Hotel Carmel was the start/end point for our "comfort" class, 2 week tour with GAP Adventures. We booked a few extra days so we ended up staying at the Carmel for 4 nights total.
Pros: Very good location in Miraflores - close to shopping and food. (McD's is just around the corner if you're starting to get sick of the chicken and rice dishes.) Breakfast is decent - toast, yogurt, ham, cheese, fruit - better than some of the other hotels we stayed at. As far as noise goes - we were facing the street both times and ended up loathing Peruvian drivers and their fondness for honking... However I'm sure it could've been much worse had we stayed on the major streets. Staff is friendly and helpful (for the most part). Clean bathrooms. Effective A/C unit in each room. Free internet access.
Cons: Carpet is disgusting! Bed sheets are very thin and smelly. I think all rooms have been "smoking" at some point. If you can get over the smell and slightly cramped quarters of the regular rooms, then this is not a bad place at all.
My advice to you: Request any room that ends in "-01" - i.e. 401, 501 - that's the corner room facing the elevator - giving you a little more room to stretch out. Bathroom is 2x the size of a normal room.
- Don Carlos Carmel Lima
