Hostal Regis

The price given from the night porter (50Sol incl. breakfast) was not valid as soon as we checked out. The guy at the reception tried to charge us 55 + 6 Sol for each breakfast. We only paid the price the night porter told us and went to the tourist office to file a complaint. The woman at the tourist office rechecked our complaint and called to the hotel asking for the price for a double room. The person in charge told her 40! Sol incl. breakfast.
The trick is that the hotel has got a sign at the reception which shows the price of 55 Sol.
So, when you pay the room referring to the price which was given to you (by phone or by someone else) the man at the reception will point to the sign telling you that you must have understood something wrong and the price is 55 Sol + breakfast.

This really is a lovely hostel right in the middle of the beautiful city of Arequipa. We saw this in the Lonely Planet and persuaded our taxi driver to take us there even though he wanted to take us elsewhere are get a commission.

When we arrived we thought it would be out of our price range (more or less shoe-string) but were pleased to find we could get a room with shared bathroom for a budget price. With 3 bath/shower rooms to choose from and not that many rooms this sharing was never a problem and they serve a nice breakfast on the terrace. Staff are friendly too.

The room was simple but nice - it reminded me a bit of an Italian pensione with parquet floors, old-fashioned furniture, tall doors with stained glass and the marble steps up from the front door give it an elegannt feel. The courtyeard set-up feels really open and the roof terrace has amazing views all over the city and of the surrounding volcanoes.

This place really is a gem - it is close to the Plaza de Armas, all the restaurants and shops and also the Monasteria Santa Catalina which is really worth looking round.

If you find yourself in Peru make a trip to Arequipa as it really is a lovely friendly city, and stay at the Hostal Regis - we loved it!