Where to Stay in Arequipa — Best Hotels & Neighbourhoods
Curated by Our Guild Explorers · Updated August 2026
Arequipa is the handsomest city in Peru and, for our readers, the most comfortable: a compact grid of white volcanic stone under three volcanoes, almost always sunny, and — the part that matters — only about 7,660 feet up, some 3,500 feet lower than Cusco. It is the gentlest place in southern Peru to let your lungs catch up. Stay in the historic centre, within a few blocks of the Plaza de Armas and the Santa Catalina convent; nearly everything is inside that square kilometre and the streets are flat by Andean standards. Yanahuara and Selva Alegre, across the little river, are greener and quieter but put you a taxi ride from the sights. Below are the hotels we would send our own readers to, by style, each with an honest note and a Book Me link straight to Trip.com.
Luxury
Colonial houses on the Plaza and just off it, in the local white stone.
Katari Hotel at Plaza de Armas
Directly on the Plaza de Armas, in the arcaded stone frontage itself — which means some rooms look straight across at the cathedral and the volcanoes behind it, and it is worth asking for one. You could not be more central in Arequipa if you tried. As with any building of this age on a working square, ask about lifts and about street noise at the front when you book.
Book Me on Trip.com ›Casa Andina Premium Arequipa
The Premium line of Peru’s largest home-grown group, in a grand old Arequipa house a short flat walk from the Plaza. It is the most comfortable bed in the city for a traveller who wants a historic courtyard with entirely modern plumbing and heating behind it. The group’s useful habit of running sister hotels in Lima, Cusco and Puno means a whole southern Peru itinerary can be booked to one standard.
Book Me on Trip.com ›Boutique
Small courtyard houses in the quiet streets behind the convent.
Hotel Los Tambos Boutique
A small owner-run house in the old centre, a few level minutes from the Plaza, with the kind of front desk that remembers your name by the second morning and will happily arrange a driver for the Colca. Rooms are simple and warm rather than grand. It is the size of place where breakfast is cooked rather than laid out, which after a week of buffets is its own recommendation.
Book Me on Trip.com ›El Cabildo Hotel
A restored colonial house in the streets around the Santa Catalina convent — the quietest corner of central Arequipa and the loveliest to walk out into first thing. Thick white sillar walls make for cool rooms and genuinely silent nights, which is not a small thing in a Peruvian city centre. Ask for a room on the courtyard rather than the street.
Book Me on Trip.com ›Budget & Value
Arequipa is the best-value city in southern Peru, and these prove it.
Casa de Avila
A long-standing family-run house built around a walled garden a few blocks from the centre — plain, friendly, inexpensive, and with the rare advantage of ground-floor rooms opening straight onto the lawn. Breakfast is taken outside under the sun. For travellers who want to spend their money on the Colca rather than the pillow, this is the one we would pick.
Book Me on Trip.com ›Tierra Viva Arequipa Plaza
The Arequipa house of the small Peruvian group that also runs hotels in Cusco, the Sacred Valley and at Machu Picchu — the same dependable formula each time: a restored courtyard building, warm plain rooms, a proper breakfast and staff who know how to arrange a driver. Right by the Plaza, and half the price of the grand houses on it.
Book Me on Trip.com ›Family-friendly
Larger hotels with lifts, bigger rooms and predictable breakfasts.
Wyndham Costa del Sol Arequipa
The most conventional big hotel in the centre, and for a mixed-age party that is exactly the point: lifts, larger rooms, connecting rooms, even heating and a breakfast that opens early enough for a Colca departure. It has none of the romance of a colonial courtyard and all of the practicality that a fortnight in Peru eventually makes you grateful for.
Book Me on Trip.com ›Casa Andina Select Arequipa Plaza
The middle tier of the Casa Andina group, on the Plaza de Armas itself, with a rooftop terrace that gives you the cathedral and El Misti in one view. Rooms are modern and straightforward, the lift works, and the location means nobody has to walk far at the end of a long day. A sensible, unfussy base for a family with grandparents in tow.
Book Me on Trip.com ›Adults-only
An honest empty category.
We could not verify an adults-only hotel in Arequipa
Arequipa’s hotels are colonial houses and city business hotels, and every property we checked accepts guests of all ages. Trip.com does not carry an adults-only property here that we could confirm, and we would rather say so than dress one of them up as something it is not. For a quiet, grown-up stay, the two boutique houses above — particularly El Cabildo, in the silent streets by the convent — come closest in practice.
Browse Arequipa hotels on Trip.com ›Pet-friendly
Ask before you book — we will not guess a pet policy.
Confirm directly with the hotel
Some Arequipa hotels do take small dogs, usually for a cleaning fee, but we could not confirm a current written policy for any individual property through our partner’s listing — and a pet policy quoted wrongly is the kind of mistake that ends a holiday at the front desk. So we are not naming one. Use the full Arequipa list below, then email the hotel before you book and keep the reply. Peru also requires an import permit and health certification for animals arriving from abroad; speak to your vet several weeks ahead.
Browse Arequipa hotels on Trip.com ›Before the Colca — please read this
The most common mistake visitors make in Arequipa, and it is a tiring one.
Do not do the Colca canyon in a day
Every hotel desk in Arequipa will sell you a one-day Colca tour. It leaves at about three in the morning, crosses a pass higher than 15,000 feet, gives you perhaps an hour at the Cruz del Cóndor and gets you back after dark — sixteen hours in a bus, most of it at an altitude your body has not yet met. Take the two-day version instead, with a night at Chivay or down in the canyon. It costs a little more, the condors are the same birds, and you arrive back as a person rather than a casualty. Book it through your hotel once you are in Arequipa, not months ahead.
Browse Chivay & Colca hotels on Trip.com ›Don’t see your perfect fit?
Browse every Arequipa hotel with live prices and availability on Trip.com. Booking through our links supports Destinations Guild at no extra cost to you.
Arequipa Hotels — Frequently Asked Questions
Which part of Arequipa should I stay in?
The historic centre, within a few blocks of the Plaza de Armas and the Santa Catalina convent. Almost everything a visitor wants is inside that square kilometre of white volcanic stone, the streets are flat by Andean standards, and taxis are everywhere. Yanahuara and Selva Alegre, across the river, are quieter and greener but put you a short taxi ride from the sights. There is no reason to stay out by the airport.
Is Arequipa a good place to get used to the altitude?
Yes, and it is the best in southern Peru. Arequipa sits at about 7,660 feet — roughly 3,500 feet lower than Cusco and nearly 5,000 lower than Puno. Two nights here before going up to Cusco or Lake Titicaca is genuinely gentler on an older traveller than flying straight into either, and the city is flat, warm and sunny while you do it.
Can I do the Colca Canyon as a day trip from Arequipa?
You can, and we would gently suggest you do not. The one-day tours leave around three in the morning, cross a pass above 15,000 feet, give you perhaps an hour at the Cruz del Cóndor and return after dark — close to sixteen hours in a bus for a first-time visitor at altitude. A two-day trip with a night at Chivay or in the canyon is far kinder and costs little more.
How many days do you need in Arequipa?
Two nights to see the city properly: the Santa Catalina convent, the Plaza de Armas and its cathedral, the Museo Santuarios Andinos and one long lunch. Add two more if you are going to the Colca canyon. Arequipa also works well as the acclimatisation stop at the start of a southern Peru trip rather than a detour at the end of one.
Do I need a car in Arequipa?
No. The historic centre is compact and walkable, taxis within the city are inexpensive, and the roads out to the Colca are mountain roads best left to a driver who knows them. Book transport through your hotel rather than on the street, and for the Colca take an organised trip rather than driving yourself.