Hotel La Vieja Sara — Hotel in Riohacha

The hotel has a good location - one block from the beach and the Main Street. That being said, it is a loud location and the building across the street has a VERY loud A/C system that runs non-stop. Even with closed windows, you can hear it constantly.

The breakfast was good, and the service was attentive.

The room is on the smaller size. We had the king bed, and sadly, there is not much space for anything else in the room. We could barely move around the bed.

Note that there is no elevator and no hot water either.

Overall, we had a good stay but the noise can...

Warning: They will (try to) charge you the IVA tax even if they are not allowed to! This means you will probably have to pay about 20% more than the designated price. According to Colombian law, foreign guests with a 90 day tourist permit are exempt from paying the IVA (VAT) for hotel stays (that is why they check the immigration stamp in the passport at the check-in). When we notified them of this at the checkout, they just kept giving us flimsy excuses and still haven't reimbursed us to this date (2 weeks...

The rooms were small -- very small. And there was no hot water. In the bathroom, a single smallish towel was provided, and a little piece of soap only. The window had a curtain, but it was not blackout. Rooms ending in number 01 face the back where street noise was neglible. It could have been worse. One night was enough to look elsewhere. In summary: you could do worse...