The property is located close to huge radio aerials centered by a large dusty parking with high walls making the feel of being in a prison and not in the Atacama desert.

We were not able to get in our room until 4:30 pm due to slow housekeeping and had to change clothes in a crowded lobby. It seems that it was also the same for other guests checking-in.

The room we were assigned had the charm of a dormitory with 3 beds taking almost all the place available with no view.
Bathroom was less than basic -see pictures- with limited use of paper toilet that has to be tossed into a garbage bin in lieu of the toilet bowl. Water was not drinkable and we had to rely on very limited bottled water supply.

But the worse is the terrible sound insulation from room to room meaning that you can hear EVERYTHING from guests in surrounding rooms due to paper thin walls. This combined to high altitude and low quality mattresses resulted in a bad sleep.

The only positive point is the free WiFi internet access in room that allowed us to change our plans and shorten our stay. The buffet breakfast was not appealing.

Overall I do not recommend this place and I suggest alternatively to sleep in one of the two Calama’s very comfortable four star hotels and to take a full day tour to San Pedro, the lagunas and the Salar.

Nice and clean place, a bit on the pricey side.. but i think most hotels in san pedro are like that.. wifi in rooms is something i prefer they had.

I stayed here for 3 nights around Christmas. The Don Tomas is located a leisurely 5 min walk from the main street of San Pedro. Right from check-in the staff make you feel like you are part of the family with great service and a friendly atmosphere. Its quiet and the hotel is well laid out. Rooms, bed and shower are just what are required after a long hot day in the desert. Breakfast was very good with a great selection of food and if your too tired to walk into town to try out one of the several restaurants in the evening, then i can recommend dinner at hotel. The selection and the food were excellent.

San Pedro De Atacama is an overgrown dusty village and the best location for visiting world class sights in the area. Given that, accommodations are expensive for what they offer. If we exclude the $400-$500 a night "spa" resorts or the myriad of downtown hostels, there are 10 or so middle-of -the road hotels for the rest of us (over 25, but not jet setters...)

The Casa de Don Tomas is an excellent choice, being they offer a decent location (5 minutes away from the noisy main drag), decent size rooms, cleanliness, and, above all, attentive service. From the initial reservation process, and the warm welcome (they seem to know your name upon checking in), the small extra touches such as a daily bottle of water, a breakfast "box" for early risers, and the general attention, this place is really very well run. And yes, they have hot water for showering all day long (you will need that in San Pedro). The restaurant is pretty good too. Their rates are about 25% less than comparable, but not equally good hotels in town.

Although I did not have an informed opinion about the other hotels, conversations with fellow tour members paint a picture of snotty service, lack of hot water, and less than sanitary conditions in some of the "trendy", "hip" places who think they are doing the customer a favor for accepting US$ 200.00 a night for a bare room. After all, one of them hosted actress Cameron Diaz a few years back, and the rest of us are not Hollywood icons.

Go with La Casa de Don Tomas for a solid value, cleanliness, good rest and smiling service.




From con