Hostal El Arbol — Hotel in La Serena

Super kind and helpful staff! Went above and beyond to communicate in advance and during our stay. Lovely people, lovely house with book exchange, breakfast, and wisteria overflowing the yard.

Self check instructions were super detailed and clear—it was a breeze.

Fellow Americans—please don’t embarrass us and get mad at staff for their English language fluency levels, which may vary. You’re traveling in Chile. Be respectful and mature! Practice your Spanish, download Spanish on the google translate app (super easy), and don’t expect everyone to cater to your most comfortable mode of communication.

Not a factory style hostel; much smaller and more like a house. This means the bathroom is one room with a toilet and shower. Bathroom available wasn’t an issue though, as was my concern. It somehow all worked out fine!

There are not lockers or safes, but felt very secure and cooperative environment. We were able to leave our luggage after checkout for a little while too.

It was clean and cozy. My suggestion for them would be to get heavier duty mattress protectors and pillow protectors so that it stays this clean with many guests...

I booked and paid for a bed for 4 nights. After the 1st night the staff had a miscommunication and told me I needed to pack up and leave. I was able to explain that I had already paid, but the staff member called her boss and it was an unnecessarily eventful experience. Then after my third night, I came back to the hostal around 3 or 4 and was told that they double booked my bed and that I needed to leave. They refunded me for the fourth night, but I still found myself walking 20 minutes through town to a new hostal when all I really wanted was some rest. I was also told half-way through my stay that I owed more money. I questioned why this would be since I had paid in full upon arrival. I was never given an answer that made sense (translation issues). I left without paying this "extra" after the double booking issue. I should mention that this place is charming, in a great location, and is overall clean and satisfactory, but they need to figure out their booking situation because it was really...

We had a fantastic stay at El Árbol. The cozy hostel includes a communal dining table that facilitates conversation, a courtyard, and lots of light. Every staff member was extremely kind and helpful, and went out of their way to make sure we had a good stay. Maybe it was a coincidence that the people who happened to be staying there were kind and social, but the hostel felt like a magical place where new community could be formed and connections could be made. When a visitor had a problem, the staff and visitors worked together to help her with such kindness that went way beyond the way most strangers would. The breakfast is delicious, Juanita and Manuel and every other staff member I met are kind and helpful, and overall I recommend this...