I stayed here on business for several weeks in August 2011. It was a frustrating and disappointing stay. This hotel might have been a 5 star at some time in the distant past (the building has the physical characteristics of a good hotel), but even by Peruvian standards, it is nothing more than a dirty, run down and poorly managed 3 star today.
I WILL NOT return to this hotel. In the future, I'll stay either at the Victoria Regia or at La Casa Moray. I visited both of these hotels just before I left Iquitos, to suss them out for future use, and both of them are much better (and about one third the price) of the El Dorado Plaza.
I've listed the pros and cons of the El Dorado Plaza hotel below.
Advantages:
- Great location directly on the main square (Plaza des Armes) of the town
- Large pool, kids would enjoy it
- Large rooms
- Good security
- Free transport to and from the airport
- Fast and good quality laundry service
Disadvantages:
- COCKROACHES - not what you want to bring home in your clothes and luggage
- No hot water at any time, warm water available in the mornings only, tepid the rest of the time. Water heaters have been turned down very low to save energy.
- Very noisy at all times due to location on main road (affects rooms at front) and loud music from the patio at the rear (affects rooms at the back)
- Internet service is hopeless, with speed equal to a 9,600 baud modem, the hotel firewall and 'parental controls' associated with the hotel ISP make sending emails almost impossible
- Air conditioner in room noisy and frequently inoperative
- Rooms are dirty, decor is worn out, carpet and furnishings in rooms and public areas are all original from the early 1980s. The hotel did not have a single operating vacuum cleaner anywhere in the building during the two weeks I was there. Makes me wonder what the kitchen cleanliness would have been like.
- Bed was lumpy and the mattress was long past its 'best before' date.
- Housekeepers and hotel staff are noisy when in hallways and public areas, they are completely unaware that guests use the rooms primarily for sleeping. Staff have no formal hospitality industry training.
- Breakfast food offerings are dismal, limited choice at the buffet, no variety from day to day. Get there early or all you get is the leftovers.
- No coat hangers provided in the closet in the rooms.
- No Kleenex provided in the bathrooms
- No desk or other suitable business work area in the rooms
- No coffeemakers or complimentary bottled water (and the rack rate is $200 a day!)
- Bathroom amenities are similar to what you would get at a Super 8 or Days Inn
- Hotel posts all expenses in US dollars, then converts that US$ total to Peruvian Sols at a very inflated rate (3.1 sols to the USD when current bank rate was 2.8 to 1), then charges your credit card in Peruvian Sols... what a scam, and you are not told about this until the day you check out.
- Coffee costs $4 and cappuccino costs $5.50. Anywhere else in the town you pay $1 and $1.50 respectively.
-75¢ a page to print documents on an old inkjet printer that uses a poor quality, recycled toner cartridge - and your USB stick is then returned with various viruses and Trojans on it.
All in all, this hotel is a real nickle and dime operation. The owner is squeezing every last penny of profit out of the place, and not re-investing a penny. This hotel is a place where the Thénardier's (the thieving and treacherous hotel keeping couple from the musical Les Miserables) could go to learn new tricks.
For short term visitors (1 to 3 nights) to Iquitos, I would recommend Le Casa Moray. For longer term business visits, I would recommend the Victoria Regia. Both of these hotels are cleaner, better run, and offer far better value for the money.
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
