9 Lima Hotels on the Miraflores Clifftop

Lima sits on a desert coast where the land ends in a wall of crumbling cliff about eighty metres above the Pacific. The city built a park along the top of it. The Malecón runs for roughly ten kilometres through Miraflores and into Barranco, planted, lit, with paragliders launching off the edge in the afternoon and the ocean below.

It is the most pleasant public space in South America and it is the reason to stay in Miraflores rather than anywhere else in a city of ten million people.

Why the clifftop, and not the centre

Lima's historic centre has the colonial architecture, the cathedral, the catacombs and the Plaza Mayor, and it is worth half a day. It is also congested, tiring and a long way from where you will eat.

Because the other reason to come to Lima is the food. This is one of the two or three best eating cities in the world, and the restaurants that have made it so are concentrated in Miraflores, Barranco and San Isidro, within a few kilometres of each other along the coast.

Miraflores is the middle of that: the clifftop park, the restaurants, the walkability and the best hotels. Barranco next door is smaller, more bohemian, with the art galleries and the bars. San Isidro is the financial district, greener and quieter, with the country club and several excellent restaurants.

The nine below are grouped accordingly.

Miraflores, on the clifftop

Facing the Pacific, with the Malecón outside and the restaurants behind.

Miraflores Park, A Belmond Hotel, Lima occupies a tower on the clifftop with a park below it, an eleventh-floor pool over the ocean and the best rooms in the city. Ask for an ocean-facing room; the city-facing ones lose the whole point.

JW Marriott Hotel Lima sits on the Malecón beside the Larcomar centre with the largest rooms in Lima, several restaurants and a spa. It is the most reliable large hotel here.

Hilton Lima Miraflores occupies a position a block from the cliff with a rooftop pool, contemporary rooms and rates well below the two above.

Atemporal by Andean sits in a converted house in a residential part of Miraflores with a handful of rooms, a garden and a level of design that is the best in Peru. It is a ten-minute walk from the cliff.

Casa Andina Premium Miraflores occupies a building near Parque Kennedy with straightforward comfortable rooms and the shortest walk to the restaurants and the park. It is the value pick.

Barranco

The old seaside district next door, quieter, with the galleries and the bars.

Hotel B occupies a restored 1914 mansion above the cliff with a rooftop terrace, a serious contemporary art collection and one of the better restaurants in the city. It is the most interesting hotel in Lima.

Villa Barranco by Ananay Hotels sits in a converted republican-era house near the Bridge of Sighs with a garden, nine rooms and complete quiet.

San Isidro

The financial and residential district, ten minutes inland, greener and calmer.

Country Club Lima Hotel – The Leading Hotels of the World occupies a 1927 Tudor-style building beside a golf course with gardens, a pool and antiques throughout. It is the most traditional hotel in Peru.

Swissotel Lima sits in a tower in the business district with large rooms, a good spa and reliable service. It is the pick for a business trip.

What we have left off

The hotels in the historic centre are excluded. Some occupy beautiful colonial buildings and the location is right for the cathedral and the Plaza Mayor. They are also forty minutes from the restaurants in traffic, in a district that empties and is best visited rather than slept in.

What to do

Eat. Book the major restaurants weeks or months ahead; the best of them take reservations a long way out. Then eat cheaply as well, at a cevichería at lunch, which is when ceviche is eaten here and not at dinner.

Walk the Malecón from Miraflores to Barranco at sunset, about an hour, past the paragliders and the lighthouse.

Do the Larco Museum, which holds the best pre-Columbian collection in the country and has a garden restaurant. Huaca Pucllana is an adobe pyramid in the middle of Miraflores, lit at night, with a restaurant beside it.

Half a day in the historic centre for the cathedral, the San Francisco catacombs and the Plaza Mayor.

Lima is the gateway to everything else in Peru. Most trips use it as bookends around Cusco and the Amazon, and two nights at each end is the right shape.

Practical notes

Jorge Chávez airport is in Callao, 40 to 70 minutes from Miraflores depending on traffic. Use a booked car.

Lima has an unusual climate: almost no rain, and a persistent coastal fog called the garúa from roughly May to November that keeps the sky grey and the temperature mild. December to April is sunny and warm and is the best window for the coast.

The city is safe in these districts with normal precautions. Do not hail taxis on the street; use an app.

Questions people actually ask

Is Lima worth more than a stopover?

Two or three nights, yes, largely for the food. It is one of the great eating cities.

Miraflores or Barranco?

Miraflores for the cliff park, convenience and hotels. Barranco for atmosphere and galleries. They adjoin and are a walk apart.

Is the fog really that persistent?

From May to November the sky is grey most days. It rarely rains and it is never cold, but the sun is scarce.

How many nights?

Two at the start and two at the end of a Peru trip.

If you only book one

Search 4 and 5 star hotels in Lima, Peru