Although the place claims to have 4 stars we would consider it to be 2 stars at best. The rooms are small, run down and definately not worth the US$ 70 we were charged. The staff is friendly though and the breakfast is good. Overall, not recommended for the price and the location.

My family and I have stayed at Hotel Caparuch on several occasions. However our last visit proved to be our last! The location is less than desirable since the noise on the street is unbearable and occurs when rowdy teens gather on the weekends, holiday and other days of the week. The street become impassable and includes many drunken and perhaps other in a drug induced stupor. We had to ask to be moved the very back of the hotel so that we could rest.

The hotel is an old property and if you know anything about the star system of rating hotels in developed countries, please do not try to apply the same standards. Although listed as four stars they must have been earned many, many years ago and are the Bolivian adoption of a more trusted system in developed countries.
Even by Bolivian "standards" two, maybe three stars?

The last time we stayed in December 2009 and January 2010 we had made arrangements to pay by the month. However when our friend who is a manager was out of the country for a few weeks, we were asked by Gerencia General: Lic Natlaie Virreira N. that we needed to come to her office. She said that periodically the police check on clients and the validity of their stay and their passports.

I thought it unusual, but I got out of the pool and went to the office with my wife who is a Boiviano from Santa Cruz. When we got their she asked us for our passports. They were locked and I reminded her that she had copies from our arrival. She told me that she did not keep them and originals were necessary. We were given some time since the police had not yet arrived.

I reluctantly got them and later met in her office again. This time two "tourist police" were present. She took our passports and gave them to the police and then demanded we pay! We had never been told that we had to pay on that day, and I had intended to pay upon our checkout which was several weeks away. Because of an need to help my wife's family we had extended our stay.

When she learned that I did not have the several thousands of dollars owed at that moment we were told that we could not leave and that she would hold our passports, which is against both Bolivian and US law. Essentially we were being blackmailed!

That same day I was able to come up with the money thanks to several friends in the US. We paid and then were told we had to vacate our room immediately and leave. Only then did we get our passports returned.

The women was mean and unprofessional. It is NOT a property you should consider. The hotel is old, noisy, with carpet that should have been replaced many years ago. There are not elevators, noisy and inoperable air conditioners.

You can tell that we were shocked by the our treatment and the deteriorating condition of the hotel. We stayed because of previous friendship and special rate for our two month stay, but never, never again.

For the same price you can stay at a four star hotel that really has earned four stars. It is the Hotel Canciller and the location is great, within a few blocks of the main plaza. The lobby is covered with marble, the rooms immaculate and is so, so superior.

Respectfully submitted on September 22, 2009,

Dr. Russel E. Bachert, Jr.

I've stayed at this hotel a couple times and it's definitely a solid choice. The rooms are spacious and very clean, the hotel has a nice little pool, restaurant, bar, etc. The breakfast is very nice with a wide selection of juices, fruit, and eggs. I usually pay about $40 to stay here and I think it's a great choice for that price range. If you want to spend a little more and take things a step up, go to los tajibos or buganvillas, those are both gorgeous hotels.