Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Hotel Don Quijote
About 1km outside town on the road to Coripata 02 2136007,
hotel-
donquijote.net
.
This long, stable-like bungalow hotel has dark but cool net-curtained rooms
with private bathrooms, as well as a restaurant, bar, spacious swimming pool, ping pong and
billiards tables, and uninterrupted
views
of the horizon. It is popular with Bolivian weeken-
ders and foreign tour groups alike.
Bs200
Hotel El Viejo Molino
1km from town on the road to Caranavi 02 2895506,
hotelvie-
jomolino.com
.
Isolated on the far northeastern fringe of town, the perfectly perched “Old
Mill” has an air of exclusivity about it. Although the rooms are slightly musty, they're very
comfortable and m
oreover the
hotel also has a lovely large pool, restaurant with wraparound
vistas and a sauna.
Bs420 ($60)
Hotel Esmeralda
400m above town up Julio Zuazo Cuenca 02 2136017,
hotelesmer-
restaurant. There's a wide range of dorms and rooms; the best of the latter have private bath-
rooms and bamboo balconies with stunning vistas. There's also table football, internet access
and a book exchange, and breakfast is included. If their free transfer service
isn't
there to
pick y
ou up from the plaza or bus terminal, they'll refund your taxi fare. Dorms
Bs75
; doubles
Bs180
Hotel Gloria
Linares 02 2407070.
A slightly dilapidated colonial-style building with an
edge-of-town location. The en-suite rooms are bright and pleasant, though a little small, and
come with TVs; make sure you get one facing the valley rather tha
n the car p
ark. There is
also a lounge with panoramic views, a modest pool and a restaurant.
Bs300 ($43)
Villa Bonita
100m past
Hotel Bella Vista
on the road to Caranavi, 7191 8298,
Villa_Bonita05@yahoo.com
.
Amid the laidback, familial environs of their raspberry-col-
oured home and leafy garden - site of a great
café
also --friendly Bolivian-Swiss couple
Ninfa and Gianni have three lovely, wooden-shuttered rooms and a four-berth cabin. Ninfa
offers
free yog
a clas
ses at 4pm on Mon; gifts of fruit or vegetables are appreciated. Cabin
Bs260
; doubles
Bs100
EATING AND DRINKING
There's a good variety of places to eat, including several European-owned places, as well as
a number of interchangeable restaurants around the plaza serving gringo fare. The best-value
places are in the
Mercado Municipal
, a block south of the plaza on Sagárnaga; there's also
a cheap
Comedor Municipal
and assorted nocturnal food stalls on Héroes Del Chaco, just
north of the plaza and at the convent of the Madres Clarisas, diagonally opposite
Carla's
Garden Pub
, the nuns sell home-made cakes, biscuits and wine; just ring the bell to be let
in. Nightlife can get quite lively at weekends in the high season, and many of the restaurants
double up as bars.