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Popular Hotels | Miscellaneous Hotels Tips | All Tips (6)  | |  |  | Las Dunas: Overlooked by enormous sand dunes | Tip Rating:    Satisfaction:   |  |  | |  |
The bus stops right by the door of our substituted hotel. Las Dunas is a large resort and has its own grand entrance for the bus to use. We have some time to settle in before we are being picked up again, and once we have dumped our bags in the room and the valuables in the safe, we set about exploring the resort. It is very nice but not my taste at all. There is one thing guaranteed to put me off a hotel: piped music by the swimming pool. We are only here for one night and I don’t intend spending any time by the pool if I can help it, but this is where the rich families from Lima go for their holidays. The facilities are fairly impressive, with lots of sports available in or from the hotel.
Dinner is not included but there is nowhere else around here to eat so we have to dine in the hotel. Tonight they have a buffet, but as neither David nor I are particularly fond of buffets, we order from the menu. It turns out to be a good choice, not just because the food is delicious, but we later find out that the hotel charges for each item you choose from the buffet. I have never come across that before. My jumbo prawns in garlic are yummy and David also really enjoys his Fillet Mignon.
Christian told us yesterday that breakfast is served from 06:00; this was also confirmed by reception last night. It is a shame nobody told the restaurant. At 06:00 there are a few items of fruit, but not a lot else. I like fruit, but we do actually have American Breakfast included in the price of the room, so it is disappointing to miss out Leave a Comment Theme: HotelWebsite: http://www.peru-travel.info/eng/lasdunashotel.asp
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| | | | Hotel Las Dunas Sun Resort: Hotel in the Dunes | Satisfaction: | | | | |
This hotel was recommended by my husband's stepmother, who is Peruvian. Apparently it's where all the rich families in Lima go for their vacations. We paid $80 per night through Cusco Shopping online.
Because of this, we expected it to be a little nicer than it was. The rooms themselves are OK, definitely good-sized, with two sinks even. No air conditioning, though, and it's HOT. The floor is tile, and my feet got quite dirty just walking around the room (from the ever-present sand?)
The grounds are expansive and lie in the shadow of a huge sand dune, with activities ranging from swimming to tennis, mini-golf (llamas on the golf course), horseback riding & sandboarding. However, no one seemed to be doing anything except hanging out by the pool. Even though it was school vacation, it didn't seem very crowded.
As mentioned by another VTer, food service was spotty. We didn't know if we got breakfast included - if we did, then too bad for us as we paid. The "cafeteria" was supposedly open 24 hours, but there was never any food set up - they mostly pointed us back out to the patio restaurant. We did ask for the cheaper cafeteria menu and could order from it for lunch at least. We opted not to eat from the buffet, trying to stay safe, and from what we could gather, it cost 50-some soles (about $18 - pricey for what was there).
Try as we might, though, I suspect that the BLT I got for lunch the first day is what gave me my first bout of diarrhea, which lasted 3 days. Maybe it was something else, but I had avoided fresh veggies and fruit until that time. Expensive doesn't mean clean - and Ica's not the cleanest-looking source for water, either. Either that, or it was the complimentary pisco sour (egg whites?).
Las Dunas has its own (not connected) airstrip, from which the Nazca lines overflights leave. The Aerocondor office, though, is located in the lobby of the hotel, on the left hand side before you get to reception. It's $150 or so per person for the 1 hour 30 minute flight. Best to book early - we got there at 2 pm and had a reservation, but couldn't get a flight until the next morning.
The Ormeno bus (9 am from Lima, arriving around 1 pm) didn't stop at Las Dunas on the way in, but it did pick us up there ( at 1 pm) so we didn't have to take a taxi back into Ica proper. Leave a Comment Theme: HotelPrice: US$80-120 » Currency ConverterComparison: most expensiveAddress: Av. La Angostura 400Phone: (51-56)256-224Directions: Off the PanAmerican Hwy. South, before you enter Ica. You will see at gated road to the right, near a busy intersection. Just a short drive down this road to the Las Dunas gates (good security, by the way)Website: http://www.lasdunashotel.com
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