Travel Tip 92
What hotel ratings mean
The ocean view from Hotel B’s rooftop in Lima’s Barranco neighborhood.
What do a hotel’s stars mean?
So, you want to splurge on your next trip and get a 5-star hotel? First, you need to know what those five stars mean.
Unfortunately, the short answer is that the stars don’t mean anything specific.
The number of stars by a hotel’s name is a general guide to the quality of the hotel, but it doesn’t give you any specific information about the hotel. There is no international hotel organization that awards stars the way Michelin rates restaurants with stars. Five stars in Canada can be completely different from five stars in Mexico or France. Even worse, five stars in San Francisco can be different from five stars in Los Angeles. France, Italy and the UK each have their own organizations that award stars in each country, but that doesn’t mean that a 5-star hotel in France is equal to a 5-star hotel in Italy.
The tale of three vastly different 5-star hotels in Lima.
Last weekend, I stayed in two 5-star hotels in Lima and toured a third to photograph it. Here’s why you should pay more attention to photos of the hotel than the number of stars it claims.
All rooms at Hotel B have high ceilings, tile bathrooms, plenty of extra fluffy towels and bathrobes and big oval mirrors. They also have great air conditioning, soft beds and hand lotion that smells amazing.
Hotel B, Barranco, Lima
The first hotel I stayed in, Hotel B, a boutique hotel of 20 rooms in a 1914 mansion, was by far the most luxurious of the three. The service was impeccable, the included breakfast and teatime were decadent, my room and the other rooms I photographed were lavish and the art throughout the hotel was beautiful and fascinating.
My corner suite at the Pullman Miraflores had plenty of windows but otherwise was minimalist.
Pullman, Miraflores, Lima
The second hotel I stayed in, Pullman Miraflores, is much larger and has a more corporate feel. It had ten floors of rooms, plus a floor of conference rooms and another for the restaurant. My corner suite was much larger than my room at Hotel B, with a sea view out one side and a city view out the other, and it came with executive lounge access. The Pullman’s décor is minimalist modern and almost everything in my room was gray, matching Lima’s usually gray sky. I had a coffee machine in my room and a kettle to boil water for tea, which I didn’t have at Hotel B.
The Pullman has a rooftop pool, which Hotel B does not, but the Hotel B breakfast and teatime blew the Pullman out of the water. After Hotel B’s tranquil breakfast in the library or patio, the noisy crowd at the Pullman was a shock to the system so early in the morning.
Rooms at Casa Republica have high ceilings like Hotel B but the rooms have a very different feel.
The differences between to similar 5-star boutique hotels
The hotel I toured, Casa Republica, looks very much like Hotel B, on the surface. The two hotels are only a block apart, both are in historic Belle Epoque mansions, both full of impressive art collections, and both have fantastic rooftop bars. It has 22 rooms to Hotel B’s 20 and the rooms don’t look very different in photos. When you compare prices, you’ll notice that it costs half as much as Hotel B and even less than the Pullman. If you look at photos of breakfast, you’ll see the first hint that it’s worth only half.
Here's what to look for besides the stars.
Always look at photos of a hotel’s breakfast.
Even if breakfast isn’t very important to you, it’s a great way to see the quality of a hotel overall. Hotel B’s breakfast is one of the best I’ve ever seen, even better than Explora’s extravagant breakfast, and I was very impressed at Explora. Casa Republica’s breakfast looked like an average Holiday Inn breakfast, with baskets of small rolls and an instant coffee machine. The kind of breakfast a hotel has says a lot about what kind of service you’ll get. It was so crowded at the Pullman, and the staff so busy, that my eggs were cold by the time somebody brought me silverware.
Look for photos of toiletries in the rooms.
There is a huge difference between plastic disposable bottles of toiletries simply labeled shampoo and conditioner, and glass bottles of shampoo and conditioner that clearly display a brand name and the ingredients. Environmentally, disposable plastic is out, and reusable glass is in, though what you’re looking for goes beyond the environmental impact. Even if you never use hotel shampoo (I always bring my own), the quality of the toiletries is an important hint as to the quality of everything else in the room.
Look for photos of the hotel’s lobby and common areas.
This will tell you the most about the hotel’s character and vibe. Hotel B has several cozy common rooms with lots of unique, tasteful art and furniture, including a black feathered footrest in one of the upstairs living rooms. Casa Republica has a spacious upstairs library with dark furniture and few books. The Pullman’s lobby has minimalist modern art and furniture, clearly designed for big groups.
At the JW Marriott El Convento in Cusco, one option for a room with a view is an original Inca wall.
A room with a view?
When booking, most room descriptions will say it has a view of the city, beach, gardens, pool, or simply a view without any further description. Look for photos of the view because those descriptions could mean just about anything. If there’s a space for special requests, reference photos on their website of a view you liked so what you get isn’t too different from what you expect.
The bottom line
The photos of the hotel matter far more than the number of stars it claims.
The 5-star extras
Any 5-star hotel in any country should put a handwritten welcome card in your room. Most will also include a welcome drink and something to snack on, usually chocolates. My Hotel B welcome note was spot-on but at the Pullman Miraflores they called me Jasper rather than Heather and the note reads “We are excited for having you at Pullman Miraflores as our guest. Enjoy your stay with us and feel like home.” The truck of chocolate was a bit odd and the poor English grammar kind of ruined the gesture.
Top hotel tip
If the room you get when you check in isn’t what you expected or were promised, ask to switch before you unpack. The sooner you tell them something isn’t right, the more time the hotel staff have to fix it.
Even if you only have two hours in Miraflores, go to the Huaca Pucllana. Some bricks were set sideways to prevent the domino effect during earthquakes.
Blog
I spent last weekend in Lima and had a wonderful time. For everybody who has heard me complain that I don’t like Lima because it’s a giant gray city with terrible traffic, you’ll see me do a complete 180 in this blog. I saw friends, ate amazing food, visited the gold museum and a 1,500 year-old archeological site, and stayed in two beautiful hotels.
If you’re going to Patagonia, read my packing advice in the article below.
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