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La Casa Don Tomas: Traveler Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Reviews

Reviews of La Casa Don Tomas

( 1-5 of 8 )
“Cute, Cozy and Clean”

La Casa Don Tomas

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4 of 5 stars
Toronto, Canada
Jun 30, 2008
3/4 found this review helpful

We stayed at Don Tomas to tour the Atacama Desert. The hotel was very cute, clean and cozy. When we arrived at the hotel, we were impressed with the service. The staff at the reception were very friendly and helpful, especially the bearded gentleman who looked to be the head manager. He seemed to love his job which was refreshing to see.

The rooms were average, maybe a bit tight. The beds were comfortable and clean. The room floors could get a bit cold at night. The covers provided adequate warmth, and, in fact, were quite cozy.

The bathroom was quite small, but clean. To get hot water, we had to let the water run for a few minutes. This seemed to depend on the amount of hot water used by everyone at the hotel. So, if you're the last one to wake up to take a shower in the morning, be prepared to wait for hot water.

The hotel location is only about a 5 minute walk from the centre of town where one can easily find good restaurants and souvenir shops. Though at night, street lights do not illuminate sections of the road, which was a bit scary.

The food is not gourmet, but is satisfactory. You can always find hot coffee and tea in the morning. The dining room can get quite crowded, especially for breakfast. So, be sure to get there early. Sometimes they run out of hot food. There is limited choice for dinner, but that's okay since there are plenty of nice restaurants in town.

The Atacama Desert is extremely dry, and the hotel provides a complementary bottle of water for guests each day since it is not recommended to drink the tap water. When we got back from a tour one afternoon, we found that they forgot to leave new water bottles in our room. When we rang up the front desk, the staff were really prompt in complying with our request. We accidentally broke a drinking glass, and confessed to the staff immediately. They were very understanding, and did not charge us for it.

There was free wireless internet available in the lounge. We were able to access it from our room as well, though it would cut out occasionally due to signal range.

All-in-all, it was quite a pleasant stay. We would definitely stay there again if we visit San Pedro again.

  • This TripAdvisor Member:
    • Liked — Location, friendly service, cleaniness
    • Disliked — Food, waiting for hot water
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
CandQ's Summary
Date of Stay: July 2007
Traveled with: Spouse / significant other
Visit was for: Hobbies / interest / culture
Age group: 25-34
Member since: April 12, 2008
  • My ratings for this hotel are:
    • 5 of 5 stars Value
    • 4 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 5 of 5 stars Location
    • 5 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 5 of 5 stars Check in / front desk
    • 5 of 5 stars Service
    • 4 of 5 stars Business service
Would I recommend this hotel to my best friend?
absolutely!
I recommend this hotel for:
Young singles, Tourists
I selected this hotel as a top choice for:
Museums / Cultural / Historical sites, Outdoor / Adventure
Was this review helpful? Yes No
Average price*: $95 (year-round)
“When in the desert.....”

La Casa Don Tomas

Feb 14, 2008
3/3 found this review helpful

Stayed here for 5 nights. We found it expensive but the choice was limited in San Pedro. First choice would have been Kimal which was fully booked.
The room was clean at all times, the breakfast buffet was good, all day long tea and coffee was a nice touch, staff were pleasant.
The hotel is a walk from downtown and at night you should have a flashlight since the street lights don't seem to work.
Restaurants in San Pedro are numerous and offer good value. Our favourite seemed to be Todo Naturale where we ended up on several occasions.
Anyway memories are what really count....

  • This TripAdvisor Member:
    • Liked — Clean
    • Disliked — A long walk from town; ceramic floors echoed noise.
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
PeachlandCalculator's Summary
Date of Stay: January 2008
Member since: June 06, 2007
  • My ratings for this hotel are:
    • 3 of 5 stars Value
    • 3 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 2 of 5 stars Location
    • 4 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 4 of 5 stars Check in / front desk
    • 4 of 5 stars Service
Would I recommend this hotel to my best friend?
probably not
I recommend this hotel for:
Young singles, Tourists
I do not recommend this hotel for:
Older travelers, Families with young children, Families with teenagers
I selected this hotel as a top choice for:
Museums / Cultural / Historical sites
Was this review helpful? Yes No
Average price*: $95 (year-round)
“Had quite the nicest time here”

La Casa Don Tomas

Jan 28, 2008
4/4 found this review helpful

The pictures of Don Tomas on its website don't do the place justice. Long, low buildings set around a big gravel courtyard don't make for pretty photos. But inside rooms are a reasonable size, clean and comfortable. We stayed twice over a period of two weeks - took time out to go to the Bolivian salt plains. Found the staff always helpful - giving us packed breakfasts when we set off pre down for Tatio Geysers. Booked via the internet and they managed fine with the changes etc we made.

Lounge area - next to breakfast cafe - has wireless internet. The pool is tiny - and almost unbearable freezing! Which is a shame as the days were very hot and even a plunge in would have been appreciated. San Pedro is a tiny place and it is nice having the short walk in to the main streets - quieter too. Go stay!

  • This TripAdvisor Member:
    • Liked — Comfort; ease of access
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
rowanLondon's Summary
Date of Stay: October 2007
Traveled with: Friends
Visit was for: Hobbies / interest / culture
Age group: 50-64
Member since: May 13, 2006
  • My ratings for this hotel are:
    • 5 of 5 stars Value
    • 4 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 4 of 5 stars Location
    • 5 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 5 of 5 stars Check in / front desk
    • 5 of 5 stars Service
    • 5 of 5 stars Business service
Would I recommend this hotel to my best friend?
absolutely!
I recommend this hotel for:
Young singles, An amazing honeymoon, A romantic getaway, Girlfriend getaway, People with disabilities, Older travelers, Families with young children, Families with teenagers, Tourists
I do not recommend this hotel for:
Great pool scene, Pet owners
I selected this hotel as a top choice for:
Museums / Cultural / Historical sites, Other
Was this review helpful? Yes No
Average price*: $95 (year-round)
“Good hotel but”

La Casa Don Tomas

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3 of 5 stars
Cambridgeshire, UK
Jul 24, 2007
4/4 found this review helpful

I booked this hotel because a colleague had stayed in it and said it was fine. I think that is how I would sum the hotel up... "fine/average/functional". There is no wow factor but it does the job.

It is aimed at the non-backpacker, mid-range market

San Pedro is purely a tourist town (but don't let that put you off, the town is bizarre, interesting and fun with fantastic craft shopping). The hotels therefore have no problem being filled and therefore any mid range hotel of this sort doesn't really have to try very hard.

The upsides:
The beds are comfortable,
The rooms are spacious and spotlessly clean,
There are heaters in the rooms (which was particularly lovely in May when it was freezing at night)
The staff are extremely helpful (although they won't ring anywhere to help you book anything - they just point you in the right direction).

The downsides:
Given that the prices in the rest of Chile are so reasonable this hotel was quite pricey for what you got in comparison.
The breakfast was fine (if a little basic) and if you are a minute late for breakfast it has all been cleared away and they won't bring it back.
The hotel is about a 7 minute walk from the centre of town. It's extremely safe but, particularly when it is cold in winter, it is a bit of a drag in the evening to walk in (in sub zero temperatures). This doesn't sound much but most of the other hotels are much closer in (although I suspect they may be quite noisy at night whereas the Don Tomas was very peaceful.
It's not a comfortable hotel where you can just chill out if you fancy a day/afternoon off sightseeing (which you may need if you do all the early morning tour trips!).

Would I stay there again? Possibly, although I might look for something a little more central which has somewhere comfortable to chill out for a couple of hours if you need to.

  • This TripAdvisor Member:
    • Liked — the cleanliness and spaciousness of the rooms
    • Disliked — the distance from the town centre
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Padfink's Summary
Date of Stay: May 2007
Traveled with: Spouse / significant other
Visit was for: Romantic getaway
Age group: 25-34
Member since: November 13, 2006
  • My ratings for this hotel are:
    • 3 of 5 stars Value
    • 4 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 3 of 5 stars Location
    • 5 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 4 of 5 stars Check in / front desk
    • 3 of 5 stars Service
Would I recommend this hotel to my best friend?
most likely
I recommend this hotel for:
Older travelers, Tourists
I do not recommend this hotel for:
Young singles, An amazing honeymoon, A romantic getaway
I selected this hotel as a top choice for:
Museums / Cultural / Historical sites
Was this review helpful? Yes No
Average price*: $95 (year-round)
“Great place to be in Atacama”

La Casa Don Tomas

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5 of 5 stars
maceio,brazil
Jun 2, 2007

Last May my nephew and I went to Atacama. Since ours contacts by internet in order to arrange everything of our stay until our welcome reception and stay, the hotel´s staff were perfect.
Besides its location, charm, and infra, this hotel must be very proud of its staff.

  • This TripAdvisor Member:
    • Liked — The room and the service
    • Disliked — Could be closer to the city center
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
angelbr's Summary
Date of Stay: May 2007
Traveled with: Spouse / significant other
Visit was for: Hobbies / interest / culture
Age group: 35-49
Member since: October 17, 2006
  • My ratings for this hotel are:
    • 3 of 5 stars Value
    • 4 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 3 of 5 stars Location
    • 5 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 5 of 5 stars Check in / front desk
    • 5 of 5 stars Service
    • 5 of 5 stars Business service
Would I recommend this hotel to my best friend?
absolutely!
I recommend this hotel for:
An amazing honeymoon, A romantic getaway, People with disabilities, Families with young children, Families with teenagers, Tourists
I do not recommend this hotel for:
Young singles, Girlfriend getaway, Older travelers, Great pool scene, Pet owners
I selected this hotel as a top choice for:
Outdoor / Adventure
Was this review helpful? Yes No
Average price*: $95 (year-round)

Reviews of La Casa Don Tomas

( 1-5 of 8 )
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La Casa Don Tomas Address

Calle Tocopilla, San Pedro de Atacama, Chile