which hotel in Lima?
 

I have 23 hrs in Lima thanks to CO's SEA-EWR fare :)

I have narrowed my choices down to 3:
Sheraton Lima (3000 SPG points)
Radisson Hotel Decapolis Miraflores ($80, 4th on tripadvisor)
Radisson Hotel San Isidro ($80, 6th on tripadvisor)

The Sheraton is obviously the cheapest, but it's far away from the city center and it is probably the least safe at night.

From my reading, Miraflores is a good area to be in with lots to do. What about San Isidro?

Some info about us, I'll be travelling with my gf, and we are in our mid-20s. We arrive close to midnight, so will probably take a cab to the hotel. If any of the hotel is has some kind of nightlife nearby, that'd be an interesting outing to go to. Otherwise, we'll probably just call it a night and stroll around the area the day after for some sightseeing.

I recommend Miraflores.

The location of the hotel is close to the Larco Mar shopping center as well as the main avenue (Av Jose Larco) that has a lot of shops and eateries.

My fiancee is from Lima and we go visit her family often. They live in Miraflores and we can walk a lot of places or hop on a combi bus (not recommended unless you know the routes or have a local with you).

When you hail a cab from the airport use Taxi Green, they will be located at the taxi desk as you walk out after you clear customs. You can expect to pay 45-55 soles for a ride to Miraflores at that time of night. They are a safe cab company - much safer than getting a cab from one of the hundreds who will be there hollering at you for a taxi ride.

Nightlife can be found along Benavides, especially closer to Kennedy Park. There are a few bars and clubs up that way. But it depends on the day you will be there. If its a Sunday-Wednesday you will probably be better off just crashing and getting after it in the morning.

Just walk down Av 28 de Julio (west) until you intersect with Av Jose Larco - that will take to you to Larco Mar and all the way up to Parque Kennedy.

Another vote for Miraflores, for all the reasons that RockyBalboa mentions. San Isidro is safe, but it is the business district. Miraflores is also safe and the tourist district.

A quick tip with taxi green. There are three main "areas" when you exit customs. You will walk through the doors and see a wall in front of you. In that area there are many (expensive) taxis. Walk around the wall and taxi green are located in the next area, way to the right, almost outside the terminal. There should be taxi green (they wear lanyards with ID) drivers milling around the area and they will try to get you to go with them. You are best to approach the Taxi Green counter as there are posted rates on a board there (a month ago for me it was S/. 55) , you can even pay at the counter in advance and then they assign you a driver. If you choose a driver while ignoring the desk, the driver may state a rate that is higher than the posted one. They are a good, safe company though.

Actually the Sheraton is closest to the city center. But you're right that that area is probably the least safe at night, or at least that the old part of downtown that the Sheraton is in wouldn't have much of touristic interest at night in the immediate vicinity. The Plaza de Armas is not walkable from the Sheraton, especially not at night.


Doubletree El Pardo in Miraflores was where I stayed and I thought it was a decent hotel. Depending on price (and hotel program affiliation) you might also want to add the Doubletree to your consideration set.

Thanks for all your responses.

I have decided to stay in Miraflores and will look for the Taxi Green counter at the airport.

Another question: is USD widely accepted there or will I need to get some soles before going down there? Any ATMs in the airport? Also, would credit card work well?

Thanks!

Thanks for your detailed reply.

We'll arrive on saturday night, so it should be fun. I have already located the route you described on google map, I guess we'll walk northbound on Larco and hopefully see fun things to do. It is safe to walk around that area at night correct? (shortly past midnight)

USD is accepted at most places in Lima except sometimes the smallest roadside businesses. Supermarkets, gas stations, decent-sized restaurants etc, no problem. Taxis in general can be tricky though but taxi green accepts USD. One thing to bear in mind is that change is, for some reason, a significant problem in Peru. This goes for whether you are paying in USD or soles. If you rock up with a $100 (or even S/. 100) bill for a small transaction, some businesses won't be able to make the change (even those relatively big ones like gas stations). If taking USD, I would bring nothing bigger than a twenty as it will save you from running around trying to change bigger bills. This is even more of a problem in other Peruvian cities than it is in Lima; in general expect to have an appropriately-sized bill for the size of the transaction.

Credit cards are widely accepted but you cannot expect that they will be without asking. Note also that some places accept Visa but not Mastercard, or Vice-versa. And they do ask for ID often, even if your card has a pin. One very large department store in Miraflores wanted to see my original passport - foreign drivers licence wasn't good enough for them. This is the exception though.

In answer to your other question - exercise normal cautions as you are walking around an unfamiliar place at night but if you stay in the Miraflores area, there are lots of police and private security patrols and the area is generally safe. My impression is that people worry about violent crime far too much here - it looks to me like you are much more likely to be injured crossing the street, such is the cavalier attitude to driving.

Enjoy your trip :)

USD are accepted everywhere but there are some strange rules:

1. no torn bills will be accepted... no matter how small the tear is. best to put aside some crisp clean bills to take with you.
2. $1 bills are sometimes accepted at a much lower rate than the actual rate. why? because it's a smaller amount. To them, 20 $1 bills is not the same as a $20 bill. :rolleyes:

The ATM's in the airport are a rip off with the WD fees. You can change some dollars at the money exchange desk closest to the custom's exit. They don't charge a commission.

I do recommend trying to get as much small denominational Peruvian Soles as you can. When trying to get the best price, it's better to have exact change. A lot of smaller merchants can't make a lot of change either.

My pleasure. I love Lima and I enjoy it every time I am there.

Yes, that is the main thoroughfare in the tourist district. You will see plenty of security officers, tourist police and national police officers. As with any big city just be aware of your surroundings and keep an eye on your pockets (and your girlfriends purse) and you'll be fine. I always pay attention anytime someone gets close to me.

My recommendation for soles is to change some dollars in the airport. You may not get the best rate (could be 2.75 in the airport and you can get 2.78 from a cambista on the street) but at that time of night and the fact you won't be there long is fine. If you need to change during the day you will see the cambistas at pretty much every intersection along Av Jose Larco. They wear green vests and have cash in hand. Always ask them what the exchange rate is and verify the math - they have calculators.

You can pay with USD, I do at some places, but its easier to do it in soles as the Peruvians are very skeptical of counterfeit bills. Which brings another recommendation - the cash you take with you there - make sure you go to the bank and ask for new crisp bills. That will save you the hassle of someone there thinking its a fake.

Saturday night is a good night. Peruvians are party people so its not rare to see the discotheques and bars packed until 4-5am. Make sure you try the Pisco Sour drink!

Parque Kennedy usually has an arts and crafts type sale on the weekends and I have bought many cool souvenirs there.

I've used credit cards but only for hotels - when I am there I always bring cash. I dont trust using the ATMs unless its inside the banks.

And you will see a fast food joint called Bembo's; its Peru's hamburger joint. The burgers there are pretty damn good and a good quick lunch.

Have fun and I'm sure that your one day will leave you wanting to come back for a week. I love it down there.

Any other questions feel free to ask or shoot me a PM.

Yeah - I have noticed this especially on Trip Advisor; people sweat the violent crime way too much. I'd be more afraid walking in certain parts of our country than I would in Lima. There are some bad parts and I have been nervous once or twice there (in San Martin de Porres) but as I'm sure you know most of the people are pretty nice there.

Thanks for all the quick replies.

I hope Lima will be as welcoming as all you FT folks :D

I'll get some Sols at the airport then, since I won't be changing a significant amount, I am more than willing to pay a bit more for the peace of mind. Thanks again everyone!

I also love Lima and Peru in general. Last time we went, we stayed at Sheraton.

During the day, we could just walk to the city center and at night took the complimentary shuttle to Miraflores if we needed to.

Although Miraflores is a nicer area, I actually appreciate the old town area.

There is a tourist bus night tour departing from Miraflores. It is worth checking it out. Enjoy your trip!

I really liked my four nights at the Gran Boliviar, this April.

Does anyone have any feedback on the JW Marriott? I found a $392 a/in deal from IAD/DCA in October but it requires a 3 night stay.

I stayed there for 2 nights about a year and a half ago (using Marriott points). It's quite nice and well located in Miraflores, across the street from the beach and shopping mall.

If you want to take a taxi somewhere, however, do not use theirs which will cost 3-4 times as much as others will. Walk across the street to the shopping center and negotiate with the normal taxis there.