Hotel Poblado Kimal

“Overall great experience”

this hotel is very comfortably located in the center of the city, walking distance from all the restaurants, shopping district and the town Square. The rooms are just the right size with independent terraces that are just lovely to sit around. Everything is impeccably clean , the service is very … more

this hotel is very comfortably located in the center of the city, walking distance from all the restaurants, shopping district and the town Square. The rooms are just the right size with independent terraces that are just lovely to sit around. Everything is impeccably clean , the service is very friendly, and the overall experience is quite comfortable. Breakfast is amazing and included. If you have to leave before breakfast time, the hotel prepares a snack for you, which is very generous and delicious. at an extra charge, you can eat at the hotel restaurant which has a delicious selection of variety food. The hotel has a parking lot. The only downside is the fact that because it is located right in the center of the city, it can be quite noisy at night, so keep this in mind if you’re traveling with small children. At least for me and my family. It was not an issue at all as we were so tired at night that the noise didn’t really affect our sleep. I highly recommend this place, and I will definitely be staying there again if I return to San Pedro de Atacama.

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“Nice hotel, close to town”

Great staff, very helpful, and the rooms are good but a bit noisy in the evening. That’s ok if you can sleep in, but no one is there for sleep. Interesting breakfast of cereal, cake, bread and scrambled egg, but it sets you up for the day. Hot water not always on demand

“good 3 star hotel, excellent location but hotel will book you either into the Poblado Kimal or the Kimal - be warned!!”

My first impression of this hotel was very poor as after travelling to get to the hotel for 32 hours i was greeted with "you are not in this hotel, you are in the hotel across the road". I duly produced my booking details which clearly showed i had booked the Poblado Kimal and not the Kimal but was… more

My first impression of this hotel was very poor as after travelling to get to the hotel for 32 hours i was greeted with "you are not in this hotel, you are in the hotel across the road". I duly produced my booking details which clearly showed i had booked the Poblado Kimal and not the Kimal but was then told with a shrug of the shoulder "it's fully booked" - not the best greeting from reception. Eventually, after 45 minutes of me refusing to stay in the Kimal hotel and many calls to the manager, we were given our own bungalow (aka mud hut). Later on when i went back to reception i encountered 2 other couples travelling together having a problem with their rooms when they came to check in too - they had booked the Kimal hotel and were put into the Poblado Kimal instead, one couple with a standard mud hut and another couple with a superior mud hut but both had paid the same price!! These people were not happy either as one lady was disabled and the walkways are uneven at the Poblado Kimal. It seems the hotel needs to improve the bookings as we were not the only ones that were booked into the wrong hotel! The mud hut was spacious, quiet and clean with double bed, mini bar, fan, desk, chair and bathroom (no hairdryer). The bathroom really needed some TLC: the window latch was broken, the grout in the tiles on the floor was almost none existent so when you walked on the tiles they moved and the grout in the shower really needed cleaning. The hut would have benefited from a safe and a door that properly fit the hut as there was about a 1 inch gap at the top of the door - we had to use a folded up towel on the top of the door to prevent mosquito's etc. entering the bedroom. Note, the rooms can get very hot with the climate and there is no air conditioning, we managed ok with the fan but it was noisy. The hotel is in an excellent location, being about 30 seconds off the end of the main street (Caracoles street) so it is really easy to go out for food but the hotel itself remains very quiet. Other hotels with higher ratings on trip advisor are about 15 minutes on foot away, which is normally fine but the high altitude (2,400 metres) makes walking an effort - trust me! The breakfast was a mixed bag, some days great, other days poor but that depended on what you did/did not like. I found that the days i didn't like the breakfast were when they put lots of nut foods out and a lot of the food did not have labels so many things were a complete surprise (good and bad). Breakfast is served across the road in the sister hotel the Kimal hotel as there is no restaurant on the Kimal side. Breakfast usually consisted of bread, jam, cheeses, meats, various teas, fruit juices and cakes. I did not eat at the hotels restaurant for lunch or evening meal as i thought that the prices were expensive, compared to the abundant local restaurants/cafes close by. I did not book any of the hotels excursions as i used Cosmo Andino who have an excellent reputation, which i must say is well deserved. We were allowed access to both pools from both hotels but the bigger and more private pool is in the Poblado Kimal hotel so we only went to that one. The pool was a bit cold for me but very pleasant to sit with my legs in to cool down. There are around 8-10 sun loungers around the pool and the cushions are very comfortable - there is shelter if you require it. There are also a few chairs and tables around the pool too. Overall, after the exceptionally bad check in i enjoyed my stay at the hotel. I particularly liked the quietness of the hotel, even though it is really close to the main street (which is a bonus at high altitude). I would recommend because of the quietness and location but be warned about the booking problems.

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