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.
