Fantastic stay at CIRQA, beautiful hotel a block away from the main square. The service was impeccable and the restaurant serves some of the best food in Arequipa in a secluded setting. Highly recommend the smoked trout for breakfast!
starstarstarstarstar Santiago Le Jeune
Restaurant - Charming place for a romantic supper or just wine. Nice food but way less charming than the place. Expensive wine selection. Nice and careful staff. Mixed feelings at the end.
starstarstarstar Mikołaj Valencia
I knew it was going to be a great stay from the moment we were greeted at the airport. The driver handed us cold towels to cool off, and proceeded to fish out two bottles of cold mineral water for the short car ride to the hotel.
The design of the hotel was beautiful as well. Architecturally, this is probably the most stunning hotel in Arequipa. The parador has a real sense of place, and there’s no mistaking which city you’re staying in when cooling off in the courtyard, surrounded by white walls. The only niggle was that the pool was really awkward — too small to properly swim in, it was like a plunge pool but out in public for all to see. Well, that and the fact that there’s no mechanised way to close the light vents on the ceiling of the room.
There’s a generosity and attention to detail in the service that mark this as a true luxury hotel. Snacks and drinks were readily given when hanging out at the rooftop bar. Preferences for still/sparkling water were remembered. After checking out, they realised that we had left one pair of pants behind, and instantly sent a taxi driver to the airport to hand us that one pair of pants. We were safely reunited 🙂. My only service nitpick was that there was once where we were on the rooftop bar, but no one was there for >10mins. But it wasn’t a big issue, I helped myself to cookies.
Overall, Cirqa was a good value considering what was provided, despite being the most expensive hotel in town. It’ll be my choice if I return to Arequipa.
starstarstarstarstar Jia Jin Low
Our stay at Cirqa was nice for sightseeing and having a cocktail there but definitely not for spending the night. A reasonable opinion from someone who travels a lot:
The old monastery is an idyllic place but bad for your health in terms of rooms. The humid rooms spread a moldy air that hits your lungs.
After contacting the manager, he was able to tell that this problem has been known from the beginning of the hotel's existence. Reason would be because they are old foundations. As long as this problem is not solved the customers are stuck with the misery and they not only pay a lot of money but also pay with their health.
After 3 nights we felt so bad that we wanted to go somewhere else. Too bad business is more important than health because the hotel did not allow us to cancel the last 4th night. Cirqa wanted us to believe it was because of the altitude. We then went to a Belmond Hotel in Colca Canyon and after 1 night the difference was already positive even though Colca Canyon is higher!
The restaurant is particularly noisy because the adjacent Church has some kind of fan that makes an immense noise non-stop.
Furthermore, it has no spa.
The masseurs are hired amateurs who clearly have no expertise. They are sweet but that's about it. Massaging on the bones is never okay.
The pool unfortunately had a maintenance during our stay. But did look nice.
Breakfast is limited and only until 9am. With much effort they wanted to stay open until 9:30.
Electricity in the suite number 1 did not always work well. Some switches gave a short circuit, one time the lights worked, the other time not. Maybe the humidity had something to do with it too?
Mirella at the reception is a rude lady who felt personally attacked and went to justify herself. Which was funny on the one hand but very inappropriate and amateurish. At first she didn't even want to give the contact details of her superior. Through another channel I did manage to receive it.
The manager, Tias Rvas, was also of no use as she was hiding behind the policy of the hotel. Her solution was to give us European tourists a voucher within a month. As if we would return so soon. A false solution in other words.
To end on a positive note, the restaurant staff was very friendly and helpful.
The food in the restaurant was delicious.
The hotel is a gem in photographs, good for on instagram. Hence, it is nice to have a drink there but that's about it.
Best regards
star Earth Explorer
If you’re into really beautiful hotels with a sense of place, I can’t recommend CIRQA enough! The cavernous rooms and cosy rooftop terrace are lovely for relaxing. The hotel is located conveniently in the heart of Arequipa, but set far back enough from the street that you can’t really hear the traffic.
Service was really prompt and friendly, and the staff helped us book seamless tours and transport. Food at the restaurant was also generally good — we really enjoyed the camarones for dinner.
10/10 would recommend for a unique experience that’s different from your standard upmarket hotels!
starstarstarstarstar Sarah
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