Hotel Manada del Desierto — Hotel in San Pedro de Atacama

Don’t stay here unless you want to get scammed and sleep on filthy sheets.

Our experience was terrible. When we were checking in, we were told we would be charged a 19% tax on our stay because we did not have the police receipt you get when you land in the country to show you are not a Chilean resident, even though it was verified with the police that our passport stamp should have been sufficient. When we attempted to cancel the reservation, they then forced their cancellation policy which means we would have been forced to pay them for the surcharge. The worst part was that the receptionist promised to give me a receipt that stated the room charges and the added taxes separately so I could attempt a tax refund at the airport. She immediately charged the full amount giving me a simple receipt without any information whatsoever, and apologized for not “understanding” what I asked for (native Spanish speaker here). Feeling cheated and bitter, we take the keys go to the room and the first impression was ok whatever this is ok. Little did we know we would find A TON of hair, dirt, sweat and (personal) body stains all over the sheets and towels from previous guests. On top of that the towels honest to God looked like old floor rags. I mean, if you are going to scam someone and charge a premium compared to everywhere else, wash your filthy sheets. All other people we spoke to who stayed in $30-$50 night hostels did not encounter this problem. Save yourself a bad time and some change for activities and don’t...

Our experience was terrible. When we were checking in, we were told we would be charged a 19% tax on our stay because we did not have the police receipt you get when you land in the country to show you are not a Chilean resident, even though it was verified with the police that our passport stamp should have been sufficient. When we attempted to cancel the reservation, they then forced their cancellation policy which means we would have been forced to pay them for the surcharge. The worst part was that the receptionist promised to give me a receipt that stated the room charges and the added taxes separately so I could attempt a tax refund at the airport. She immediately charged the full amount giving me a simple receipt without any information whatsoever, and apologized for not “understanding” what I asked for (native Spanish speaker here). Feeling cheated and bitter, we take the keys go to the room and the first impression was ok whatever this is ok. Little did we know we would find A TON of hair, dirt, sweat and (personal) body stains all over the sheets and towels from previous guests. On top of that the towels honest to God looked like old floor rags. I mean, if you are going to scam someone and charge a premium compared to everywhere else, wash your filthy sheets. All other people we spoke to who stayed in $30-$50 night hostels did not encounter this problem. Save yourself a bad time and some change for activities and don’t stay...

This hotel was absolutely in the PERFECT location in San Pedro. It was a 3 minute walk to the square, a 3 minute walk to where we got the bus for the ALMA observatory, and conveniently located for just about everything. ||||The hotel arranged a transfer service from us from the Calama airport. It cost about $30ish USD per person round trip. I realized later that we didn't need to book it ahead of time, but it was nice to have it done, with no upcharge. ||||As other people mention, the rooms/bathrooms are TINY. You will not be lounging in the rooms, but since most visitors in San Pedro are out on tours anyway during the day, that's not really the goal of staying in the town. ||||The staff at the hotel were super friendly. Those who are there during most midday hours speak English well. ||||The breakfast that they served was ample and the hosts were quite friendly. ||||The pool was too cold for us to swim in while we were there. (I mean, I jumped in, but jumped right back out!!!)||||We were expecting the tiny rooms, but the things that made this less than stellar: We lost electricity a few times over the course of the stay. The last day, we couldn't shower because the water truck hadn't come to fill up their tank and they had no water in the whole complex. That put a bit of a damper on the last day.||||Overall, we were pleased with the stay and with our time in San...