Hotel Smiling Crab

Very nice hotel, close to the beach, very friendly staff.

The breakfast included in this price is “continental” and only includes 1 coffee, 1 juice, some bread butter and jam. No protein, no vegetables. It’s okay but I would’ve liked to know about it before.

La amabilidad del personal en total y la comida del chef muy buena.

Se fue la luz unas 3 horas y la piscina no estaba tan limpia.

El hotel es tranquilo y seguro, su personal es muy amable, cálido y dispuesto, y está a unos pasos de la playa. El hotel (su infraestructura, decoración) es muy coherente con el entorno. Pedimos el almuerzo en el restaurante y estuvo muy bueno, e incluso nos lo llevaron hasta la playa.

Tuvimos un problema con el agua caliente de nuestra habitación, pero nos ofrecieron una buena solución. De todas maneras, no nos pareció vital, por el calor que hace en Punta Sal.

Die Lage war sehr schön und ganz nah am Strand. Das Essen war hervorragend und das Personal sehr freundlich.

buena vista desde la habitacion y la ubicacion cercana a la playa !!!

Poca comida...

It was private and quiet with no crowds on the beach. The view from our balcony was incredible. We saw whales and dolphins every day. We had the pool area to our selves. The staff was wonderful and always helpful providing us with everything we needed. We loved that there was free room service for our room or pool area.

As we were on the fourth floor there was lots of uneven stairs to climb. The food at the restaurant was good but a little high in price and the portions were small. Punta sal town is very small with few restaurants and stores.

Nice rustic white buildings. Lovely swimming pool for cooling off. Large fridge for putting your own fruit and other food into. Good food served from the restaurant to your room and balcony if requested. Very helpful and friendly staff. The hot water didn’t work in the room we were given to begin with, but we were then moved to another even nicer room immediately. The staff arranged taxis for our arrival and departure. The location while being out of Punta Sal town allowed for a less crowded very quiet beachside holiday.

A very skimpy breakfast: a glass of juice, tea or coffee, and two toasted bread rolls. The pervasive presence of cats. The giant open air cat litter (20 cats in the enclosure) on the way to the beach.

The rooms and the view

I stayed here several years ago with my husband and daughter. The view and style of the hotel were breathtaking. At that time, the host (Fermina) was very welcoming and did her best to make us feel special. However, this time the story was very different. Despite the price, the hotel hasn’t improved at all. Furniture looks worn out and dirty, in the room, restaurant and around the pool area. The pool was dirty when we arrived and they only cleaned it after I complained saying that the last days had been very busy. The stay included continental breakfast that in the menu was shown for 18 soles (very basic), and American breakfast for 20 soles. We asked if they could change the continental for American breakfast (which included scramble eggs) so we could pay the difference (2 soles extra pp) however they said that was not possible and instead they had to charge us 8 soles pp for the extra eggs. The room included only three big towels and soap. We noticed there were no floor mats or little towels, we asked and they confirmed they didn’t have little towels. Sadly my husband slipped on the wet floor but fortunately he fell on the old yellow WC seat, which broke in two. They luckily repaired it quickly. On the second day we heard noises of two men taking loudly late at night. The next afternoon we heard them burping and making funny noises and I was alarmed when I went to the window and saw a man sitting on his toilet seat just outside my daughters window. Reception said he was the guardian of the hotel! The restaurant, unlike the last time we visited, was a place we tried to avoid as much as we could due to the high volume of the TV and the volume of the mobile phone of the kitchen personnel. I tried an apple pie (16 soles per piece) which probably has been the worst I’ve ever tasted in my life. We had problems with the water towards the end. My daughter was about to shower and there was no water coming. Nobody was there to help, except Carlos, who luckily fixed the problem quickly. I want to make a special mention to Carlos, he assisted us from the beginning and was the only person who made us feel welcomed and comfortable, he was always busy working on something and we definitely appreciated his hard work. Also he was the only person available at the hotel most of the time. We were the only guests and as our flight was only leaving later in the afternoon we asked if we could have a late check out and they accepted but charged us the ridiculous amount of 20 soles. This is nothing but it could have meant a lot if they could have offered it as a courtesy. In summary, we didn’t feel the love. We felt the hotel has been forgotten and we definitely believe is not worth the money they charge for. I do not recommend it and please read the other reviews, for what they charge you can definitely find a better place to stay.