Hotel Smiling Crab — Hotel in District of Canoas de Punta Sal

I stayed here several years ago with my husband and daughter. The view and style of the hotel were breathtaking. At that time, the host (Fermina) was very welcoming and did her best to make us feel special. ||However, this time the story was very different. Despite the price, the hotel hasn’t improved at all. Furniture looks worn out and dirty, in the room, restaurant and around the pool area. The pool was dirty when we arrived and they only cleaned it after I complained saying that the last days had been very busy. The stay included continental breakfast that in the menu was shown for 18 soles (very basic), and American breakfast for 20 soles. We asked if they could change the continental for American breakfast (which included scramble eggs) so we could pay the difference (2 soles extra pp) however they said that was not possible and instead they had to charge us 8 soles pp for the extra eggs. The room included only three big towels and soap. We noticed there were no floor mats or little towels, we asked and they confirmed they didn’t have little towels. Sadly my husband slipped on the wet floor but fortunately he fell on the old yellow WC seat, which broke in two. They luckily repaired it quickly. On the second day we heard noises of two men taking loudly late at night. The next afternoon we heard them burping and making funny noises and I was alarmed when I went to the window and saw a man sitting on his toilet seat just outside my daughters window. Reception said he was the guardian of the hotel!||The restaurant, unlike the last time we visited, was a place we tried to avoid as much as we could due to the high volume of the TV and the volume of the mobile phone of the kitchen personnel. I tried an apple pie (16 soles per piece) which probably has been the worst I’ve ever tasted in my life.||We had problems with the water towards the end. My daughter was about to shower and there was no water coming. Nobody was there to help, except Carlos, who luckily fixed the problem quickly. I want to make a special mention to Carlos, he assisted us from the beginning and was the only person who made us feel welcomed and comfortable, he was always busy working on something and we definitely appreciated his hard work. Also he was the only person available at the hotel most of the time.||We were the only guests and as our flight was only leaving later in the afternoon we asked if we could have a late check out and they accepted but charged us the ridiculous amount of 20 soles. This is nothing but it could have meant a lot if they could have offered it as a courtesy. ||In summary, we didn’t feel the love. We felt the hotel has been forgotten and we definitely believe is not worth the money they charge for. I do not recommend it and please read the other reviews, for what they charge you can definitely find a better...

I stayed here several years ago with my husband and daughter. The view and style of the hotel were breathtaking. At that time, the host (Fermina) was very welcoming and did her best to make us feel special. However, this time the story was very different. Despite the price, the hotel hasn’t improved at all. Furniture looks worn out and dirty, in the room, restaurant and around the pool area. The pool was dirty when we arrived and they only cleaned it after I complained saying that the last days had been very busy. The stay included continental breakfast that in the menu was shown for 18 soles (very basic), and American breakfast for 20 soles. We asked if they could change the continental for American breakfast (which included scramble eggs) so we could pay the difference (2 soles extra pp) however they said that was not possible and instead they had to charge us 8 soles pp for the extra eggs. The room included only three big towels and soap. We noticed there were no floor mats or little towels, we asked and they confirmed they didn’t have little towels. Sadly my husband slipped on the wet floor but fortunately he fell on the old yellow WC seat, which broke in two. They luckily repaired it quickly. On the second day we heard noises of two men taking loudly late at night. The next afternoon we heard them burping and making funny noises and I was alarmed when I went to the window and saw a man sitting on his toilet seat just outside my daughters window. Reception said he was the guardian of the hotel! The restaurant, unlike the last time we visited, was a place we tried to avoid as much as we could due to the high volume of the TV and the volume of the mobile phone of the kitchen personnel. I tried an apple pie (16 soles per piece) which probably has been the worst I’ve ever tasted in my life. We had problems with the water towards the end. My daughter was about to shower and there was no water coming. Nobody was there to help, except Carlos, who luckily fixed the problem quickly. I want to make a special mention to Carlos, he assisted us from the beginning and was the only person who made us feel welcomed and comfortable, he was always busy working on something and we definitely appreciated his hard work. Also he was the only person available at the hotel most of the time. We were the only guests and as our flight was only leaving later in the afternoon we asked if we could have a late check out and they accepted but charged us the ridiculous amount of 20 soles. This is nothing but it could have meant a lot if they could have offered it as a courtesy. In summary, we didn’t feel the love. We felt the hotel has been forgotten and we definitely believe is not worth the money they charge for. I do not recommend it and please read the other reviews, for what they charge you can definitely find a better...

I will describe SOLE advantage: location. This place is really interesting for the landscape and the absence of any traffic, people etc. Spectacular views from the upper rooms to the Pacific ocean (especially sunset) are absolutely gorgeous. The only sound, which you hear in the morning is waves on the beach. That's it. All other are absolute disadvantages. First: the rooms are very small, with uncomfortable bathroom (it was my first hotel in the whole world, where I've got one towel for the whole day for all purposes and only small piece of soap to wash anything, I'd like to). No air conditioner. It's a nightmare. You can't sleep, you can't relax during the day. You always want to take a shower, but you have only one towel and small piece of soap. Second: terrible service. You ask for a bottle of water and can wait for 40 min. to get it. They speak English, but it does't help, because they do everything so slowly, that you may even forget about it. Third: kitchen. Well, basically it doesn't matter what you ordered. All fish dishes taste the same. For breakfast you always get the same: 2 piece of bread, butter and jam. Anything else is for extra payment (including fired eggs). This was our first and only example during our travel throughout the while country. Fourth: you can not swim there. Oceanic waves are good for surfers. The pool is so small, that it's suitable for two persons maximum. And finally: this is not the cheapest option in the region. I really did not understand this place. P.S. free, but awful wi-fi....