Peru - Lonely Planet Publications [303]
Hostal San Jorge (32-7514; fax 32 2928; Loreto 960; s/d S50/75) This is a cookie-cutter standard-issue hotel with hot showers. There’s a pool and all rooms have table fans.
Hotel Perú (33-3421, fax 33 1530; Arequipa 476; s/d S49/89; ) This place has the goods: a pleasant bamboo lounging area, an elegant restaurant (with lots of gold fixtures, unfortunately) and neat, spacious rooms with hot water and TV. Worth its weight in nuevos soles.
Algarrobo Inn (30-7450; Los Cocos 389; s/d S50/75, d with air-con S75, all with breakfast; ) The walled-in compound here has both grass and shade in spades, both at a premium in Piura. Rooms are just OK, but there’s a decent restaurant and – this may well be the deal clincher – you get free use of the Club Grau pool next door!
MIDRANGE
Hotel Vicus (34-3201; Guardia Civil B-3; s/d S70/80; ) The well-appointed rooms here are spaced out around a drive-in, motel-style layout and have everything you might crave, except air-con. They’re neat and spotless nonetheless, with lots of splashy color; there’s also room service.
Hostal El Sol (32-4461, 32-6307; mailservitucoral@terra.com.pe; Sánchez Cerro 455; s/d S80/120; ) An elegant lobby leads to rooms that are good-sized and reasonable value, with a ceiling fan and cable TV. A restaurant is available for breakfast and a S4 to S6 menú (set meal).
Hotel Esmeralda (33-1205, 33-1782; www.hotelesmeralda.com.pe; Loreto 235; s/d with air-con S115/170, all with breakfast; ) This place is a shining white-and-bright cocktail of glass, gold and tiles. The carpeted rooms look like they were decorated by your grandmother, but are comfy and have cable TV, phone and mini-fridge. There is an elevator, restaurant and room service, and the staff is efficient and helpful.
Hotel Costa del Sol (/fax 30-2864; www.costadelsolperu.com; Loreto 649; s/d S212/289; ) This attractive old-fashioned hotel has a well-stocked bar, elegant restaurant with room service, Jacuzzi, small gym and a casino (naturally). Well-kept and comfortably furnished rooms offer cable TV, a direct-dial phone and minibar. Ask about airport transfers.
TOP END
Los Portales (32-3072, 32-1161; losportales@cpi.udep.edu.pe; Libertad 875; s/d/ste with breakfast S270/340/410; ) Live out dreams of conquistador grandeur in this beautiful and fully refurbished colonial building on the Plaza de Armas. Handsome public areas with iron grillwork and black-and-white checkered floor lead to a poolside restaurant and rooms with large cable TV, minibar and great beds. Unfortunately, the conquistador doesn’t sleep well here – the downstairs bar blares music on the weekends and there’s odd elevator music playing throughout the building at all hours.
Eating
To tuck into some regional delicacies, a lunchtime trip to the nearby town of Catacaos is a must. Vegetarians will be pleased by Piura’s wealth of non-meat options.
D’Pauli (Jirón Lima 451; cakes from S1; 9am-1pm & 4-10pm) Leave room for dessert after your meal and visit here – it’s a great cake shop.
Heladería el Chalán (Tacna 520; snacks S1.50-8; 7:30am-10pm) This fast-food joint has multiple outlets whipping up burgers and sandwiches, but our money’s on the excellent selection of juices and the dozens of flavors of cool, cool ice cream. There are also branches at Grau 173 and 453.
Ganimedes (32-9176; Jirón Lima 440; menús S6, mains S6-8; 7am-10pm Mon-Sat, 11am-9pm Sun) No goat-head soups here, but plenty of refreshing fruit juices, yummy yogurts, wholegrain biscuits and lots and lots of salads. Ganimedes doubles as a whole-grain bakery, making it a great place to stock your picnic basket or to try their signature focaccia.
Las Tradiciones (32-2683; Ayacucho 579; menús S5, mains S6-18; 10am-10pm) With wicker chairs spread throughout a gently crumbling colonial building, this is another decent place to sample cheap local fare.
Snack Bar Romano (32-3399; Ayacucho 580; menús S6, mains S9-21; 7am-11pm, closed Sun) With an excellent menú, this local favorite has been around as long as its middle-aged waiters. It gets the double thumbs-up