also deserve a mention:
Les Lezards B&B, Cartagena, Colombia
We stayed here for Kev's birthday. It's quite expensive, even for Cartagena (which is generally overpriced), but really nice. The six rooms are all themed - our room, the Provence room, was actually in its own little tower, with the bathroom at the top complete with rainfall shower head. All available shelves in the room were full of books, DVDs and magazines! We also had a little terrace to sit on outside. The B&B had lots of greenery everywhere, as well as two cats and even two tortoises. There was also a rooftop jacuzzi, which we loved.
 |
| At the San Felipe fort in Cartagena |
A treat for my birthday this time! A hotel in a beautiful historic building right in the heart of old town Cuenca. The best thing about it was the little extras that the staff did as surprises - for example, bringing us a little snack in the early evening and even putting a hot water bottle in the bed! I also loved that the old-fashioned style living room had a piano in it that I could play (perfectly in tune too).
 |
| The pretty river in Cuenca |
This 5 star hotel was undoubtedly the biggest splurge on accommodation of the entire trip, but also the place we were most glad we'd splashed out on. It's the only hotel actually within the Iguazu Falls National Park (Brazilian side). Everything was as amazing as you'd expect for a hotel this posh - we loved the swimming pool and gym, not to mention the champagne for breakfast every day. But you'd get all that in any 5 star hotel - what really made this one awesome was the exclusive access to the falls. In the mornings and evenings when the park was closed to the public, we could enjoy the falls (the first viewing point is only a stone's throw from the hotel) to our heart's content. There were times where we had the view all to ourselves. It's definitely worth the money just for the opportunity of seeing the sunset over the falls - unreal!
 |
| Off, champagne in hand, to see the falls in the morning |
And now for the wooden spoon prizes. I haven't bothered to put links to these, since a) you don't want to stay there, and b) most don't have websites!
San Martin 385, Bahia Blanca, Argentina
Bahia Blanca lacks many places to stay, With hindsight (this was only the third place we stayed of the trip), we should have splashed out more, or looked at AirBnB. The place we'd actually booked to stay looked so awful that we feared we'd be murdered outside, so we ended up here instead. Rooms were old, dirty and stank of cigarette smell and gas (even though the proprietor assured us there was nothing gas powered in the whole hotel... !). Absolutely sweltering at night with a fan that did nothing at all. A feeling like you'd be bound to catch something nasty just by sleeping in the bed - we used our sleeping bag liners. Well, it was pretty cheap...
 |
| The main square in Bahia Blanca |
Of all the awful places we stayed, this one probably takes the crown. We weren't meant to stay in Molina at all, but due to ridiculous bus times got stranded here on the way to the Siete Tazas National Park. Molina's a small town with no tourists, and this was basically the only place to stay. The old lady who ran it looked at us like we were mad when we asked if she had a room free. She also looked at us like we were mad when we asked if we could have some clean sheets (we found a dirty tissue in the bed...!). The bathroom was twice the size of the bedroom but was literally a (cold) shower in one corner and the rest totally empty. There was just one towel, that looked like it had been used by several previous guests. Everything was filthy, and there was a huge gap above the bedroom door. We cooked in a kitchen full of pots that revealed odd bits of meat soaking in water when their lids were removed. Never again, even though it was literally half the price of anywhere else we stayed in Chile.
 |
| Our reward for finally getting out of Molina - the Siete Tazas waterfalls |
This hostel was brand spanking new with a swimming pool, and not bad, room and facilities wise. However, what was terrible was the attitude of the manager, who was one of the rudest and most confrontational persons we'd ever met. Our trouble began when we came to check out. We'd booked it on Booking.com, with a price in USD, and had to pay in Bolivian currency. We'd expected that, but what we hadn't expected was to be hit with a ridiculous exchange rate way over what it should be. This was bad enough, but then we had to pay for some laundry that we'd done at the hostel, and were also massively overcharged for that (30 Bolivianos a kilo; to give you an idea, most places in Bolivia charge about 10). When we complained, the guy got really angry! He eventually agreed to bring the laundry down to 25 Bolivianos, but when Kev gave him 30 he then refused to give us any change, shouting at Kev that he didn't like his attitude. It was a very unpleasant experience.
Understandably, we have been keeping an eye on the Tripadvisor reviews of this place to see if anyone else had a similar experience. We actually discovered that a few months after we stayed there, the manager got so angry with someone for challenging his dodgy exchange rate that he threatened them and then came running at them with a chair! The guest in question reported this to the police. After that, there were no more reviews and we assume it was closed down!
 |
| The cathedral in Santa Cruz |
Roy's House, San Juan de Chuccho, Colca Canyon, Perú
You don't expect luxury at the bottom of a canyon, no, but they could do better than this. We were in a group of six at the time, and all of us had pre-booked a room here from our hostel in Cabanaconde at the top of the canyon before we started our hike. Somehow the message had not got through, and instead of three private rooms we had to make do with one and a dorm. The rooms we were put in were old and horrible, with holes in the ceiling, dust everywhere, and horrendous beds. We had to look on longingly as other guests arrived, who apparently did have successful reservations, and got to stay in the modern buildings instead. Oh, and the shared, outdoor bathroom had no door or floor, leaving a muddy pool of water to shower in!
 |
| Trekking in the Colca Canyon |
Staff began by trying to massively overcharge us - the first price they asked was $50 a night, but we bargained them down to $30. It's not even worth that so we feel sorry for any non-Spanish speaking or unwary tourists who might be screwed over. The room stank of sewage, the bed broke when we sat on it, and one of the dogs outside barked loudly the ENTIRE night. It was impossible to sleep. We decided to stay just one night instead of two and the staff refused to refund our money because they 'didn't have any cash' - apparently all of yesterday's takings had been, in an organised fashion, taken to the bank (NB there are no banks in Quilotoa)!
 |
| Lake Quilotoa was pretty awesome, even if we had to stay somewhere awful! |
Las Lajas is a village that people come to in order to see its incredible church built inside a canyon. The standard of accommodation available was abysmal - we'd have been better off trying to get on to somewhere else than stay there! We ended up in what is actually still a working convent. It's a huge place so they rent some rooms out to tourists (who are mostly Colombian). Our room was the size of a cell, with a bed like a brick. It was the hardest we've ever slept on, even though we padded the mattress out with extra blankets. Nothing was clean and we couldn't even face the thought of the (horrible looking) shower! But less than £5 a night.
 |
| Las Lajas Sanctuary - amazing, but don't bother spending the night in Las Lajas village! |
One of the worst hotels ever - a lot of places on this list were so cheap you'd expect them to be bad, but here we were paying 70 US dollars a night. $70 for a cold shower, no breakfast, one of the worst beds ever, and one of the noisiest rooms ever. We propped one of our two(!) mattresses against the window to block out the streetlight and some noise. Oh, and they also had the grumpiest staff ever, who kept demanding we pay up front (clearly lots of people give up and leave after one night!). And did I mention the rubbish heap and pools of stagnant water in the road outside? A haven for breeding mosquitoes...
The lesson to be learnt is, if you're going to Cartagena in holiday season (December and January). book WAY in advance. Better still, don't go in this season at all, since all the hotels double or triple their prices. Everything was booked up by the time we were looking a week before our arrival, and this was one of the only places left. The normal price for this hotel at other times of year is less than $30 a night, we discovered!
 |
| We may have had a bad hotel, but at least we had excellent company! Celebrating Kev's birthday in Cartagena. |
I start work this week (!) but have one more post I hope to publish in a week or two's time, which will just cover some general hints and tips for travel in South America (and worldwide, really).
No comments:
Post a Comment