Mana Star Lounge Hotel — Hotel in Huila

Mana Star Lounge is just the perfect place! Javier, Tatiana and Ferney are the most lovely hosts, they made us feel very welcomed and were incredibly helpful. We also felt safe at all times, which was truly relaxing. The hotel has no WiFi, which is actually great if you wish to disconnect. WiFi is available in Villavieja easily. Dinner is available at a fee, and the food was delicious - Tatiana is the best cook! We arranged the meals in advance via WhatsApp with John, the owner. They also cater to vegetarians and vegans. The rooms consist of little huts with an open-air toilet. All is spotess clean and the bed is very comfortable. There's a nest above the bed to protect us from mosquitos. Also, the 1 year old dog Cuper is very playful, absolutely adorable. We wanted to take him home with us!

TOUR OF THE DESERT: Ferney is also a certified tour guide with an incredible knowledge and respect for the desert. We would recommend scheduling a tour with him. He took us to all the main areas of the desert. We finished the tour in a swimming pool close to Los hoyos, a splash of blue in the middle of the grey desert - incredible! Ferney and Javier drove us around in their moto, which added another layer of thrilling excitment to the experperience. All the people of the desert and in Villavieja were nice and welcoming.

TO GET THERE: To get to Mana we took a bus (or 'carro') from Neiva Terminal to Villavieja (cost is 10.000 cop pp).. When you get to Villavieja, there will be plenty of tuktuks available to take you to Mana (about 160.000 cop). There is also an option where the hosts from Mana come to collect you from Villavieja in their motorbikes, but it might not be ideal if you are carrying large backpacks or luggage. On our return, the hosts arranged for a taxi to take us directly to the airport (150.000 cop). This took us about 1h30min. The driver Camilo was so nice and funny, we had...

The place is very quiet, which is wonderful. There are only 5 huts so you probably will not meet very much people. The staff is nice but we felt a little bit controlled. We had to ask for a mosquito net. Be aware that there is no WiFi. When you want to do a tour through the desert you probably have to do it with them (which is possible), because you can not contact someone else. They have a big pool but unfotunately not much space to chill. The seats in the "diningroom" are quite uncomfortable. Except of this the hotel is a very nice place. Breakfast is included and they offer dinner (the meat was very good), besides that they don't have a menu with...

A hidden pearl in the desert. I liked this place so much. It is so peaceful and relaxing there. The staff and manager are SUPER friendly. The room really something special. The food, although a bit pricey, was very good and very high quality. I especially loved the little details everywhere - fairy lights, shampoo and shower gel, very soft towels and sheets, the beautifully landscaped garden, the so stylish sink and so much more. Not to forget the two great dogs Cooper and Berlin. I can only recommend everyone to come here and spend 2 nights at the...