The night I arrived in La Paz it was 8pm after a long day in transit. I was tired and let my defence’s down. At the terminal I approached one of the porter’s to ask if he knew of an inexpensive hotel. Sure he did and he would walk me to it. He was also nice enough to help me with my bag’s. His reply to how much the room was, “$300 pesos, mas o menos”.
What I should have done was hop in a cab and search for a budget hotel. That way I typically find the best deal’s. The hotel the porter took me to was the Mira Mar. A clean four floor building in the town Centro. The room was $480, not $300 mas o menos as the porter had told me. He was gone though. At that point I decided to stay with the intent of being up early to search for a cheaper room.
What I got for my money at the Mira Mar was a hotel on a quiet side street, a second floor walk up, and a clean room with TV and AC. I actually prefer a walk up for the exercise. If you are in the market for a mid-priced hotel I recommend the Mira Mar for it’s excellent location in the Centro and it’ only blocks from the Malecon (boardwalk) and night life.
My early morning walk in search of a less expensive room turned up several alternative’s to the Mira Mar. All within a few blocks walk. I’ll only talk about the case de huespedes (hostel) I stayed at. I don’t recall it’s name, but it’s across the street from a big department store called MAS. Anyone can tell you how to get their.
The hostel has two branches both located in the Centro and it makes a VERY big difference which one you stay at. The main branch is located on a busy street. I don’t recommend it for several reasons. For one it is on a main street which means it’s noisy and has a steady flow of pedestrian traffic. Their is also a communal area with a TV lounge where the owner’s children camp out watching cartoon’s at too loud a volume. In the common area their is also Internet, and a kitchen where the guests and some locals are all going about their business. It had the feel of a third world market place.
The other branch is located on a quiet side street. By side street I don’t mean alley. To find it just look at the front door of MAS. It is on the street to the left of it. You’ll know it by it’s bright yellow painted facade. The price of my private room was $150 pesos. The room was small with no TV or AC. Even without the AC the room temperature was always comfortable. With the shades drawn the room was a dark cave perfect for a mid-day siesta. The bathroom was a bit decrepit, but I always travel with shower shoes so that wasn’t a problem. Their is a TV lounge though. The only person ever watching the tube is the front desk clerk. He woke me up once with the volume up too high, but gladly turned it down after I politely asked him to. Their is a common kitchen, and you are allowed free access to Internet at the other branch. The front desk clerk allowed me to do laundry in the hostel’s washing machine, but that’s not guaranteed. You'll have to air dry your clothes because their is no dryer. The day I left I tipped him $50 pesos for the use of the laundry machine and some other things he had done for me. It’s also only blocks from the boardwalk and night life.
Safety in La Paz. Excellent. In the very heart of the Centro located in an historic building is the town’s main police headquarters. In addition on practically every corner stands a private security guard. Some armed some unarmed. I never had any problems or sketchy moments.
TV? I only mention TV availability as an FYI. My thoughts on TV watching while travelling is, DON’T. Travel is for seeing what else is out their not for satisfying a TV addiction.
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