Hotel berhampiran Santa Isabel Park, Arequipa

The hotel is in an excellent location, across from Santa Catalina Monastery. Beautiful stonework throughout the ground floor of the hotel. The room I was in had a balcony with an excellent view of the Misty Volcano. Hotel staff were very nice and attentive. Special thanks to Pamela and Larry.

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.

The Villa Elisa is an absolute haven of tranquility a short 10 minute walk from the busy centre of Arequipa. My husband I stayed here for 4 nights with a trip to Colca Canyon in the middle. The breakfast was the best that we had in Peru. A wide selection of of top quality ingredients with a plentiful supply of coffee and teas. Such a delight to have breakfast and watch the humming birds in the garden. Our ground floor room had a small patio area where us was lovely to rest after a busy day exploring Arequipa and there were also seats around the garden to take advantage of the sun and shade. The outside area enhanced by a perfect small pool. The rooms were very comfortable with plenty of hot water, fluffy towels, hair dryer and most importantly of all a very comfortable bed. We had an overnight trip to Colca Canyon in the middle of our stay and the hotel were happy for us to leave our things in pour room until we returned and also provided a breakfast bag for us as we had an early start. Whilst the hotel is beautiful, what really makes the Villa Elisa stand out is it’s staff. They go out of their way to ensure that your stay with them is perfect. We would definitely recommend a stay at Villa Elisa

The hotel is well located for the airport and main city centre. A ten minute taxi journey to the main square costs 10 sol. The staff are amazing. They are welcoming and friendly. The hotel is very clean and well appointed, with a very good restaurant and bar. Food was very food throughout our stay. Our room was large with a view of the mountains. It had a large comfortable bed and a very clean bathroom with complimentary water and a vanity kit. The room has a coffee machine, safe and good-sized wardrobe. The hotel has a spa which you can book in advance. We had a very comfortable stay and would recommend this hotel.