Hostal Iskanwaya — Hotel in La Paz

Where to even begin with Hostel Iskanwaya and Rodrigo’s hospitality. Admittedly this review is a few weeks delayed, but we have been singing Rodrigo’s praises to all our friends and family back home due to him going above and beyond in a fairly stressful situation - this may be long, but there aren’t enough words to highlight how grateful we were. |Besides the later misfortune we ended up having whilst in La Paz, first and foremost, the reviews questioning whether Rodrigo sleeps are accurate because straight away on the first day when our bus got in at 5am, he was there to greet us and fortunately was able to let us into our room right away, meaning we could nap straight away after our overnight bus. |Onto the more ‘extreme’ circumstances where Rodrigo came into his own - My partner experienced a combination of a potential head injury (from cycling Death Road) and severe altitude sickness, so much so he required medical treatment at a hospital. Obviously as tourists, we weren’t too sure where was the most suitable hospital for us and to add another obstacle, our stay coincided with miners’ strikes involving road blockades everywhere and dynamite being let off, making getting from A to B pretty difficult, not ideal with a medical situation at hand, but I can’t stress enough how much of an angel Rodrigo was at this time. Firstly he recommended a clinic (which was great), but most importantly he enlisted the help of his friends in the local area who were drivers to help us get to and from the hospital, as taxis were proving difficult to get hold of due to the blockades - this included having his friend waiting for us outside the hospital at 10:30pm just in case we didn’t have wifi to contact him when we were ready to arrange pick up, avoiding possibly being stranded at the clinic. |Given the situation, we had to keep delaying our bus to Cusco as my partner could barely get out of bed, and we were so so so thankful that not only were we able to extend our stay so easily but we were able to stay in the same room the whole time (we were very fortunate that the guests after us had cancelled their visit at short notice). I don’t know if we were just lucky but our room was super spacious, with lots of light, a really comfortable bed and great bathroom - perfect for my partner who was forced to set up camp here for 4/5 days. |Again, Rodrigo was understanding that my partner couldn’t make it downstairs for breakfast and was very accommodating in letting me take him up some food from the spread. He also had some great recommendations for chicken soup from a local cafe to help him feel better. |Despite there often being guests requiring his attention for other queries, no matter how many times I popped my head into the reception (he was probably sick of hearing about room 20!), no question or request was too big, and really provided a thorough response to everything. |I also don’t think our case was one off, as we heard a conversation between him and our neighbour who was also seemingly experiencing some form of altitude sickness, and again, he went out of his way to be caring and reassuring. |In a foreign city, with minimal Spanish and an ill partner I couldn’t value Rodrigo’s help anymore, and I think it is a reflection of his hospitality and professionalism - we kept saying how thankful we were that he fell ill in Hostal Iskanwaya compared to some other hostels we’ve stayed in! |P.S. the breakfast was also great, so that’s more than enough reason to stay here!!||THANK...

Where to even begin with Hostel Iskanwaya and Rodrigo’s hospitality. Admittedly this review is a few weeks delayed, but we have been singing Rodrigo’s praises to all our friends and family back home due to him going above and beyond in a fairly stressful situation - this may be long, but there aren’t enough words to highlight how grateful we were. Besides the later misfortune we ended up having whilst in La Paz, first and foremost, the reviews questioning whether Rodrigo sleeps are accurate because straight away on the first day when our bus got in at 5am, he was there to greet us and fortunately was able to let us into our room right away, meaning we could nap straight away after our overnight bus. Onto the more ‘extreme’ circumstances where Rodrigo came into his own - My partner experienced a combination of a potential head injury (from cycling Death Road) and severe altitude sickness, so much so he required medical treatment at a hospital. Obviously as tourists, we weren’t too sure where was the most suitable hospital for us and to add another obstacle, our stay coincided with miners’ strikes involving road blockades everywhere and dynamite being let off, making getting from A to B pretty difficult, not ideal with a medical situation at hand, but I can’t stress enough how much of an angel Rodrigo was at this time. Firstly he recommended a clinic (which was great), but most importantly he enlisted the help of his friends in the local area who were drivers to help us get to and from the hospital, as taxis were proving difficult to get hold of due to the blockades - this included having his friend waiting for us outside the hospital at 10:30pm just in case we didn’t have wifi to contact him when we were ready to arrange pick up, avoiding possibly being stranded at the clinic. Given the situation, we had to keep delaying our bus to Cusco as my partner could barely get out of bed, and we were so so so thankful that not only were we able to extend our stay so easily but we were able to stay in the same room the whole time (we were very fortunate that the guests after us had cancelled their visit at short notice). I don’t know if we were just lucky but our room was super spacious, with lots of light, a really comfortable bed and great bathroom - perfect for my partner who was forced to set up camp here for 4/5 days. Again, Rodrigo was understanding that my partner couldn’t make it downstairs for breakfast and was very accommodating in letting me take him up some food from the spread. He also had some great recommendations for chicken soup from a local cafe to help him feel better. Despite there often being guests requiring his attention for other queries, no matter how many times I popped my head into the reception (he was probably sick of hearing about room 20!), no question or request was too big, and really provided a thorough response to everything. I also don’t think our case was one off, as we heard a conversation between him and our neighbour who was also seemingly experiencing some form of altitude sickness, and again, he went out of his way to be caring and reassuring. In a foreign city, with minimal Spanish and an ill partner I couldn’t value Rodrigo’s help anymore, and I think it is a reflection of his hospitality and professionalism - we kept saying how thankful we were that he fell ill in Hostal Iskanwaya compared to some other hostels we’ve stayed in! P.S. the breakfast was also great, so that’s more than enough reason to stay here!!

THANK...

Rodrigo is a star! He almost single-handedly runs the show, with his family assisting him. His cool, calm demeanour and his “yes-and” attitude made my stay extremely smooth and carefree. I received good advice and he also made quick arrangements for my tour.

I stayed in room 15.

Pros: water heater was in tip-top condition with no waiting time. Bed was comfortable, room was big for me (solo traveller), has a view of the mountainsides in the distance. Location was great, and the lift worked well. The temperature felt comfortable through the night even though it was cold outside.

Special mention: breakfast was hearty and healthy (I’m sensitive to salt, so I’m extremely glad that the eggs were unsalted and we could salt to our own taste). Came with fruit, bread, cereals, coffee and tea, and tomatoes and avocado.

Areas for improvement: because of the cold weather, the towel had a slight mildew smell. The toilet was a little cramped with only a shower curtain to separate the toilet from the shower (but the toilet area still remained dry with careful use). There could also be a toiletries holder in the shower area so that I didn’t have to leave my stuff on the toilet floor or reach over to the rack over at the toilet area.

Note that if you like to sleep in late, there is a whole street of vendors below, so that might be a slight issue. Otherwise, I had no issues. In fact, I appreciated that the morning scene was lively and convivial.

Overall, a hands-down...