I have stayed at the Maria Angola no fewer than 8 times over the past few years and every time I tell myself it's going to be the last. I have this love/hate relationship with the hotel. Even though the hotel was constructed in the 1980's I don't think it has seen much done since. In spite of the reviews here the hotel does very well and when I went last month it was full. Groups from Europe seem to insure the hotel does a good business.
The staff for the most part is helpful. I am not sure how many of the front desk people speak English though. I spoke to them in Spanish which is not my native tongue. My biggest complaint would be about the hot water and water pressure. This time I spent 6 nights in their presidential suite and overall it wasn't any better than in the jr. suite I normally take. You turn on the hot water in the shower or jacuzzi and the water trickles out. There is no happy medium, the water temperature changes without you adjusting the controls. If the water is too hot and you turn on more cold to compensate it takes a while to adjust and then it's too cold. The water pressure was good in the sinks but not in the shower and horrible in the jacuzzi.
The breakfast is now a buffet. There is fruit salad (one morning I saw people sniffing it and putting it back) made with the least expensive fruts. There were scrambled eggs, (watery) as well as some cold buns and toast. Since I am known to the staff I was offered fried eggs if I wanted them. The coffee is good but one morning I had to wait at least five minutes to get some, finally one of the older waiters brought me my coffee and juice. The younger waiters don't seem to care as much.
I asked for a wake up call the day I had to leave and no one bothered to call me. Thankfully I woke up on my own and didn't miss my flight. I did ask for a taxi to pick me up and the genteman was there with a sign with my name on it. The taxi costs $20 USD.
There is a free pisco sour but it's horrible, it's made with a very low quality pisco. The location of the hotel is wonderful and you can walk in safety to the Indian Markets as well as the shops and restaurants around Kennedy Park. There is a Metro Supermarket open 24 hours not far from the hotel as well as a Vivanda supermarket. I like to get my bottled water there and you should also try the local fruits, many of which we don't import here to the US. The Metro has a bakery section as well and the daily breads and rolls are good and one cake I tried was nothing short of chocolate heaven.
They do convert the dollars to soles at a horrible rate so be prepared to see this on your credit card bill. Also phone calls made from your room are expensive and there is a pay phone just around the corner.
One place I do love is Tropicana restaurant. Exit the hotel and walk to the left and it's on the corner. The daily special is only 9 soles, just a bit more than $3. It's open so you might want to avoid it on windy days but I love the food and have sometimes eaten there 3 times a day. The seafood is always good, the waitresses are nice, Don Pepe and his wife are the owners and always have a smile and a kind word.
After all is said and done would I stay again, probably so. Would I recommend it to anyone else, not at all.