Hotel Vida

With your explanations about places to visit around Puedro Madryn and the bike you lent me, I got to see whales from very close. Thanks, my friend!

The staff at reception and the cleaning women were lovely, and they let me keep food in the refrigerator. Still, I had a frustrating five-night stay with a km1 contingent. The hotel is small, has no air conditioning, and there’s no elevator, something to consider if you have limited mobility. It was over 30 degrees on some days, though they did bring us a fan. The gluten-free breakfast they advertised basically didn’t exist. I asked on the first day, and the only safe choices were fruit and prepackaged butter, jam, and dulce de leche. I had to put together my own breakfast. If you’re celiac or intolerant, I wouldn’t recommend it. No one ever offered a suitable breakfast, though I’m not sure whether that was the hotel or km1’s responsibility. They also stained my sweatshirt with bleach while cleaning a table during breakfast. I reported it to the receptionist, a curly-haired woman who I later learned was the manager. At first she said they’d reimburse me. The next day, when I asked if I should send a link to the brand so they could see the price, she said it seemed strange, that it had never happened before, and suggested I’d gone into the kitchen and leaned somewhere I shouldn’t have. She said she didn’t want a “drama” and asked what they owed me. Her passive-aggressive tone made me afraid they’d take it out of one of the lovely cleaners’ pay, so I chose not to push for the money. Clothes can mean something to people, and it’s not all about money. I’m posting this so others know it HAS HAPPENED before. And it’s not their fault. you guys😌😉

I’d give this place zero stars if I could. I was glad I’d booked only one night before my flight. The room was in poor shape: the faucet kept dripping, the nozzle fell out, and the nightlight was just a bright bulb shining in my eyes. There was no hairdryer, though I suppose that’s what you expect at a two-star hotel. Wi-Fi connected to a network but had no internet. Asking for help didn’t solve it, so I went to the second floor to find another network with a weak signal and barely finished my work. Breakfast was another problem. Before checking in, I asked how late it was available and was told 10:00. I arrived around 9:50 to find the food table nearly empty; they said I was late, then laughed when I showed them the time. We took two croissants and used our own groceries. I’d also told them I needed to check out at 5:00 PM for my flight, not 10:00 AM, and they offered the room for 50% of the nightly rate, which I accepted. When my flight shifted from 9:00 PM to 11:00 PM, I asked to stay until 7:00 PM instead of 5:00 PM. They refused because I’d paid until 5:00 PM, despite half the rooms being empty. I wasn’t asking to stay for free, I’d paid half the rate. Astonishingly petty.

The common areas were very nice, and it was good value for money. It works well if you want to spend the day at the beach and just need somewhere to sleep overnight. The only issue was that our room for five had just two electrical outlets.