Hotel Diego de Almagro Calama

The receptionist was cold and expressionless and reminded me of an immigration official. We had to labor through her lack of English to get information we needed. She omitted to inform us about the swimming pool nor provided us with a WIFI password. She barely looked up as we checked out. No tea of coffee making was provided in the room. The dark breakfast area resembled a room from Dracula's castle. To add to it, the breakfast staff were dressed in black! We had some problems with the room heating but this was promptly fixed. Not a single soul in this establishment could speak a word of English.

Calama is apparently one of the driest places on earth ; it’s certainly very remote and logistics presumably present issues on a recurring basis. It’s only proper therefore to give its hospitality offering a wide berth. This hotel is somewhat dated, certainly ‘tired’. But it does offer a reasonable level of comfort - decent beds, plenty of hot water, air con and a basic swimming pool with sun lounging furniture. Forget in-room tea/coffee making facilities. AND…! Be prepared to bite your tongue when told that no milk is available across the entire hotel should you be attempting to make yourself a cuppa ‘downstairs’. Dinner sounded more hopeful on paper. Nothing earth shattering and certainly not an extensive menu, but the spaghetti bolognaise was able to trigger positive digestive anticipation !! The reality was an array of ‘sandwiches’ only, the common basis around which was a ginormous bap, with hidden amongst it, some onion & tomato and further in, a beef patty. A limply uninspiring salad sat alongside. You’re on steady ground if it’s an accompanying lager you’re looking for and the Chilean Red was good. But don’t even think about anything remotely resembling an Aperol Spritz. Breakfast however ‘surprised’ with an excellent scrambled egg. Service wise, the staff are at best, ‘hit & miss’. The welcome from the longer haired female receptionist at 12.00 was non-existent. She was functional and lacking in any enthusiasm. The later guy on reception was very helpful and was genuinely concerned about me considering a walk into the town ( to source some milk ⚡️😂 ) - ‘it’s not safe’. The waiting staff in the restaurant were inconsistent ; some trying their best, others utterly indifferent. So in summary and accepting language barriers ( my bad ! ), this place does a job, if it’s an ‘in transit’ stopover that you’re looking for.