Bubinzana Magical Lodge

The view is incredible, and the rooms are nice. The owner is really friendly, and the desk staff are responsive and helpful. Breakfast was great too, with a menu that changes.

They offer airport pickup, and the location is good. The staff were friendly and helpful, and the pool and garden were nice, though both seemed smaller than in the photos. There wasn't any food when we stayed. Also, each time we wanted to head out, we had to wait for staff or go looking for them, which got a bit annoying. Prices were good.

We cancelled our booking and went elsewhere. For what this hotel costs, the value was awful, and the staff showed no customer service skills. We arrived at 12:30 am after a 27-hour bus ride and were met rudely by a man who didn't understand we had a reservation made two days earlier. My partner had contacted the hotel just the day before, but it felt like he didn't want to let us in. At 8 am the same man woke us by knocking loudly to say he'd given us the wrong room and we had to move right away. He knew we'd arrived late, but showed no manners or understanding that we were tired. There was no apology, please, or thank you. We couldn't understand why he hadn't waited until we came out for breakfast, or why we had to move before checkout at 10 am when check-in was at 2 pm. We told him and the cleaner we were still tired and asked them to wait, but they knocked again 20 minutes later, insisting we move. The new room was smaller even though we'd booked a premium room. We weren't given a minute to settle in or wake up before the woman demanded our passports and paperwork. At breakfast, the packaged rolls had ants throughout them. They brought replacement bread, then the chef brought out a chicken sandwich without asking about dietary needs. We politely turned down the poor-looking sandwich and asked for the vegetarian choice, which was a sad little salad. We had to ask for butter, milk, and even a cup for our drinks. We felt treated like animals. If they'd asked politely to move after we'd woken up and eaten, we would have happily done it, but there was no empathy or consideration, and no apology at any point. Avoid this place.

The pool was nice, but the rest of the place felt old and a bit grimy. The furniture in the rooms and around the pool was dated and grubby. It was way overpriced, and there was much better value elsewhere in Tarapoto.