What a Venezuelan State-owned 5-star hotel looks like...

I’ve written before about the State-owned Venetur hotel chain, but thanks to this report from Peru’s Panamericana TV, we can see the current conditions inside one of its...

I’ve written before about the State-owned Venetur hotel chain, but thanks to this report from Peru’s Panamericana TV, we can see the current conditions inside one of its five-star hotels: Puerto La Cruz’s Maremares.

As the Peruvian football team is staying there for its World Cup qualifier against Venezuela on Tuesday night, the TV crew made a visit to the premises and what they found out was not even close to what a five-star hotel should be like. It starts at 4:03 and ends at 6:30.

To recap: there’s no AC system in the hallways, only one of three elevators is working, the carpets are dirty, the electronic room keys only work when they feel like it and about the room itself… not five-star at all.

Ok, this report is obviously not Frontline. But even if it comes from a typical not-so-great sports show (and we have our share of those here at home), this proves that to attract tourists a fancy new PR campaign won’t do. Having a good infrastructure is important. But having more overall security for the tourists themselves should be the top priority.

BTW, the same TV crew faced an uncomfortable situation while visiting J.A. Anzoategui Stadium (1:52-3:49). Out of nowhere, some guy in a T-shirt and without any identification  went on full guapeton de barrio mode and harassed both the reporter and cameraman. If he was part of the stadium’s security staff why he didn’t have an I.D. badge? And why he was dressed like he was on his day-off? It’s just embarrassing.