makin'miles

Just curious if anyone has stayed at this property and has any comments/reviews, particularly regarding Plat treatment. Any suggestions on activities and sights not-to-miss in the local area would also be appreciated.

It certainly looks like a nice property:

https://www.starwoodhotels.com/prefe...ropertyID=3513

mizzou miles

Anyone been there yet? Thinking of a November trip...

Alex_I

- Tripadvisor has some reviews but I also like to hear FTs first.

Zone1

This is an amazing hotel where I wrapped up a 6 night C&P stay two weeks ago. To get there, you probably want to take the Cruz del Sur bus from Lima. It is a scenic bus ride down. We walked from the bus station to the hotel when we got it. It is about a 10 min walk, and once you get closer to the hotel, it turns into an unpaved road. Taxis are like S./3, so you can't go wrong. Paracas seems like a fairly safe place, so I wouldn't worry too much. The hotel has a van, but I'm not sure how much they would charge for pickup from the bus station. We stayed 6 nights, but if you really have things lined out, and don't want to do much lounging around at the awesome pool, you could do all the sites in 2 full days. At check-in they were surprised at how long we were staying. I guess most people just stay for the weekend.

We did tours of the Ballestas Islands and Paracas National Reserve. Theoretically, you could do both in one day. When we were there, Paracas has a heavy marine layer that usually doesn't burn off until after noon. You might want to take that into consideration if you want to see these beautiful sites in the sun. We also took Cruz del Sur down to Nazka to do the Nazkan lines flyover. Honestly, we were kind of underwhelmed with this, and wouldn't do it if we had the chance for a do-over. We also did a dune buggy trip over the local dunes in Paracas. This was loads of fun and did this near sunset, which was beautiful.

We only ate dinner at the hotel once because the menu was actually fairly small, and we wanted to get some more local flare. We walked into town every other night for dinner. You wouldn't be able to do this if you stayed at the Doubletree. Breakfast was good and fairly similar to the Tambo del Inka breakfast options. Every night after dinner we lounged around the pool bar villa. It is a nice romantic area with a fireplace. Housekeeping goes the extra mile here. I had this hair brush in the bathroom, and they cleaned it one day. I'm a little embarrassed it was so dirty they had to clean it! Overall, this is an excellent hotel with well manicured grounds. Below is a link to my album:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/membe...l-paracas.html

honu

We might be there in September. How did you move around within the area? We don't know if we want to see the Islas Ballestas (depends on how rough the ocean is the days we're there), but we're definitely interested in exploring the national park and the coastline, and we would enjoy doing it at our own pace, without having to do a tour or hiring a guide. Is it possible to rent a car nearby?

Zone1

I'm pretty sure there wasn't a place to rent cars, but Pisco might have something. Paracas is actually a pretty small place. You had to go to Pisco to change money.

honu

Thanks. I have heard that Pisco used to be pickpocket central, and since the earthquake a couple of years ago, it's become even worse... I guess I'll check when I'm in situ.

ORDSteve

Thank you Zone1 for the helpful info. I have one follow up question- How long was the bus ride from Lima? I'm considering flying to Pisco as an alternative or is that not necessary?

Thanks for the help.

Zone1

The bus ride was 3:30 on Cruz del Sur. It didn't make any other stops. The drive down is beautiful, and we probably would do the bus even if it was the same price as a flight.

ORDSteve

Thanks for the helpful info. Where is the Lima bus station in relation to the airport?

honu

Haven't been there yet, but, by checking the Cruz del Sur web site, it looks like the Paracas buses leave from San Isidro, perhaps a bit closer to the airport than Miraflores, but not by much.

honu

Another question about this hotel (and other high end hotels in Paracas in general): when you book, you are advised that there is a 29% sales tax, but with other hotels (in Lima, for examples), I found a disclaimer that at least part of that tax (18%, I think) is for Peruvian residents only. Does this hotel charge the full 29% tax or is there a discount for tourists?

alandrafts

To answer the previous question on taxes: I just stayed at this hotel (big thumbs up, by the way). Taxes are the same as all other hotels in Peru. I think what the "29 percent" might have meant was the standard 19 percent tax (you'll get this back for the room if you show a non-Peruvian passport and immigration card upon check-in) and a 10 percent 'service tax' that they add to all spend in the hotel (supposedly these are tips; but who knows where it really goes). I live in Peru and love this hotel, though basically I just come to veg out and never leave it during my stay. EVERYONE who works here always has a smile and says hello and goes the extra miles for you. Highly recommended.

honu

Thanks for the info. A pretty unusual custom charging local people more than tourists (usually it's the other way around)...

3544quebec

Private enterprise doesn't usually do it but as is the case here Governments often do