Ipiales is not a great place and the only reason tourists seem to stop off here is to visit Las Lajas Cathedral definitely a worthwhile tourist sight and to spend a night before or after crossing the Ecuadorian border. I stayed one night in Ipiales for both those reasons, having travelled from Popayan it was too late to cross the border into Ecuador plus I wanted to see this famous Cathedral.
The hotel is comfortable but basic. It is perfectly fine for a one night stop off. The main lady I think the grandmother was incredibly welcoming and helpful.
She had all the info you needed for visiting the cathedral and for crossing the border. We took a taxi from the bus terminal to the hotel 10mins. The taxi driver tried to put us off Hotel Belmonte and take us somewhere else because he said the hotel is used by prostitutes. We stuck to our guns and got the driver to take us to Hotel Belmonte.
There were no signs of any prostitutes in the hotel and the sign in book had been signed by numerous foreign tourists. If you have to stay one night in Ipiales for whatever reason, this hotel is fine. I really wanted to review this hotel because it was quite difficult to find a place to stay in Ipiales before we arrived there.
Also as we were arriving at night I really wanted the name of a trustworthy place where other foreign tourists have stayed. I can't remember exactly where I took the taxi from, but the hotel will show you on a map or I also asked a police officer and he pointed me in the right direction. You take a white taxi because these are 'collectivos'. They are shared taxis, so you wait until they are full and then they will leave, making it the cheapest way to get to the cathedral.
