I am not sure who this hotel paid to get the 2 extra stars, but this is NOT a 5 star hotel (at best, it is a 3 star American hotel). The interior is EXTREMELY dated with walls and carpets that have been there no less than 30+ years (they need to be replaced). Even the main lobby is old looking.
The room we were given, while large and over-looking the park, had NO A/C! Who stays in a hotel room with no A/C? The best they could offer us was a loud, self standing fan. The bathroom looked like something from the 1960s and had a horrible shower with no pressure and very little hot water.
The buffet breakfast was, in a word, awful. The food was average, at best, and the dining room was old looking and way over crowded. There was almost no staff to help you while sitting at breakfast to the point that I had to tackle someone to get me a simple cup of coffee. In fact, this buffet breakfast experience was so bad that my wife and I decided to go out for breakfast on day 2 as opposed to going to the included buffet.
Speaking of staff, the staff at the hotel seemed clueless about almost everything. When we asked them about finding a Chinese restaurant in the area, their answer was simply walk down to the main area and there are lots of restaurants. Not at all helpful! They even messed up our request for a late check out; locking us out of our room well before the late time we agreed upon.
Finally, this hotel is no where NEAR the main part of the city (with all the shops, etc.). They say it is a 5 minute walk, but in reality it is at least a 25 minute walk down a very dark street (or a cab ride sitting in traffic). The hotel should really offer some sort of shuttle to/from the main part of the city.
Overall, this hotel was EXTREMELY disappointing given the cost and all of the other amazing places we had stayed in Peru. At best, this is no better than a Holiday Inn. Sadly, Arequipa desperately needs an upscale hotel.
