The room was a bit dark, had to keep heavy curtain closed across the entrance to the room which was glass so not a great deal of privacy. Wash basin outside the bathroom not so hygienic. Otherwise the room was OK with a comfortable bed. No bar, so drinks served in the lobby which had not very comfortable seating. At breakfast we did not spot the chef outside the breakfast room ready to prepare hot dishes and no-one informed us.

We moved here for the last night of our long stay in Sucre do get away from noise problems and we were happy we came. The Hotel has a lot of charm and history, especially the view cases and small visiting room in the Hotel's sub-level (we found this area by just wondering and saw stairs going downstairs from the first level).

The room's were large & comfortable. The shower was great after spending days in the Andean dust. The charm of the breakfast room made us eat a slower than usual meal and soak up it's character.

My only suggestion is that the staff at the front desk should learn to smile more but that's not a reason not to stay here. It's a beautiful hotel in a great location.

My stay at the Parador Santa Maria La Real has been the most wonderfull experience in a long time at a five star hotel. The rooms were large and very confortable and the best thing about them was there was no outside noise from auto traffic or other sounds. The free breakfast included made to order eggs with bacon, ham, cheese, etc´, it also included many different breads, fresh fruit, juices, cookies and everything that makes a breakfast perfect. The cook was very attentive to my every wish, the waiters were professionally dressed and ready to serve you with the highest quality of attention.
The front desk answered every question i had and was prompt to help make other reservations or taxi calls that i needed.
The Parador Santa Maria La Real is the place to stay while you are in Secure if you are looking for a beautiful and relaxing place to stay and may i say the price per room was very affordable. Please give the Santa Maria a chance to show you how a five star hotel experience really is.
Larry Odam
Tulsa, Oklahoma

A beautifully restored colonial property around two courtyards, this is a great looking hotel in a great location. It has the potential to be an outstanding and memorable place to say, but for a couple of reasons just missed the mark for us.

The first room we were given was wonderful: at the rear of hotel, it was a good size and beautifully furnished with superb views over the city skyline. But, it was also adjacent to a construction site next door. Raising concerns about this at reception, we were rather reluctantly shown an alternative, very dark, ground floor room.

The guy on reception clearly wasn't willing to be very helpful - our suspicion being that this was due to us being a same-sex couple (based on his manner when we'd earlier requested a double bed).

We stuck with the first room and, as anticipated, at 8 the next day banging and drilling began a few metres away. We get up early when travelling so this wasn't a big problem - but an afternoon relaxing in the room was out of the question.

Breakfast: overall, this was better than most we had in Bolivia. However, the national speciality of stale bread was again available. This wasn't on for a hotel of this standard.

We were also subjected to the second national speciality: terrible, dated background music. We loved Bolivia - it's a stunningly beautiful country of kind people; however, it's also the land that music forgot. So, in a good hotel like this, over breakfast one has to put up with crooners from the 50s and 60s warbling over lost love etc. Any spell cast by the quite delightful surroundings immediately vanishes...

So, although overall this is a pleasant place to stay - in a really quite lovely city - this hotel could - and should - be much better.