Hotels in Lima: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly
I think I have stayed in almost 10 different hotels in Lima during my trips there as it’s only 8 hours away from Huancayo by bus. Ten is a far cry from over 100 options in the city and I’m no expert, but my experiences could give you a feel for the variety in the area and what you could face.
Apart from being the cheapest accommodation in downtown Lima we’ve found at 25 soles for a 2-person room, the biggest advantage of this hotel is that it’s right beside the side entrance of the government palace. The entrance is always manned by security guards, so the area and street feels really safe. It’s so cheap because the street is tucked away and the hotel is hard to find with only a tiny frame where the “H” for “Hotel” should be at the top of its doorway and stairs that lead up to the place.
2. Worst Lima Hotel Experience – Located in front of San Francisco Church
With a deceiving entranceway that opens into a beautiful courtyard, I expected a comfortable night at this hotel and only got bitten all night by mysterious unseen bugs. By the morning, there were red welts all over my body even when I had tried to cover myself with sheets. I’ve otherwise never been bitten by anything in Lima, so they must have something akin to bed bugs.
3. Shadiest Lima Hotel – Located on Jr. de la Unión at the corner of Jr. Callao
All three different rooms I stayed at in this hotel reminded me of a horror movie. The first had vomit green walls, the second had two beds that were falling apart, and the third had a flickering light bulb. The price is relatively cheap at around 30 soles per night, but I imagine they can only charge even that much because they’re at a prime location on a main pedestrian shopping street and right beside the central plaza.
4. Best Lima Hotel – 3B
In an upscale area of Lima, 3B lives up to its surroundings with sleek design, large flatscreen TVs, and huge, comfy beds. I would describe the hotel as zen-like with it’s bright, white, minimalistic spaces. A combi stop is only half a block away from the hotel, so we were able to easily get to and from Lima’s chief tourist neighborhood, Miraflores.
5. Friendliest Lima Hotel – D’Osma
Francisco provides a warm welcome at this bed and breakfast that has 5 cozy character rooms as well as a cabin-like shared kitchen. All of the staff were super accommodating even when we asked to store tons of huge pieces of luggage in their tiny office. The hotel is situated in Barranco within walking distance of nightlife.
What was the best or worst hotel experience you’ve ever had?
Tags: hotels in lima, lima hotels
Li @ FlashFiction
Oh jeez. My worst nightmare is staying in a place with bugs. (Fortunately, it’s never happened!) The worst for us was a hotel near Philadelphia airport. The flight was delayed because of an ice storm so everything was booked. The room smelled of old food and stale cigar smoke, and the heat in the room didn’t work so we slept in our coats. The best was a tiny motel we stumbled upon on Hutchinson Island in Florida, tucked in between all of the high rise condos. The rooms were spotless, the owners treated us like family members, and they had a bulldog named Rosie on the premises who wore a Hawaiian shirt and loved to go around and “visit” everyone. Unfortunately, it was completely devastated in a hurricane several years ago and the owners retired. 🙁
Samantha Bangayan
YUCK!! I remember looking up hotels for a stopover in Miami and a lot of the cheap ones I found were exactly as you describe — close to the airport but smelly and old.
Ooh! That’s so sad to hear about what happened to your favorite motel. I’m sure the couple had beautiful memories of amazing guests like you. =) Those kinds of accommodations are so rare!
Vinny T.
I’ve never had a bad hotel experience. Pretty lucky. As far as Lima hotels are concerned, the best by far is the Hotel Marriott right across the street from Larco Mar. Great accommodations, great service, and the best all you can eat Sunday brunch that money can buy.
It’s funny that you mentioned the side entrance to the Presidential Palace. During my first visit to Peru, I passed by that entrance. At that time, it was unguarded. I turned the door knob and the door opened. I simply walked in and spent a half hour walking around the palace unsupervised. Some security! It’s a good thing I wasn’t a terrorist.
Samantha Bangayan
Wow! I’ve always wondered what it’d be like to stay at that Marriott! =) What a great view you must have had.
Haha! =) That’s super surprising yet exciting about your spontaneous opportunity to explore the palace. I’ll have to be on the look out when I stay at that place again to see if I can pull a “Vinny.” =)
Hajra
Thanks to a birthday gift, I have stayed at three of the most wonderful hotels in the world (in Dubai). Dubai is known for its wonderful collection of hotels and the amazing service they have to offer. And yes, I loved the experience in all three of them.
I was once on a trip in India with my friends and the hotel we checked in was not all that great in terms of facilities but it had amazing customer service. One of the most friendliest staff I have met in a non-fancy hotel. I love it when it isn’t only about just the comfort but also about reaching out to the customers on a personal level.
And I have had a bad trip where we found cameras in the room! LOL! We were just a group of friends visiting and thankfully, we saw the camera right after we entered, we threatened to call the police – they gave us our money back; but yes, terrible experience!
Samantha Bangayan
You lucky girl, you! =) And what a cool idea for a birthday present. Maybe I should book hotel nights for my parents sometime. =) And that’s so true about customer service! I can put up with a lot if I feel like I’m being treated well and sincerely.
EEP! I cannot believe hotels would put cameras in rooms! I’m glad you told me about that, so I know what to check for!!
Carrie
Wow! You’ve had a few experiences with hotels. We stayed in a motel that’s like 15 minutes away from us when we were homeless. It sucked! The room was VERY low quality, it stunk, and we only had a mini refrigerator and a microwave to cook our food! Then the manager was very nasty and snotty at times. He came banging on the door about our hotel fare! He drove me nuts! I’m like, “Dude, I’m gonna pay! Go away for now!” He actually came and woke us up at like 7am in the freaking morning and check out time wasn’t even until 10am!!!!!
Have a wonderful Christmas! =)
Samantha Bangayan
Great to meet you, Carrie! Yeah, when I started putting this post together, I surprised myself with how many different experiences I had had. =P
Eek!! Sounds like you can totally relate based on that motel experience, but at least you had a fridge and microwave. =) Although, bad customer service always completely ruins the experience for me. Glad you got through that alright!! Hugs!! Hope you had a great Christmas too. =)
MuMuGB
Well, we once had cockroaches in an upmarket hotel in New York. I have to admit that I didn’t enjoy the company!
Samantha Bangayan
That is NASTY, Muriel!! =P The worst part is having high expectations from the get go and then having to see the insects. =P Yuck!
Penelope J.
Thanks for the tips. Hope I’ll get to Lima some day.
My worst experience was at a Marriott in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. I arrived with my two kids to stay in the Christmas-New Year break, having booked since May, to find the hotel still under construction. We stayed but our room was windowless, with cement floors, slept on mattresses, and when I switched on the one lamp, I got shocked. On another occasion, like you, I was bitten by bugs in a Marriott in Acapulco. So staying in a top chain doesn’t always guarantee a good experience.
Samantha Bangayan
Whaaat? I guess with a large hotel chain, you can’t always control quality internationally. Or maybe I’m just making excuses for them. =P