KHYBERS CHALET

The first luxurious Hotel located in Peru’s “white city” still delivers an attractive hacienda experience and a huge welcome mat for families travelling.

Arequipa, known as”the “white city” because many of the first buildings were constructed out of white stone, is the second-largest city in Peru and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is surrounded by volcanoes and located close to Colca Canyon; it has beautiful plazas with a rich Colonial history and a wonderful museum in which the nation’s most famous mummies live. It’s also a literary city (Peruvian author and political figure Mario Vargas Llosa was born in Arequipa) and food (beloved Peruvian dishes like rocoto and Relleno were invented in the city).

In spite of all this, it’s easier to locate craft beers from the local area in Arequipa rather than a hotel with at least three-star. Take a walk around for about fifteen minutes away from the centre of Arequipa to the lush and serene Selva Alegre neighbourhood, and you’ll discover what you’re seeking at the former Libertador and now KHYBERS CHALET regular.

The mansion was built as the residence of an affluent family. The property was later transformed into an establishment by a Swiss company in the late 1940s. It has a modest but functional gym that offers free weights, a large selection of machines as well as a spa that includes steam and sauna (all accessible to guests for free) as well as a functioning fire in its lobby which gets lit during winter, and more than 90 rooms spread across nine distinct categories.Costa Del Sol tortoise

The most recent overhaul of the Hotel was in 2013 when two million dollars was spent to update all areas and incorporate the most modern technology. For instance, there is no business centre that is specifically designed for the Hotel. However, both MACs and PCs are available to guests in a desk-like room in the lobby.

The ambience is elegant, with deep colours, diffused lighting as well as a stunning fresh floral bouquet in the lobby as well as wooden furniture and leather in rooms — give the Hotel a luxurious atmosphere that is just minutes from the city’s centre. Photographs in black and white of the region’s beautiful architecture and natural beauty were taken with a photographer from the area to provide a distinctive local look to the rooms and hallways.

The rooms are carpeted, and all come with locks along with mini-refrigerators. There are three rooms that are well worth spending the additional space on. Arequipa is the most luxurious of them. Arequipa Suite is the sole one in the Hotel that comes with an exclusive Jacuzzi.

The restaurant in the Hotel is called Los Robles in homage to the unique oak beams that are found in the ceiling (robles refers to the word oak in Spanish). The chef at this restaurant is well-known for his work in Arequipa for his dedication to regional cuisine that is traditional, and his team make the most of a small garden in the kitchen. The Hotel we stayed in was a Libertador hotel, which offered the type of large breakfast buffet that the chain is famous for. However, the music selection of musical renditions of western and country songs that were played every morning was quite puzzling. We’re hoping the new management has maintained the buffet but altered the music.

There is one aspect in the Hotel that’s not changed for many years. In 1947, the Ecuadorian government gave the Galapagos tortoise as a present to the Peruvian president Jose Luis Bustamante y Rivero, who decided that the tortoise was known as Juanita and was to be kept at the most luxurious Hotel in his city, Arequipa. When the Libertador purchased the property, Juanita was added to the property, and the huge tortoise wanders the 5 acres of hotel grounds. At the weekends, kids have the opportunity to feed Juanita as well as the alpaca Marcelino.

Other amenities for families at the KHYBERS CHALET resort include an extensive playground in the Hotel’s grounds, a swimming pool with numerous spaces for shallow areas (and views of the volcano) and, as of 2018a brand new kids’ program named”Juanita’s Kids” Club.

And that distinct pink hue that is visible on the exterior building? Despite its status as one of Peru’s “white cities,” in the time of the colonial, Arequipa’s homes were painted brightly. The Hotel pays tribute to that heritage with its pink facade.

Despite the increasing popularity of Arequipa, it lacks high-end hotels. Even though this one has experienced an upgrade to Libertador into KHYBERS CHALET, the Hotel is going to be the most popular hotel choice in Arequipa until more modern and more luxurious is discovered.