Alto Atacama Desert Lodge & Spa

This hotel does not meet a five-star standard. While most of the staff are friendly and genuinely try their best, and the food is light and good, the overall management is very poor and unorganized. We did not feel welcomed. Making guests feel comfortable and at home did not seem to be a shared responsibility across the team, particularly at reception. There is a clear lack of coordination and ownership in guest experience. Stargazing-one of the main reasons we chose this hotel-is not realistically possible, either due to weather conditions or because of very strong artificial lighting from the neighboring hotel. When they are fully booked - or even as an info- they do not inform you that this activity can be done outside the hotel. The rooms are extremely dark, and there are no mosquito nets, which are absolutely necessary in this environment (a snapshot from the video attached). We showed a member of management the situation, he took a picture and gave us raid. Beds are comfortable, there is a loud fan noise in the room that cannot be switched off. Good wifi, humidifier in the room is a nice touch. The massage experience was unacceptable. After the treatment, I informed the staff that the massage was very bad. The response I received was simply, “Ah, okay, madam,” with no follow-up, concern, or attempt to address the issue. Despite this, I was still charged for the service. I have bruises on my leg. Considering the price, the photos, and the hotel’s reputation as a Leading Hotels of the World and with Michelin, the experience fell far below expectations. Upon arrival, we experienced altitude sickness and informed the staff. The only support offered was water. Two days later, we learned that the hotel actually provides a welcome drink with a special tea meant to help with altitude adjustment, yet this was never offered to us. This lack of communication and care was quite surprising. Overall, the hotel does not deliver the level of service, organization, or guest attention expected at this price point.

An oasis of calm and luxury near San Pedro de Atacama. Lovely comfortable rooms. Great breakfasts. Warm and cold pools. Biweekly bbq. Dinner dissapointed with overcooked main dishes. Excellent guiding and trips out plus stargazing

The good: Great location, great rooms, beautiful property, good food/drinks, all the customer-facing staff (tour guides, restaurant servers, etc.) were friendly and attentive. Bad: If you're coming here for astronomy/stars, absolutely book a tour outside of the hotel. The onsite observatory is completely ruined by blinding lights from a nearby property. And the astronomy "experience" is less than an hour. As for the other excursions, most are good, but I would have liked them to be a little longer. For most, you're in the bus over an hour each way (understandable, many locations are far away) to spend less than an hour at the location (not so understandable). Still, the guides were very knowledgeable and friendly. It's clear that the staff is trying their best despite obvious management issues. They were completely disorganized operationally, starting with check-in. We had filled out all information prior to arrival, but still were asked to redo some forms. In the excursion to the geysers, they had too many guests, so they had to send some of us in a really old, crappy van that made everyone nauseous -- not exactly the high-end experience expected at these price points.

Excellent experience all round

all excursions are amazing, im in love here!