This place is a mixed bag. The neighborhood and the price are OK, but they charged me a fortune for local phone calls, so I changed hotels to express my displeasure. Do not use the phone in your room to make outgoing calls for any reason. They have a public phone just up the steps from the lobby, which I wasn't aware of . . . use either that phone or a public phone outside. Local calls were billed at nearly US$1 per minute.
Other than the phone ordeal, the room was fairly attractive, but nothing special considering the price in this third world country. In November 2003, it was 45,000 Bolivares per night (US$28). There was no hot water in my room, despite the giant hot water tank that was in the hallway (the hot water heater was working, but never reached my room). The "cold" water from the faucet was nearly warm because of the climate, so I dealt with that.
If you want to be in the Altamira neighborhood, this hotel is probably the best budget choice. It's on a quiet small street. They are located next door to a school, which started using its public address system at 7am, then again around 11am . . . keep this in mind if you like to sleep late. At least you won't have any traffic noise at this place. It’s one block from the Altamira subway station, near the Teatro Altamira.