Ellen U
Google
My daughter and I booked a stay at El Pital Highland Mountain Hotel based on a glowing article I had seen in the L.A. Times. My daughter, who speaks fluent Spanish booked by telephone directly with the hotel, had great difficulty reaching the hotel by telephone and found the woman with whom she spoke to be quite rude. Only cash is accepted at the hotel and they require a deposit at their bank in El Salvador for 1/2 the cost of the stay. We had a terrible time finding the hotel. There were good signs for two other hotels in the area but we saw none for this hotel. We called the hotel for directions and again were again treated with rudeness. We did find the hotel after a beautiful drive up the mountain, at last found a sign and eventually found the hotel itself. We parked and again were treated rudely by a woman whom we assumed was a caretaker. She eventually directed us up to the hotel restaurant, which was a pleasantly crowded on a Saturday afternoon, and we checked in with the very nice owner for our two night stay. We were required to pay cash in advance. We went back down to our car and room which was very dark, very damp and very very cold. We went back up to the restaurant where we requested and received an additional wool blanket which we wore to dinner and took to bed. We froze that evening, slept badly and woke with many many spider bites. The owner had told us when we checked in that there was hot water and there was not. After breakfast the owner took us on a hike (no charge) to the top of El Pital and it was magnificent, although there appeared to be some difficulty with a neighboring owner which involved us climbing under a barbed wire fence. The owner was extremely nice and accommodating and the view was extraordinary. We returned for lunch and were informed that lunch was the last meal which would be served that weekend as the staff left at 4:00 PM, the gate would be locked and we would be the only guests. We watched everyone leave and then left ourselves, having decided that we were willing to forfeit the cost of one night's stay to avoid the cold.||||Most of our concerns related to miscommunication, but my daughter is a fluent Spanish speaker, as she currently lives in El Salvador. The property is beautiful and the host is enthusiastic and welcoming. They are currently building a conference center and additional rooms but the accommodations are very very rustic.(and we were anticipating a rustic lodge) I would recommend a visit for the view and congenial host but recommend that you dress warmly for day and sleep time.
