Loft Hotel Ipiales

I travel often for work, and this little hotel in Ipiales is by far one of the best places I’ve stayed. The rooms are clean and stylish, the food is amazing, and the service is impeccable. The gentlemen in the restaurant are especially sweet. The location is superb too. It’s worth every penny when you’re in Ipiales.

We stayed in a beautiful suite at the Loft Hotel after a perfect day at Las Lajas Cathedral. My husband and I visited Ipiales in June, and as minorities here we’re especially mindful about safety, so we didn’t wander outside after dark. There was a lot of traffic outside, and we were happy to settle in, run a hot bath, turn on the fire pit, watch TV, order dinner from the hotel cafe, and snuggle into the king bed. For a Monday night, the suite was 374,000 Colombian pesos ($90.00USD), a great price for us. Dinner was 100,000 Colombian pesos ($25.00USD) for my shrimp and veggie stir fry, my husband’s chicken sandwich, and two bottles of water. Before checkout the next day, we had the complimentary breakfast at the cafe on the 3rd floor: fruit, OJ, coffee, an arepa, a croissant with butter and jelly, and scrambled eggs with mushrooms. It’s the “Frances” on the menu. Customer service and cleanliness were great, and I highly recommend the Loft Hotel when visiting Ipiales.

The room was 14 degrees C according to my phone, colder inside than outside. Even the spacious breakfast room and the bright, clean reception area were very cold, with staff wearing gloves and scarves. We were quoted the standard room rate and got suites for that price after looking at two rooms, both clean but without heating. The suites had gas fireplaces, one with a sitting room and separate bedroom and the other larger. The person at reception was helpful, though he spoke no English. The bed was very comfortable and the TV was well placed, but there were no bedside lights, desk light, charging station, or several other basics. Breakfast was said to be American, though something was lost in translation. There were a few choices and the food and coffee were good, but portions were small. The juice tasted neither fresh nor very fruity, and I couldn’t finish it. The stay was good overall, but a lot of water was wasted waiting for it to get hot. I was also concerned by the lack of evacuation signage and the absence of a mission statement or basic information folder in the room. It made me wonder how the property got its occupancy permits and 3 Star rating. The one-way Main Street location has steps up to reception and double glass entry doors. The room lacked an entry door security viewer, Braille room ID, carbon monoxide detector, smoke alarm, posted evacuation plan, occasional table, center piece, desk light, charging station, paper and pens, hotel information folder, tea and coffee making supplies, glasses and water, a useable size refrigerator, bedside lights, light dimmer, and more than one trash bin, which was only in the bathroom. In the bathroom there was only one glass, no wheelchair accessible toilet, no grab handle above the bathtub or in the shower, no shower light, no working extractor, no grab handle by the toilet, no bidet, no urinal, and no seats. The shower door and toilet door both opened inward, which seemed unsafe. There was no hot water recirculating system. There was also a non-GFI electrical outlet beside the bathtub, just in case you want to commit suicide.

For a hotel supposedly among the best in the city, it was disappointing that the rooms had no heating and the water took several minutes to get hot. Breakfast was just eggs prepared in different ways, with no buffet or other selection.