5 Best places to stay in Lima

Standing majestically in one of Lima’s more opulent neighbourhoods, this Mediterranean-style, grand Twenties town house channels all the pomp and circumstance of the Spanish viceroyalty.

There are wood-beamed ceilings, authentic colonial-era paintings and a demure wood-lined bar that’s been stirring up masterful pisco sour cocktails for decades. The airy patio restaurant, Perroquet, serves excellent ceviche.

The hotel’s central location – between Lima’s historic downtown and the dining hotspots of Miraflores – makes it convenient too. Guests can also enjoy special rates at San Isidro’s private 18-hole Lima Golf Club.

Bristling with boutique restaurants, swish bars and galleries, Barranco is one of Lima’s most fashionable suburbs. And no hotel more perfectly captures the spirit of the neighbourhood than this former home of renowned Peruvian sculptor Victor Delfín.

The building and its shady gardens are filled with his creations and with his collection of modern art. Bronze bulls sit next to leafy flowerbeds, a team of neo-Etruscan horses hovers at the edge of the cliff, the blue Pacific as a backdrop. Book one of the six west-facing rooms for sunset-over-the-ocean views.

With wonderful views from rooms and public areas, a first-class modern Peruvian restaurant run by famous chef Rafael Piqueras and a great location in the gastronomic hub of San Isidro, the Westin is the best contemporary high-rise hotel in Lima.

Bedrooms are bright, with huge wall-high windows, framing the best views of Lima’s skyline from any hotel. There’s a huge, sumptuous blue-mosaic indoor pool fed by indoor waterfalls, and a Buddha-filled spa, offering an array of massages and hydrotherapy.

Run by star chef Rafael Piqueras, the Maras restaurant is a destination in its own right. Be sure to try the Causa Trio – uniquely Peruvian pureed vegetables with ceviche, ciringuito and dill-infused salmon.

Stays in this gorgeous Republican-era millionaire’s mansion in Barranco – Lima’s most fashionable neighbourhood – give a taste of the city’s modish high life in intimate boutique hotel comfort.

The house looks like the kind of place the Great Gatsby would have rented out as his holiday home in Peru. The brilliant-white neoclassical shuttered facade belongs to the French Riviera.

Rooms inside are clean and contemporary – with whites offset with strong blocks of colour, heavy drape curtains, marble bathrooms and big abstract art and mirrors on the walls. Book one of the high-ceilinged period rooms in the old house rather than the garden-facing rooms in the modern annexe.

The hotel serves great Pisco sours – a precursor to a night out in the great restaurants and bars beyond the door.

This sleek tower, tucked away in a cul-de-sac on a clifftop overlooking the Pacific, houses one of Lima’s most luxurious stays.

It’s all about location and views at the Miraflores. Standard rooms are city-facing and small for a luxury hotel. In this location it’s worth an upgrade for an ocean view suite. Rooms (and the gorgeous rooftop pool) are positioned to catch legendary over-the-water sunsets.

With a rooftop ocean-view pool and an onsite Asian-Peruvian restaurant that’s a fine-dining destination in itself, this luxurious clifftop oasis is an exquisite place to begin or end a stay in Peru.