Name: Refugio Ecologico Kalluchi
Address: Comunidad Yumani Isla del Sol, Sun Island, Sun Island, Sun Island, 0002, Bolivia
Rating: 6

Elevator/lift

Currency exchange

Heating

Ticket assistance

Gift shop

Garden

Private check-in/check-out

Reception desk

General

Room service

Shower/Bathtub

Shower

Rooms

Laundry

Dry-cleaning

Services and amenities

Breakfast

Common kitchen

Restaurant

Restaurant (buffet style)

Packed Lunches

Meals

Free Wi-Fi

Internet access

Internet

Tour assistance

Tourist services

Offsite parking reservations required

Parking

Pets allowed (free)

Pets

Location

At the hotel

Room amenities

Refugio Ecologico Kalluchi

Sun Island

The views are spectacular but that is where the good parts end. The room was not as advertised to begin with. The host is not hospitable at all. She seemed put out we were there to begin with and especially when we asked for towels…..not extra towels, just what should be there to begin with. The isolation is great for the peace and star gazing but you are about 20 mins hike to the nearest restaurant and the host takes advantage of that point. The one night we tried to get dinner, we were told our only option was an omelet with rice and fries. Fine, we were hungry and didn’t complain. It wasn’t until the next day when she insisted we owed $32 for dinner when we have been paying an average of $10-$15 everywhere else in Bolivia that we knew she was cheating us. She also charged for breakfast that was supposed to be free. Breakfast consists of instant coffee and 2 rolls. The “hot shower” in the listing looked like a death trap and the heat the listing promised was non existent. We are seasoned travelers and don’t complain 99% of the time but felt the need to caution people of staying here especially if you’re on a budget. 

Beautiful view but beware

The view is amazing! Also the rooms are so nice and lovely. Also of course very clean. I had good WiFi (I didn’t expected it) and a good hot shower. The Lady who runs that hotel is very friendly and helpful.

The beds are very comfortable and you get extra warm blankets if you ask friendly. I could have spend more days...

To other description before: You are in Bolivia of an island far away from nothing. It is absolutely not unusual that they only accept cash - and of course only in their currency. Every other thought or expectation of it is a little bit overbearing and arrogant. And yes: You are in a f*** high of 4.000m! Of course it is getting cold at night.

Great place to stay!

We made a booking/reservation by hotels.com and payment should be done at hotel.
Well at hotel we were informed "Cash only!" even though hotels.com had made a credit card reauthorization. The lady who runs the hotels explained the entire island is CASH ONLY! This caused us big problems!

The cottage we stayed in had excellent views, BUT it was freezing cold during the night even though we slept in layers of clothes and gloves under the three blankets.
Also to keep in mind its uphill from either direction you come to the hotel.
The free breakfast was bread with jam, and hot coffee/the/chocolate.

Great view but a couple things to keep in mind

Firstly the good stuff the accommodation is located in an ideal setting. The views from our room were magnificent. Now the not so good. - The manager was not expecting us.- A slight electrical shock when you had a shower.- While  not expecting much for breakfast very, the stale heated up bread was just about inedible.

The place is really nice with a terrific view over the lake. It's a bit far from the little port of the island meaning that you have to walk for about 25-30 minutes with a very steep ascent at the beginning. The room was nice but cold and there was no hot water. We had dinner at the restaurant, same beautiful view, good food but the amount was poor and a bit pricey. 

Not really satisfied

Room was nice great view but unfortunately the cost we agreed with hotels.com was supposed to be per group but were charged per person

Vacay baby

I had a few bob to get by for one more night in Bolivia and just enough dollars to cover the room bill.once agreed in bob we converted to dollars so that I could pay and she gave me a rate of 6.25 when it's closer to 7.....almost a dollars difference.  She came with change but not exact and I did not want to stay there anymore with all the fuss and the dodgy exchange rate.   She gave me back my money and I sat and spoke to friends.she then came back to say that her dollars had gone missing.  But how? I gave you 50dollars and you returned it. How can I end up with your Money when you don't even charge in dollars?  Then she said her bob was also missing.could I not give her my 50dollars for her 20?   I asked her to call the police to sort this out and she wouldn't.  What a disgusting human being.i left with people I had just met watching in horror....k.but what next? She would have accused me of stealing her soul!!!!   Do not go near this place.

Wanted to stay at this place but the lady there is a horror:  total liar and cheat

Ok, so let’s be nice and start  with the positives.  The location was stunning, second to none with an incredible sunrise view over Isla Del Luna.  Don’t be put off by the walk because you have to hike to anywhere decent on the island and actually there is slightly less uphill hiking than to get to the centre of Yumani Village.  The rooms were also decent.  Hot water was limited but that’s what you expect in this kind of location.  The rooms were warm and secure and the beds were comfy with plenty of blankets.

But...

Our host was generally rude and aggressive.  The biggest problem was she outright ripped us off on the room by claiming a completely different USD- BOB exchange rate.  When we showed her the correct rate she refused to accept this.  We ended up paying around 20BOB a night more than we should and this was a blatant scam to charge tourists more whilst not paying the full tax.  

On top of this when we didn’t eat in her onsite restaurant (on the recommendation of other guests who didn’t rate her food and definitely didn’t rate rip off rate she was charging) she became more rude.  We ate in another fabulous restaurant (Las Velas is seriously worth the visit) and she was asking us how much we payed, claiming we were being ripped off and when our friend got sick she blamed it on Las Velas (the incident was totally unrelated). 

A more minor complaint was that the breakfasts weren’t great and we were served fridge cold coffee in the morning- seriously, who does that?

Great location, shame about being ripped off and the terrible service

We were taken to this place for lunch, not to sleep. We were offered "Apthaki", an inca traditional meal made with several types of potatoes, black beans, fish from the lake, chicken, meat... An experience to eat.

I recommend such experience.

Refugio Ecologico Kalluchi

Main amenities of the hotel

Available rooms

Location

Description of the hotel

What other amenities are there?

Policies

Check-in terms and conditions

Additional information

Payment