Inti Illimani Lodge Isla del Sol Bolivia

The Inka Ruins are really close, and the hotel is good value for money. It has great views, and with no light pollution you can see loads of stars. Just bring a flashlight if you’re walking back after dinner in town, since the way is a bit dark.

The beds were fine and the views were great, but the service was really poor. Even though we’d told them when we’d arrive, nobody was there, and we waited an hour for the owner. When he finally turned up, three couples were waiting to check in, but he focused on selling drinks and snacks to a group of tourists. No apology. We had to ask for the room key and basic details like where and when breakfast was. He seemed very chaotic. Breakfast was fine, though the woman serving it didn’t smile, speak, or show any interest. She just put the food down and left. We asked for two extra hours before our late boat, but were told clearly that we had to leave at 10. Checkout was a hassle too, as their records weren’t in order and it took ages to work out what we owed. Card payment wasn’t possible, and the Wi-Fi was OK. I wouldn’t advise staying here.

The bathroom smelled awful and clearly hadn’t been cleaned. Every time you touched the shower handle, you got an electric shock. We paid for the two nights we’d booked when we arrived. The next morning, the hostess said we’d paid for only one and demanded another 100 Bolivianos for the second. At first she showed us a booking under a different name. When we showed her our own booking on our phones, she said the price had gone up and we still had to pay more. We refused, since that wasn’t how booking.com worked, but she pretended to call booking.com and kept asking for money. We didn’t pay, reported her on booking.com, and stayed the second night we’d already paid for. It put a damper on the visit. Other reviews make it sound like this may have happened before, in this or a similar way.

After crossing over from Yampupata, these are the first lodgings you come to, which was handy. It’s just outside town and very peaceful. We paid 140 bolivianos for a private bathroom and a big, comfortable double bed. The views are spectacular, and you can watch the sun rise over the mountains from bed. The food at the restaurant was tasty and reasonably priced, especially the quinoa soup. The señora looking after the place was lovely and gave us walking advice. We stayed two nights and would highly recommend it.