The Lot Boutique

My husband and I booked a two-day stay on Nov. 4 because the location was convenient. After our flight, we arrived at 9 p.m. and were assigned room #1. The air was heavily humid, and we found black mold on the walls, ceiling, curtains, and in the bathroom. I was eight months pregnant and we had five suitcases, but we had to scramble to find somewhere else to stay. LOT had no alternative rooms, though they offered to process a refund through Expedia since we'd booked with points. Now we're back in Canada, and the hotel is ignoring our calls and emails about the refund. There are many similar reviews and photos of mold in rooms #1, 2, 3, and 4. Unless you want to risk your vacation, health, and money, don't stay here. Staff don't speak English. I'm bilingual, but they still managed to defraud us of our booking money. While we were checking in, we met another Canadian who was leaving for the same black mold problem.

The hotel is really cute, but the windows are so thin that street noise comes straight in, from racing cars and motorcycles to people talking. It feels more like camping in the courtyard than being in a room, so I wouldn't recommend it to light sleepers. The room smells a little damp. I'm not sure whether that's from the bathroom or drainage, or because it's close to the ocean.

The included breakfast was delicious and made to order, though you need to place your order the night before. Staff were very nice and helpful. The rooms are a good size, nicely decorated, and have good bathrooms. Air conditioning helped with some of the humidity. Ground-floor rooms have no windows, at least the ones I saw, so they can feel dark and enclosed. The hotel is in an excellent part of Miraflores, a short walk down to the Costa Verde and Larco Mar, with lots of restaurants a little to the west or north.

We felt very safe and the location was great, with everything we needed within walking distance. You can walk along the Oceanside or reach park Kennedy in 10-15 minutes. The hotel arranged a perfect, on-time airport transfer, and we had a large, comfortable room. The WiFi didn't work in our room, but there was plenty of space outside to sit and get online. Breakfast was okay, though you have to choose the day before. If you forget, they assume you don't want any. We were allowed to choose in the morning when that happened, but nobody reminds longer-stay guests to fill in the breakfast form.