Argentina's Hotel Glória and Peru's Hotel Antigua Miraflores

At opposite ends of the spectrum of hotel operation, here are experiences we had in South America in December ’05.

• We spent four nights at Hotel Glória (Rua do Russel, 632, Glória, Rio de Janeiro, BRAZIL; phone [21] 555 7272 or visit www.hotelgloriario. com.br), a century-old but modernized large hotel. Including buffets for both breakfast and dinner, the daily rate of 313 reals turned into $147 on our Visa bill.

We were not provided the quality of room we had reserved, and we were disappointed when the management refused to adjust the price commensurate with the room we were given.

What was worse was when we went to exchange money. The management-ordered exchange rate was 1.80 reals per dollar as compared to the official rate of 2.30 or so. While the hotel certainly is entitled to a small percentage, a move like this probably produces 10 times as much ill will as financial gain, particularly since the hotel’s location is not near any bank.

• On the other hand, during three nights at Hotel Antigua Miraflores (Av. Grau 350, Miraflores, Lima, PERU; phone 011-51-1-241-6116 or visit www.peru-hotels-inns.com) we had just the opposite experience.

At this lovely, century-old but modernized mansion, consisting of 15 rooms with hand-carved furniture plus a restaurant built around a central fountain, the staff was totally anxious to please. After checking out in the early afternoon, while waiting for our taxi to take us and the luggage the hotel had stored to the airport, we were offered the free use of an empty room to relax for a couple of hours until the taxi came!

Rates for a double start around $74, including breakfast.

As for Lima itself, which was founded almost 500 years ago, the magnificent public squares and churches are beautiful. In addition, we found the National Museum and the Museum of the Inquisition to be very interesting and educational, and Love Park on the Pacific has a unique sculpture.

HERBERT POPPER
Audubon, PA