LIMA ... is that smell?
 

WHAT is that smell????

I am here at the Sheraton Lima and the entire place reeks. I believe the smell comes from the water because when I wash my hands they have they same offensive odor. Is this everywhere in Lima?

Damn you really have got it bad. At a risk of offending about 500 million people, I think most places where Spanish is the official language smell a bit funny. Zaragoza in Aragon used to smell of cabbages until they fixed the drains. I guess los conquistadores robbed all the gold and left the Incas with shoddy plumbing.

Plus of course your hotel is in a really crappy part of Lima, Miraflores smells pretty.

If I were you I'd go next door to Oeschler and marvel at how Peruvians don't know how escalators work. That ought to cheer you up some.

Ain't that the truth. Looking out my "top floor" room from that hotel, it is the only time in my life remembering thinking "I don't want to leave the hotel." I don't particularly remember a horrible smell in the room.

I stayed there last Fall,no smell problem,
and the easy access to the mall was a plus.

Miraflores is better, but so is staying w/ points...:D

As a frequent traveler to LIM I have noticed the smells too.

One of them is the sea; the ocean there seems to emit a strong fish/salt smell. This is usually only an issue when I am in Miraflores or Callao.

The second smell I notice I've always attributed to the plumbing and the fact that you are not supposed to flush the toilet paper because the pipes are so old and fragile. Thats why the bathroom stalls always have those little trashcans next to the toilets.

Peru is a large producer of fish meal and on days when the winds come from the North it brings the smell to Lima and Callao. It's not pleasant but at least each time you feed your fish you'll remember Lima. :D