More a resort than merely a hotel, the Sonesta Hotel El Olivar Lima is located in San Isidro, Lima’s tony residential neighborhood that has an atmosphere similar to Pasadena in the Thirties: very exclusive and private, with homes framed by hedgerows that are manicured by a fleet of uniformed gardeners who appear at every corner.
The seven-story hotel’s 134 guest rooms (many of which overlook Olive Grove Park) are capacious (and particularly when compared with European hotels) and furnished in soothing earth tones. The marble bathrooms are nearly decadent, large and luxurious, and the rooftop outdoor pool on the seventh floor is akin to a private spa.
Breakfast, served at El Olivar Restaurant & Bar, is not to be missed. The atmosphere is relaxed and yet semi-formal, with the most beautiful heavily starched napkins – and nearly every attendant dressed in a suit. Water is poured from heavy silver pitchers and the coffee is tunki, grown by a Peruvian farmer in the Puno region in southeast Peru – and often considered the world’s best.
(Source: Sonesta Hotel El Olivar)
As for the buffet, there’s a splendid array of some of Peru’s most delicious fruits, including prickly pear (which Peruvians call “tuna”) and papaya, as well as freshly-squeezed pawpaw juice (papaya and lime), and a grain called kiwicha (amaranth) that is as good on fruit as it is good for your immune system.
There’s something very alluring about taking breakfast in this soothing room – which perfectly parallels how one feels about staying at the Sonesta Hotel El Olivar Lima: relaxed and indulged.
LINK: Sonesta Hotel El Olivar
