INAMBÚ Casa de Huéspedes — Hotel in Municipio de Colonia Carlos Pellegrini

My partner and I spent the Easter week-end at Rancho Inambu in the beautiful area of Esteros de Ibera.||We booked late, only two or three weeks before Easter, and therefore couldn't find any private room in the area. The owner of Rancho Inambu offered us a double bed in a 4 beds room with a private bathroom and a package deal including 3 nights, breakfast and 4 excursions (horse-ride, boat excursion on the laguna, night hike and day hike in the forest). She also asked for a 50 % deposit beforehand... ||When we got there, we realised that a fifth bed had been added to the room without being mentioned and that the 'bathroom' we had to share between five of us was a small toilet outside the room with a small kind of 'bucket' attached to the wall as a shower. To get to this 'bathroom', we had to cross the dining-room and the kitchen, and to have a shower, we had to ask the owner to fill the 'bucket' and hit the water for us. The 'bucket' was very small and there was no pressure at all, so everyone gave up on washing for three days... ||The breakfast was good but we were told off when we dared asking for some hot chocolate. Lunch and dinner were overpriced, it was hard to guess at what time we were supposed to come to the dinning room (no communication) and guests were told off if they were showing up 'late'. It was also quite hard to get to know the prices of the meals and drinks as there were no menus available and as the owner was giving us really approximate answers. ||We got to do only 3 excursions out of 4. The 2 hours boat ride was the best. The times of the excursions were imposed : we had asked not to have any excursions on the Thursday after our 12 hours journey from Buenos Aires but were told when we arrived that we had to go horse-riding a couple of hours after or miss the excursion... No alternative offered.||On the Friday, some nice Argentinian guests advised us to organise our transfer back to Mercedes as soon as possible as they were told that all the transports were getting booked. I asked the owner of Rancho Inambu if she could help us to find a transport. The day after I asked if she had found something and she simply answered no and told me to go to the tourist office... One of the guests offered us to drop us to Mercedes on the Saturday afternoon on his way back to BA. We accepted after realising that otherwise we will be stuck until the Monday. When I told the owner that we had to leave a day before because of the transport issue, she just answered 'ok, but you have to pay the full package'. There was no way to negotiate with her and she just wrote our final bill for 3 nights, 3 breakfasts and 4 excursions while we only spent 2 nights, ate 2 breakfasts, went to 3 excursions and could not shower.||At no point during our stay we felt welcomed at Rancho Inambu and we never had the impression that our host cared about our comfort. She cared only about getting our cash and it was definitely our worst experience in four months of travelling through South America.||Still, the rancho itself is nice, the garden is lovely and the location fantastic. Esteros de Ibera is a fantastic place for nature-lovers, we got to see many black caimans and capybaras, plenty of birds, few dears and foxes, and some beautiful sunsets. Maybe just avoid Easter and book a private room with bathroom and your transfers in advance to enjoy the place...

My partner and I stayed here for 3 nights in April.||||It is a beautiful location....||||I found julieta in particular to be quite unwelcoming and difficult. Before arrival we were told that we could arrange excursion times etc on arrival and she was extremely friendly and accommodating. On arrival we were informed of the exact times for all our excursions which were not open to negotiation.||||It is impossible to get so much as a glass of water without waiting for the often elusive staff. And I don't accept the argument they were busy during that time as there was a total of 4 people - us and one other couple onsite for the duration. There were the same number of staff as guests.||||I agree that it was difficult to understand the unwritten rules for eating in the restaurant. Both ourselves and the other couple would dare each other to go in and ask for food when we were hungry - as the service was a little intimidatingly unfriendly. There was one day where both couples were waiting to order food in the restaurant, only to be kept waiting while all the staff had a group meal - we were eventually acknowledged around 3.30pm.||||Don't even attempt to play pool there.... they appear to have so little trust in anyone that after every frame you have to find someone to ask for the white ball back - they don't trust guests to do this without supervision.||||We hired a kayak for one morning - the most expensive kayak ever hired with wooden paddles stapled together from old paddles that filled the boat with water. We were dropped off when some other guests were taken for an excursion, but were not offered any collection afterwards and had to walk back 30 minutes in the midday heat. Yes, that wouldn't be so much of a problem, but we were already paying well over the odds for a basic service.||||That would just about summarise the trip. Paying well over the odds for a pretty unfriendly, basic service. I have no issue with basic service, but there was a stifling level of control over everything and we felt like a nuisance for ordering anything so preferred to go without at times rather than go through the rigmarole of ordering something.||||The accommodation was fine, basic, but no real complaints. Just all very expensive under the guise of a personal service, when the personal sevice was actually unfriendly and controlling. Maybe they should consider offering self catering accommodation if they resent waiting upon...

Stayed in the shared accommodation. Bathroom was next to the host's kitchen which was a bit awkward when they were preparing the food and I was doing the opposite. Shower was a strange refill thing stuck on the wall, which had to be booked to be used. Food was good but with a mysterious pricing structure that was revealed with final bill. Gardens and place itself was nice, lots of birds about, but overall I never really felt that welcome; it was like staying at your step-mothers house or an Aunt that really doesn't like you. I don't speak much Spanish so perhaps it was lost in translation, but I found trying to organise transportation to and from the ranch virtually impossible and the owners seemed reluctant to help. Finally it was very expensive, in fact the owner seemed more concerned with making money than my comfort. I'd recommend trying one of the other ranches in the area...