Stannum Boutique Hotel & Spa

Rooms and decor

Picture riding a commercial lift in central La Paz, past floors with a cinema, shops and a casino, then the doors open on floor 12 to a warm wood-and-stone boutique lobby with floor-to-ceiling glass framing sky-high Mount Illimani — that is the first surprise of Stannum Boutique Hotel & Spa. The roughly 33 rooms are split across floors 5 and 12 of the Multicine building on Av. Arce, done in contemporary Andean style with dark wood, black steel and warm Andean weave. Most rooms run wider than the average central 5-star, with soft beds and marble bathrooms with rain showers. The standout is the big window that opens a 270-degree view of Illimani (6,438 m) — the snow giant of La Paz — and the city skyline stepping down the valley. At sunset the light shifts the mountain from yellow to pink to purple, and many reviews say you sit frozen for a while before you can get out of bed.

Food and amenities

The hotel's other heart is the top-floor gourmet restaurant serving contemporary Bolivian food — llama steak, quinoa risotto, trout from Lake Titicaca, paired with wine from Tarija in the south. Dinner over the city lights spilling down the valley is a moment many couples call the most romantic of their Bolivia trip. Breakfast is a la carte with a small buffet, with salteñas (a Bolivian stuffed pastry) and Yungas coffee from the country's rainforest farms. A floor down is the Andean Spa, with a couples treatment room, a sauna, and treatments built on Andean ingredients — salt scrub from Salar de Uyuni, coca oil, quinoa mask. It suits anyone who just flew in and wants to ease into the city's 3,640 m altitude. The hotel also pours free coca tea in the lobby all day to help with altitude, and for a flutter there is Casino Stannum in the same building for blackjack or slots without leaving the tower.

Location and getting there

Stannum's location is one of its biggest advantages — Av. Arce is a main axis linking Centro (the historic core) with Sopocachi (the cafe, restaurant and underground-pub district locals favor). Walk north about 15 minutes to Plaza Murillo, home to the presidential palace, the cathedral and the Casa de Murillo museum. Walk south about 5 minutes into Sopocachi, lively at night with contemporary Bolivian spots like Gustu (run by a Noma-trained chef's student) and Ali Pacha, plus cool underground pubs like La Costilla de Adan. For a high view, the Mi Teleferico cable car (Green Line, Libertador station) is about 10 minutes on foot — riding up to El Alto for a few dollars is a highlight. El Alto airport (LPB) sits on the plateau above town, about a 45-minute drive down; the hotel can arrange airport transfers and book onward trips to Salar de Uyuni or a Death Road bike ride through a concierge reviews praise as straight-talking and safety-minded.

Things to know before booking

Straight talk to help you decide. First, the thing many reviews raise is getting into the hotel: Stannum has no tower of its own and instead uses floors 5 and 12 of the mixed-use Multicine building, so you walk through a lobby with a casino, shops and a cinema before riding up to the boutique reception. Some find it odd at first, or are not used to a 5-star entrance that is plain at street level — but most forget it once they reach the room and the view. Second is Wi-Fi: it is free throughout, but Bolivia's internet is not as fast as in developed countries, so heavy uploads or constant video calls may frustrate. Third, the rooms — floor-5 rooms get a narrower view than floor-12, partly blocked by neighboring buildings, so ask for floor 12 if you can, and rooms facing Av. Arce may catch morning traffic noise. Light sleepers should ask for an inward-facing room or a corner that looks straight at the mountain. Last, altitude — La Paz sits at 3,640 m, high enough to bring on soroche. That is not the hotel's fault, but expect a mild headache on day one; the free coca tea helps to a point.

Our take

After reading the real reviews on Agoda 9.3 and Booking 9.2, including the many voices that call it the best hotel in Bolivia, Stannum Boutique Hotel & Spa sells exactly what it has: the Illimani view filling the window, warm name-remembering service, an Andean spa that helps you adjust to the altitude, and a central spot walkable to both Centro and Sopocachi. If your trip in your head is waking up to a snow mountain outside the window, coffee around Sopocachi at midday, the spa in the afternoon, then dinner with Tarija wine over the city lights — this is the tidiest answer there is. But if you expect a standalone hotel tower with a plush lobby from the ground floor like a Mandarin Oriental or Four Seasons, Stannum tucked up the top floors of a commercial building may not be what you are after. Overall we give it 9.3/10, best for couples and luxury travelers who want to stay in the middle of La Paz with a mountain view and not have to choose between location and nature.