Hotel Orquídea

The main drawback for us was the garage. It fits only a couple of cars, and it’s steep and underground with hardly any room to maneuver. Otherwise, the rooms were nice and clean, the neighbourhood felt safe even at night, and internet access was good. Breakfast was included and good, but there’s no other food service. Prices for items in the room fridge were listed up front and reasonable. There are several restaurants on both sides of the street on the same block. They weren’t fancy, which suited me, and the ones we tried had good food and service at very reasonable prices. There are also drugstores and general stores close by. A large outdoor market is one block away, though I couldn’t tell whether it’s permanent. With no traffic, the airport is about ten minutes away by car, but on a Friday afternoon the trip can take up to two hours. The yellow aerial tram station is less than ten blocks away. It’s a cheap, quick, scenic way to get down to La Paz and back.

It wasn’t worth the money. They don’t take credit or debit cards, and apparently guests can’t stay in your room even for an hour. The receptionist made a big issue of it. I’ve never had an experience like that at a hotel before.

We chose this place for one night because it was near the airport and we had an early flight. We’d booked specifically because it had a bath, but apparently baths aren’t allowed here. They also wanted 30sles for a taxi, the same fare we’d paid to get to Terminal de autobuses at the other end of the city. If you’re looking for an airport hotel like we were, don’t come here. It made our whole experience of Bolivia worse.

For the price, it’s a nice, comfortable, clean hotel. The problem is how much street noise comes through. It woke me in the middle of the night sometimes.