Hostal El Arbol

The bed is very comfortable The communal spaces are small but comfortable and there is a good social vibe The staff (except the guy above) are lovely and helpful

The room was quite small, with a big bed that took up most of the room The kitchen was very small and hard to make a meal in it The WiFi didn't reach the room properly although was strong in the dining and living room When paying we were offered the option to pay with cash or card, I opted for card. But they are not signed up to pay without IVA if using card (unlike every other hotel in Chile). This meant I was charged IVA. When I asked for them to cancel the transaction so I could pay in cash, they firstly claimed it wasn't possible using the card machine (this was obvious nonsense and I found the bank's instruction video of how to process a refund, for them). The lady on reception said she was not authorised, so put me on the phone to speak to her colleague who basically told me again it wasn't possible. When I told him it was and that I had shown the video to his colleague, he asked why should he trust a random tourist that found a video on the Internet who doesn't know the rules of the country. I insisted I did know the rules, hence this discussion and that it was from the bank's official website, getting his colleague to confirm it. Despite this, he continued to say this until I had proved him wrong multiple times. Then he switched to saying it was my fault and that he would have to call up the bank (again a load of rubbish) and that he didn't want to because he had better things to do. I continued to press my case until he said he would make an exception because I was being insistent... To me this is terrible customer service. It could have all been avoided if we were informed of the IVA issue at the start. Secondly processing refunds on a card machine takes seconds. Thirdly the guy was just plain rude for absolutely no reason. This is unfortunate as the rest of the staff are lovely

- very friendly and helpful staff - good breakfast

- second time staying there and shower was not hot. It was only just warm