Met Hotel La Paz

Style

Attitude at high altitude

Setting

South of downtown

If the high altitude at Met Hotel La Paz doesn’t take your breath away, those painterly views of the Andes – from the lofty roof terrace; from your light-filled room; from the super-smart penthouse suite – surely will. There’s eye candy of a different stripe in the striking lobby, where vivid artworks by emerging Bolivian artists jockey for position with towering native cacti, and diners gorge on Mediterranean fare in the open-plan restaurant. Further sensory diversions await in the spa and pool, and it’s just a short walk to elevation both literal and metaphorical via the city’s sensational cable-car system.

Facilities

Rooms

75 rooms and one penthouse suite.

Checkout

12 noon. Check-in is 2pm. Both are flexible, with free courtesy check-in from 10am and check-out until 3pm when availability permits. Check-in from 7am and check-out until 6pm can be arranged for an additional fee.

More Details

Rates include breakfast in the Dominga Restaurant, served between 7am and 10.30am. Expect a heaving buffet of fruits, breads, hams, cheeses, eggs, pancakes, yoghurt and cereals complemented by à la carte options such as avocado toast and omelettes.

Also

Much of Met Hotel La Paz is accessible. Door frames have been widened and the open-plan lobby (also home to the bar and restaurant) has an elevator providing access to all floors. Rooms haven't been specially adapted, but most are spacious enough to accommodate wheelchair users.

Fitness Center

Free Internet Access

Laundry

Pool

On-Site Restaurant

Room Service

Spa

At the Hotel

Free WiFi throughout. In rooms: 50-inch smart TV, minibar, kettle with tea and coffee, free bottled water, desk, remote-controlled curtains and blackout shades.

Our Favourite Rooms

Because La Paz is encircled by mountains, you’re basically guaranteed a view from your spacious room, which features all mod cons (remote-control blackout curtains, 50-inch smart TV, WiFi) and textiles that nod to Bolivia’s ancient Tiwanaku culture. But for the best bragging rights, you’ll want to go right to the top of the hotel for the Met Suite’s penthouse vistas, not to mention a decadent bath tub and oodles of extra space.

Poolside

There’s a small L-shaped pool in the spa, open 8am–9pm.

Spa

The 350sq m wellness club comprises a sauna, steam room, pool, jacuzzi, hammam and garden area, and there’s a treatment room for massages and facials.

Packing Tips

High altitudes can knock wind from the sails of the most seasoned traveller. Pack potassium-rich dried fruits – apricots, banana chips, prunes – and a good, voluminous water bottle to counter the worst of the effects of that rarefied mountain air.

Also

Met Hotel La Paz lays claim to the biggest hotel gym in town, open 24 hours for guests. The hotel also has a partnership with nearby La Paz Golf Club, the highest golf course in the Americas, with an elevation of 3,260 metres.

Children

Children are welcome but there are no specific kid-friendly facilities at the hotel.

Gallery

Food & Drink

Top Table

Take your cocktail aperitif up to the roof terrace for flamboyant mountain sunsets in flamingo pink, terracotta red and achacha orange.

Dress Code

Bold, technicolour Bolivian-style prints for the win. But don’t forget to layer up if you’re venturing out in the evening – that pesky mountain climate means temperatures can dip below freezing year round.

Hotel Restaurant

Located in the striking open-plan lobby, Dominga is a vision of gleaming white marble punctuated by vibrant Bolivian art pieces and desert greenery. It’s open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, serving local specialities and Mediterranean classics.

Hotel Bar

Guests and locals mingle over cocktails at the long, curved marble bar in the lobby and sip strong Bolivian coffee on comfy sofas among the cacti.

Last Orders

Dominga is open from 7am until 10.30pm (breakfast is served until 10.30am).

Room Service

Available 7am-11pm.

Planes

El Alto International Airport is around 35-45 minutes from the hotel, depending on traffic. Transfers for up to three people can be organised for US$17-18.

Automobiles

You need nerves of steel to drive in La Paz, where reckless risk-taking and an audacious disregard for red lights, speed limits and seat belts are treated like badges of honour. Masochists who fancy a piece of the action can rent cars at the airport and park what’s left of their vehicle in the hotel lot on arrival.

Worth Getting Out of Bed For

La Paz is the world’s highest capital city, with an elevation of around 3,640 feet above sea level, meaning all pursuits here should be undertaken at a leisurely (and perhaps very leisurely) pace. Start your gentle adventure with a sightseeing ride aboard the terrific Mi Teleférico. Like an airborne metro, the city’s remarkable mass-transit cable-car system traverses the skyways of La Paz and neighbouring El Alto, affording awesome aerial views of these bustling cities. Peer down on tightly packed terracotta rooftops and gaze across snow-capped mountain peaks. Take a ride at sunset for the magical sight of a million city lights twinkling beneath the burning Bolivian sky. Best of all, a one-way ticket costs only about 40 cents and you can do a full loop of the network for US$3-4, meaning more cash for a nerve-steadying Bolivian singani (brandy) afterwards.

Back on terra firma, take the guided La Paz walking tour for essential local insight into the city’s culture and traditions. Wander cobbled Calle Jaén, where crumbling colonial façades in cornflower blue, turmeric yellow and peachy pink will make your socials sing. And hit up sprawling Plaza Murillo for pretty La Paz Cathedral and the mustard-yellow Bolivian Palace of Government (known colloquially as Palacio Quemado, the Burnt Palace, thanks to its fiery past). Perch on a bench to join elderly locals pigeon-feeding and people-watching over chilled mocochinchi (sweet peach cider) from the square’s street vendors.

Also not to be missed is the sensory carnival that is the Witches’ Market. Run by yatiri (Bolivian witch doctors), this is your one-stop shop for amulets, talismans and potions that promise long life, fertility and endless good luck. But you’ll need to look elsewhere for your common-or-garden souvenir trinkets, unless of course you consider powdered dogs’ tongues and dried llama foetuses suitable gifts to take home to Aunty Ethel.

Outside the city, otherworldly rock formations and alien landscapes straight from the mind of Salvador Dalí await intrepid explorers. The clue’s in the name at Valle de la Luna, where soaring clay spires born out of eroded mountains might give the impression you’re really walking on the moon. Similarly out of this world are the spiky rock formations at Valle de las Animas, like the primitive city skyline of some long-forgotten civilisation, all overshadowed by the steadfast, timeless backdrop that is Illimani, Bolivia’s highest mountain.

Earn or Redeem Points with World of Hyatt

This Mr & Mrs Smith hotel participates in the World of Hyatt loyalty program. As a member, you can earn and redeem points and enjoy exclusive benefits for qualifying nights. .