Hotel El Maltese – Lakefront

Everything in the hotel was great for our stay. The mattresses were very comfortable, the sink area was spacious and clean, the shower had plenty of pressure, and the AC cooled well. The hotel was also only a two-minute walk from the lake, and had sports facilities and free bicycle rentals that were useful for tourists. The reason I’m so grateful, though, is that we left our wallet, with nearly USD $1,000 in it, in the room after our November 27 to 28 stay. We contacted the owner on the night we were leaving. He reassured us, then got Erick the manager to check with the housekeeper. Since Erick had already gone home, the owner stopped the room from being sold that night and asked him to search it again when he got back the next morning. After a nerve-racking night, we heard that the wallet had been found in the gap between the nightstand and wall. The owner was kind and genuinely wanted to help, and we’re very thankful to him and Erick for their honesty and assistance. They deserve the appreciation of their guests, and we’d love to stay again. May God bless them! If I could, I’d give this place 10 stars.

Really nice staff, a great location, and high-speed internet that came in handy during my stay. The breakfast was the best 😋

It’s been four days, so I’ve had time to cool down and explain this clearly. I didn’t want to spend my trip writing a review, but I hope this saves someone else time and money. My two kids and I had to leave at 1am, with little chance of finding somewhere else to stay. It started with the AC in room 4. We turned it on at 9:45pm. The condenser ran, but the room wasn’t cooling, and by 11:40pm we felt we’d given it enough time. We like supporting local small businesses, so we only complain when there’s a real problem. We hadn’t stayed in room 8 because its bathroom was very outdated and dirty. Room 4 felt like a $30 room being sold for $50 or more. The property admin yelled at the security guard over the phone to try to fix the AC or get us another room. He offered a smaller room with a smaller bed, where the AC worked but the four of us wouldn’t fit, or a bigger room if we paid the difference. We didn’t want to pay extra and asked for a refund. He wanted to charge a $20 fee plus cleaning, which felt like a refusal to refund us. We’d just turned the AC off as we left the room. When he arrived, he yelled at the guard for turning it off, thinking it had been off for a while because the room was still warm. He wanted to start fixing it at 1am and have us wait. I asked for my money back so we could leave. He refused because the AC “works.” It was funny that he could tell the room was warm but still said it worked just because it turned on. I threatened to call the local police. He replied, “Es mas, yo llamo a la policia y al abogado de la propiedad. No te preocupes.” The local police never answered, so be prepared for that if you need them. He didn’t know I hadn’t gotten through, and after he thought I’d called, he “benevolently” said, “Toma tu dinero y andate ya.” That’s how I got my money back. Instead of giving us a room that fit and had working AC at no extra cost, he was upselling us in the middle of a mess. The guard said room 7 and this one had been having the same issues, and that setting it to 17 degrees with the fan on high was supposed to help. It clearly hadn’t, since we’d waited from 11:40pm to 1am. The walls were dirty, and the admin yelled and banged on his desk and landline, acting angry. He made us feel like he’d rather refuse a refund and leave us to go at 1am than accommodate us. That’s the opposite of hospitality. He was on the phone with the property owner, who seemed calm and quiet and didn’t object to the refund. It shouldn’t take the admin calling the owner to solve such a small problem, and he even wanted me to speak with the owner. Later, a few people from outside the property told me the building was getting run down because of bad administration, and used to be pretty. Someone eventually took us in at 1:35am, after check-in time. They spoke very kindly and softly, and apologized that someone in hospitality had given us that impression. We paid for the new place, even though it had a pool, then just rested, showered, and left. That’s what we’d wanted to do from the start.

The location works well for the malecon and a morning run along the waterfront. A few restaurants and bars are nearby, though town takes a bit of a hike. There’s a modest amount of parking on site. Some nights, nearby beaty music goes on until dawn. The room was really comfy, with plenty of space, a desk, fridge, hooks, shelves, and AC. The shared spaces were useful too. The gym’s basic, just a bench, bike, and treadmill, but at least it’s there.