Loma Sanchez — Hotel in San Pedro de Atacama

My mom and I stayed here for 3 nights. We had planned on camping and thenm, in a pinch, we decided to start with one night in a hostal before hitting the road. We happened to wander in to Loma Sanchez and Diego gave us a tour of the place without being pushy. It just felt right, especially when there are a lot of places that feel like they are trying to sell you. The price was right. The stay was so easy, comfortable and cozy that we opted out of camping all together! We stayed in the shared yurts but it wasn't full so we had the bunks to ourselves. There is a great little kitchen for guests to use, friendly animals, great people working there, and a relaxed vibe. Diego helped us with things every day and was wonderful to chat with about the country, his story, the story of the Hostal and the family who owned it etc....

It was way over priced. I was not shown around the premises. I went to find the kitchen there was a small one on the grounds with a chef cooking in it, so I looked for somewhere else and ended up in the family kitchen (no signs anywhere for anything). Turns out the chef from the "Burger Garden" on the adjoining premises uses the hostel kitchen. The kitchen facilities were not good, the cooker was falling apart, the fridge I found out was in another yurt (which was a small Coca Cola fridge, not sufficient for a hostel). The WiFi does not work from the yurt. They advertise laundry, however this is taken off the premises (at a cost of 2,000) and is not available...

I got my laundry done here, but never again. It was really expensive and the hostel lost four items of my clothing, including shoe insoles that were really important for my hiking! I have never encountered more rude and unfriendly staff in all my life. When I asked where my clothes were a girl told me that they had accidently mixed my laundry up with someone elses. The manager came in and started shouting at me in Spanish! She was SO aggressive!! She started having a go at the girl too who I actually felt sorry for. She shoved the money I had paid back in my hand and literally pushed me out of the door. Avoid at all costs! The people that work here...