Crystal Palace Hotel

We stayed as a family of four back in 2007 and thought the hotel was excellent. The rooms were spacious, clean, and comfortable, and the housekeeping was incredibly thorough without us even noticing the staff. Breakfast was an extensive buffet with pretty much anything you'd want to start the day. Reception and the rest of the staff made us feel welcome and were friendly and helpful. I'd highly recommend it.

I'd give this hotel no more than 2.5 stars. The facilities are badly worn, the walls are cracked, and our room smelled bad. The staff were mediocre and showed no hospitality. They even charged for a bottle of water, something usually complimentary at a “4 star” hotel. The location is the only good thing, and this place has no right to advertise itself as four star.

The rooms are cozy and pretty nice, and the whole place was really clean. Breakfast had a good range of food. I'd just like them to offer vegan milk as another option. The employees were very friendly, and I hope I can stay there again!

The manager’s response turned an already awful stay at Crystal Palace Hotel into an even worse experience. When I asked for him at checkout, I waited about 15 minutes before a scruffy man came over. I explained in Spanish that I hadn’t seen any prices posted for the water or snacks, but he kept interrupting. Even after I asked him to slow down, he made no allowance for my level of Spanish and eventually walked away while I was still speaking. He claimed the water price included putting it in the fridge, though the bottles had been sitting on the table. I then asked the staff for the owners’ contact information and they refused. The same manager later replied to my written complaint by saying I should apologize to him. I was charged U$ 10 for the water and a Snickers bar, with no warning about the cost. I’d never been charged for water at hotels in other countries, and thought the prices were very high. I’m a U.S. citizen and had booked a Business-class round trip between Buenos Aires and Montevideo for March 9th to 10th, with the hotel stay included. The breakfast was disappointing too. Around 9.30am, I found flies on uncovered food, and the covered container for scrambled eggs was empty. In room 505, I couldn’t use the safety deposit box because there were no instructions and one of the two screws at the back was missing. It looked easy to pull off the wall, so I had nowhere to leave my valuables. It was a horrible experience. It left me with a very negative impression of the hotel and Buquebus, and of Uruguay among foreign visitors. I’d heard people in the region could be “tricky” about money, but didn’t expect that from a hotel.