LA PALMA Y EL TUCAN HOTEL — Hotel in Cundinamarca

Time seems to stop at La Palma y El Tucan, or at least you get the feeling that time is always in your hands. You can wake up at 1pm and the amazing included breakfast will still be ready for you; you can decide to spend your entire day in bed in the cabin (or on the cabin’s beautiful balcony) watching and listening to the rain hit the roof and feel like you could stay there forever, without a care in the world; you can ask for a massage from the excellent masseuse, and it will be scheduled on your time. The coffee trees will be literally a foot away from your cabin’s balcony. The general manager Lina, who speaks English, is almost always on site in the common area and is an amazing host. If you have questions about the coffee farm, the hotel, your stay, things you can do for fun at the hotel, or anything, she’s always there and excited to help if not guide you through the activities. She drove us to the coffee farm tour, and one of her dogs amazingly led us on a hike through one of the mountain trails. The servers in the common area were all very professional and made great coffee (v60 pourover, french press, you name it). And we very much got the feeling that all of the staff just wanted us to have a good time. In short, the hotel combines the intimacy, dedication, and casualness of a mom-and-pop bed and breakfast with the infrastructure and service of a five-star resort. ||The coffee farm tour itself gives you a new appreciation for how much work goes into producing coffee. Our tour guide (Jeff I think) spoke English and knew everything about coffee and the production process of the farm. He was an excellent tour guide and led us through a tasting of coffee and blind-smell exercise. It seems like English tours only happen once in a while, so it’s probably a good idea to request an English tour in advance before you arrive (and my guess is that they’ll be able to accommodate, just like they were able to accommodate everything else about our stay). ||As for the location: In our experience, it was about a 2.5-3 hour drive from Bogota, with the last 30 minutes to an hour or so through the beautiful, very windy/bumpy mountains. I definitely agree with all the other reviewers who’ve said that a 4-wheel-drive car is necessary, as these are really steep, muddy, and windy roads. Still, the drive is very much worth it. We wrote to the hotel’s Whatsapp to request a driver for both ways of the trip, and our driver (who seemed to be a driver who worked specifically for the hotel and spoke only Spanish) was very kind, punctual, and knew quite a bit about the farm and coffee himself. The cabin we stayed in was just as beautiful as the pictures showed—the many big windows and the light they let in were even more impressive in person. Lots of indoor lighting, space, couch, minibar and fridge, and comfortable bed, not to mention excellent daily cleaning by the staff. Some other things to know to manage your expectations: There were some moths and other small harmless bugs that entered the cabin but surprisingly few to no mosquitoes; cellular service and wifi connectivity weren’t very good in our cabin so we typically needed to go to the nearby (as in, 20 steps away) common area if we wanted to use internet (this could be a pro or con depending on what you’re looking for from your stay); there was not a hair blow dryer in our cabin so consider bringing one yourself if that’s something you need. The common area is very relaxing—has lots of couches around an indoor fireplace, outdoor tables covered by roof and umbrellas, and indoor tables. ||The food was amazing. It’s all farm-fresh: avocados from trees on the farm (there was an avocado tree right next to our outdoor shower), mint collected from a garden right outside the common area, etc. And of course all the different kinds of coffee we were able to try were amazing. They sell bags of coffee as well. ||I highly recommend this place for anyone wanting a relaxing and rejuvenating escape from everyday life, as well as for anyone...

We thought long and hard prior to writing this review since the owner of La Palma y El Tucan and her staff were lovely. However, we thought it necessary to inform others.

It is important to note that any place can have bed bugs. In a recent study, 20% of bed bug sightings happened at 5-star hotels. This serves as a good reminder that everyone should do a quick inspection of the mattress and surrounding area when traveling.

This leads us to December 31st. My wife and I were very excited to stay and spend the New Year at La Palma y El Tucan Hotel after reading all the wonderful reviews. Upon arriving, we were stunned by the natural beauty and we were quite excited to settle into our bungalow. Shortly after checking in, the staff led us to "Eucalipto" the name of our bungalow.

As I was about to lay on the bed, I noticed several stains on the sheet, which led me to look under the sheet and mattress cover. Upon pulling it up, I saw an adult bed bug along with bed bug excrement. I took a photo and quickly removed our luggage from the room.

We immediately alerted the staff, who had never heard of a bed bug. Nevertheless, they contacted the owner, who was at the property within 10 minutes. She let us know that the rooms get fumigated regularly and she was unsure how there could be bed bugs in the room since the fumigator had informed her that bed bugs were not native to the region.

While the staff and owner were sympathetic and helpful, they seemed unprepared to deal with the situation and lacked a proper bed bug protocol.

They offered us another bungalow, but we quickly decided to say no, once we noticed the cleaning lady who had striped the sheets from the bed bug bungalow was the one who was preparing our new bungalow, a major no-no when dealing with a bed bug situation as it can be easily spread. The original room should have been quarantined and a specialist called to deal with the infestation.

We sincerely hope that La Palma y El Tucan will take the necessary steps to address this issue for future guests. I believe they will since the owner told me that they plan to close off the bungalow and write an official report. Furthermore, while we were given a full refund, a small stipend to help with laundering our clothing would have been appreciated.

In the interim, please take precautions...

As a coffee hobbyist I had always heard of La Palma y El Tucán but never dreamed that I would be able to go. However when my wife and I planned a trip to Peru, I knew this would be my opportunity. We went to Colombia solely to visit La Palma y El Tucán. With high expectations, I can happily say that those were exceeded. I went to see a coffee farm, but left with so much more. Not only did we get to tour the farm and sample some of the best coffee in the world, but we got an education as well. We got to experience firsthand the benefits of sustainable farming practices amidst a biodiverse ecosystem. I was stunned to see how many trees were growing food. Because of this biodiversity, we ate fresh from the garden, walked through trails teeming with vibrant life and color, and left feeling inspired to put into practice what we learned. On top of this the owners and the staff could not have been more friendly and helpful. Lina and Diego went above and beyond in making us feel welcome and in coordinating transfers, tours, etc. My wife and I thoroughly enjoyed talking with them and their children over dinner. Naturally I had many questions about coffee, and they were so patient and helpful in answering all of them. Laura also did an outstanding job with the coffee tour and our translator, Margarita, was so much fun. Lastly, the room was amazing with a beautiful view of the property below us. In many ways this was the highlight of our trip. Also, if you do come, make sure to hike with Leche, the sweetest, most energetic pup...