Hotel Gavina Costa Mar in Iquique

I was expecting a lot from Hotel Gavina Costa Mar, but unfortunately it did not fully live up to my hopes. The location is very good, with convenient parking and a nice seaside setting. Bed quality was excellent, and the service — especially at check-in — was smooth and professional, which I appreciated given the substantial paperwork required by Chilean regulations.

However, the rooms — especially the bathrooms — are quite dated and in urgent need of refurbishment. Breakfast was below expectations, with limited quality. Sound insulation was also poor, and both street noise and strong winds were very disturbing.

Overall, the hotel benefits from its location, comfortable beds, and good service, but falls short in terms of comfort and upkeep.

This hotel is in dire need of renovation / a refit. The owner is obviously trying to “sweat” this asset with minimal input, charging a high price but only delivering on staff and location, NOT the hotel itself. For example: button 6 in the lift didn’t work, so I had to go to floor 7 and walk down. Badly fitting single glazing everywhere so you can her everything from the streets as if the windows were open. Rusted fitting in the bathroom. Paint spots and spill everywhere from the last cheap paint job. Such a shame as the location and staff are great but the hotel itself is a disgrace for what they charge.

Very comfortable room with large bed and balcony and splendid ocean view. Staff was extremely friendly with great service.

The staff at the hotel were all friendly and helpful. The location is amazing, right on the ocean. The breakfast buffet is really good. There is secure undercover parking. There are some nice restaurants a short walk away.

We booked two sea facing rooms and in the reservation I specifically asked for rooms on a high floor. This request was totally ignored and we got a room on the 3rd floor with the roof of the restaurant in the way - there was a view of the sea when looking to the right so technically it was sea-facing… at USD180 per night in July (winter) I found this overpriced.

3* that’s the maximum this hotel deserves:
- staff is not helpful
- horrible smell of cigarets in the bathroom
- towels that are supposed to be white in real are dirty-gray..
- ventilation in the bathroom doesn’t work

Although food at the restaurant was good