Hotel in zona Alpaca Museum, Arequipa

L'hotel è completamente nuovo, sembra elegante e è ben situato. Il servizio è stato molto amichevole e utile; abbiamo avuto un tour che è iniziato alle 3:00 del mattino e il personale della ricezione ha offerto una accatadine attive take-away colazione. E poi erano anche alle tre per noi alla reception, ma purtroppo non avevamo acqua calda al lavabo, e l'acqua non era corretta.

This is a beautiful hotel with lots of wonderful features and situated in a great location. The staff were excellent and very hardworking and nothing was too much trouble for them. The massage ladies in the Spa were fabulous. The only reason I have given it 4* instead of 5* is because I got salmonella food poisoning from the chicken goujon meal we had in the restaurant on our last evening - ended up with me having to be hospitalised and on an IV line for 3 days. Please check your kitchen procedures as I don’t want anyone else to have to deal with this situation as it pretty much wiped me out for the rest of my trip including Machu Picchu which is a great shame.

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.

Dear Team at Sonesta Hotel Arequipa, I would like to express my gratitude for the exceptional service I received during my stay from November 11th to 12th, and I would like to specifically acknowledge two remarkable members of your staff. During this time, Ana at the front desk demonstrated exceptional warmth and helpfulness. Her service attitude was truly impressive. Shortly after our return to the room in the evening, we were pleasantly surprised with a birthday cake, which brought immense joy to my mother. I am immensely grateful to both the staff who delivered the cake to our room and Ana. I hope the hotel can extend gratitude to these two employees. Given the chance, I will definitely choose to stay at your hotel again on my next visit to Arequipa. Thank you. Warm regards, Mr. Chou, Shenhsiang