라 아시엔다 바히아 파라카스

The grounds are attractive and well maintained; however, in my opinion this was not a five-star hotel experience. We were required to pay USD $10 per person to use the hot “jacuzzi” pool, which is located next to the main pool but only available at night and not as a private booking. We ultimately had to cancel as it was my partner’s birthday and our tour guide had organised an event we wanted to attend. Despite this, we were still charged, as we were told the pool had just been turned on. We had attempted to call beforehand to cancel, but the phone lines did not work - both ourselves and our tour guide were unable to through, reception staff said the lines “were open” - we had to get a tuktuk back just to tell them we wanted to cancel. The shower had significant pink mould on the tiles, I chose to shower wearing flip flops. While the rooms are ok, they do not meet a five-star standard. The reception staff were also less friendly than expected. Everywhere else we stayed in Peru, staff were exceptional and attentive, however this was not our experience here. Prior to arrival, I emailed to ask whether any complimentary birthday arrangements could be organised for my partner. I was advised this would be arranged upon providing his passport as proof, however nothing was organised or even acknowledged. In contrast, the hotel we stayed at the night before unexpectedly delivered a small cake to the room, the night before his birthday & without us requesting or mentioning it. That level of thoughtfulness truly reflects good hospitality. Access into Paracas was inconvenient. Tuk-tuks do not travel to the hotel, we were advised Uber had a 50-minute wait time, and reception eventually offered to organise a taxi after 15 minutes of being stuck. We avoided reception staff after the few off putting encounters with them. Other staff we encountered, including restaurant and pool staff, were however very friendly and welcoming. Overall, for a property listed as five-star and costing close to AUD $*** for two nights, the experience was very disappointing.