Hotels near Monasterio de la Recoleta, Arequipa

Stayed here with my mom recently. We stayed at four hotels during our trip to Peru, and this was probably my favorite of the hotels. The room was nice and clean in a great location right next to the always lively plaza. The staff - including Vanessa, Yanina, and Itab (sorry if I got any of the names wrong!) - were all great and went out of their way to make us feel welcome without being super fussy about it. We were at the hotel on my mom's birthday... I think they noticed the date on my mom's passport and surprised her with a slice of cake on the day of, which was very sweet and much appreciated. On the day we were originally supposed to leave, we got a last-minute flight cancellation notice, so we had to extend our stay at the hotel for an extra day. The hotel staff were very accommodating and placed us in the same room for the additional night so that we didn't have to bother checking out and checking back in.

Love the free water and beer in the room. The staff are always nice and very accommodating. We were able to store our bag while off on another adventure. The breakfast was good with a nice selection of healthy products. Big comfy bed in a large quiet room.

Nice decor and styling in the rooms, large and comfortable bed (we had a private room just a bit back from the pool area). The inclusion of a fridge was a plus point. The cleaning staff were helpful and courteous. When we checked in, the guys working reception helped us up to the room with our luggage (I had been volunteering in Arequipa for 2 months prior so had a few bags). However, when I asked on our way out if they had anyone available to help take our luggage to the taxi, it was a hard “no ofrecemos ese servicio” 😕 So I guess it depends who’s working that day as to what level of service you get. The bar area around the pool was nice with lots of seating options to chill out, but the water in the pool was absolutely freezing and even cold water swimmers wouldn’t be in there much more than 10 minutes! I removed quite a lot of bugs during my swim, so a regular clean with a net wouldn’t go amiss. The worst aspect of this place was the obnoxiously loud and unrelenting music. I couldn’t even get peace and quiet in our private bathroom. I get that the poolside party is their vibe, but I really don’t think they need quite so many hours of it in their schedule. With retrospect, I’d have chosen a quieter hotel. Finally, we booked a massage. I thought it would be a nice way to round off our trip, the price was equivalent to about £30 GBP which I thought was a good deal. I’d had an excellent massage at Selina in Baños, Ecuador, so I was looking forward to it. Well, both my massage (hot stones) and the one my boyfriend had (regular massage) were so comically bad that we still joke about it 6 months later. I asked the masseuse in fluent Spanish 5 times and in a variety of different ways to really use a bit more pressure, but no…. the two of us spent an hour each being half-heartedly rubbed with oil by someone who clearly had received very little training and was unable to locate any knots, any areas of tension, anything. I actually left more tense than I went in! I did tell the reception so I sincerely hope they have recruited a new massage therapist. Overall, there are some benefits to Selina such as the relative proximity to the city centre whilst also having a pool. However, I wouldn’t rush back and didn’t find it quite as good as the other Selinas I’ve stayed in in Central and South America.

Excelente la habitación y su comodidad. El desayuno buffet bastante bueno 👍