Hotel La Nacional by Kavia

Do not stay here. I was put in a room right beside the lobby, with people shouting on the phone two feet from my bed all day and all night. It was impossible to sleep. The rooms are gross and the showers are awful, worse than a hostel. Don’t book.

We got good value for money. The hotel was very clean, and the rooms were cleaned every day. Our bedroom had plenty of space. The staff were kind and let us use their fridge, and they left new water bottles in the room each day. Free drinking water was available too. The pool is small but nice for a quick, refreshing dip. It’s right on the square, which is a central location, though a square-side room gets a lot of weekend noise.

The bed was comfortable, and after 11 pm it was quiet above the restaurant. But the bathroom was filthy and moldy, and getting up to the toilet meant stepping up very high. I honestly don’t know how this hotel has such a high rating. The adverts must use filters. The platform and stairs are extremely dangerous and unsafe. Customer service was terrible. I booked because the hotel said it had a lift. They first gave me a room on the first floor, reached by some very dodgy stairs, and refused to help with my suitcase. Reluctantly, they moved me to 205, and it was the worst night ever. The noise was terrible, like sleeping right on the street. In the morning, I spoke with another young man, who eventually agreed to move me back to the first floor and help with my bags. When I checked out, a different young man reluctantly went upstairs to get my bag. Really awful hotel, avoid it.

The price and quality were pretty fair, but the room was older and dirtier than the pictures suggested. The shower clearly hadn’t been cleaned, and the floor was dirty. There were stains on the sheets and hair left behind by previous guests. I also found a live cockroach in the room, and a dead one still stuck to the wall.