We stayed 6 persons in 3 double rooms on July 2005 and everybody were completely pleased about the hotel. The staff is very helpful.
The hotel is new and very clean, specially the bathroom, that´s excellent, spotless, big, confortable, with a strong shower and ammenities.
The rooms have a good size and are very clean and with good lightening.
The beds are super confortable. This point is a plus for me because I´m a back pain sufferer.
The lift is very modern and big.
The hotel is not at the Arequipa´s noisy center but in a quite residential district, so it´s completely silent by night. Taxis to center (5 minutes) are very cheap: less than $1 and pass along the hotel.
The restaurant is nice and has a piano, though it´s a bit expensive. There are hundreds of excellent and cheap restaurants in the center.
They were so polite that gave us the welcome drink twice.
The only complaint is the TV size (14") but they have lots of cable channels in different languages, several in English.
I definitely recommend El Cabildo!
Arequipa city is beautiful, with wonderful churches, museums, elegant colonial houses to visit, the Convento de Santa Catalina (great!!!), plenty of nice restaurants, boutiques, etc. It´s called La ciudad blanca (the white city) because many houses are made in sillar (volcanic lava). Arequipa´s symbol is its volcan Misti.
The surrounding areas are beautiful, with astonishing landscapes and great places to visit: La mansión del fundador (The founder´s mansion), El molino de Sabandía (The Sabandia windmill), etc.
And if you want a delicious dessert at a cosy place, go to Ciocolatta, in Mercaderes street. They serve meals too.