18 Best Hotels in The Central Highlands, Peru

The city's most expensive hotel, in a graceful colonial building partly overlooking the Plaza de Armas, has spacious gardens and opulent sitting areas that belie the modest rooms with parquet flooring and simple modern furnishings. The best (and quietest) accommodations are on the second floor, where there's a view of the terra-cotta roofs and courtyard. You can request a balcony facing the plaza, but beware the ever-present commotion outside—especially on Sunday and during festivals.

Experience life at a Spanish hacienda at this charming bed-and-breakfast just a 10-minute drive from Tarma. Rooms, which sleep up to four guests, are furnished with period pieces, local art, and handmade textiles that evoke the 18th century. Staff can also prepare meals made with artisanal local products for guests. There's even a campground with a bathroom and hiking trails that lead to ruins and highland villages. The lodging has served as a retreat for numerous Peruvian writers and artists, who have been inspired by its stirring mountain views.

With a lovely rooftop terrace offering panoramic views of the city and clean, comfy rooms, this budget inn is one of the best values in the Peruvian sierra. The hotel itself isn't overly fancy, but it's prettily decorated with local handicrafts and run by a staff that's so hospitable, you'll feel like family. Try to get a room on the top floor. The downstairs café serves breakfast.

Tall French doors and balconies overlooking a central patio give this hotel a bright, airy feel. The rooms, while not luxurious, have simple, tasteful furnishings, and the staff embodies the best in Peruvian hospitality. If you're in the market for an immaculately clean, irreproachably quiet retreat to decompress after seeing the city, this is it.

This standard guesthouse provides travelers with a clean bed, hot shower, and friendly service at a bargain price. That it does all this while being one block from the plaza makes up for the lack of charm. The rooms have Wi-Fi, and the owners can arrange tours of the outlying villages for intrepid travelers.

This colonial-style building, built in 1943, is chic, swanky, and completely out of place in simple Huánuco, which explains the business travelers wandering its wide halls. Rooms, all with private baths and hot water, are modern and eclectic. Some overlook the plaza, but beware of noise on mornings and weekends. Public areas are opulent yet intimate, with corners in which to relax and have a quiet conversation. The courtyard pool, sauna, and gym provide respite for those returning from long day tours of the surrounding pampas. The on-site restaurant is also solid and serves both regional and international dishes.

Rooms at the El Márquez are comfortably modern, if a bit bland; the more upscale ones have cathedral views and Jacuzzis. Service is brisk and efficient, so if you just want a cozy place to sleep, look no further.

This local mainstay has nothing special about its accommodations, but the price and location (just a block from Huánuco's Plaza de Armas) make it an attractive option for budget travelers. Beyond the clean, functional rooms, the hotel's real selling point is its refurbished patio restaurant, which serves up tasty criollo specialties at modest prices. There's also a small pool for kids in the summer.

The hacienda-style exterior of this elegant hotel gives it a worldly charm that sets it above the city's newer lodgings. Public areas are ornate, with traditional Peruvian paintings and local crafts and textiles. Rooms are sparkling clean, and all have TVs, phones, and private baths with hot water. Ask to see several different options before you agree to stay, as rooms vary in size, decor, views, and amenities. Although the neighborhood is quieter than those around the plaza, the hotel is conveniently in the middle of town. Like many lodgings in Peru's sierra, this accommodation has now been incorporated into the Casa Andina chain, so brisk service is a priority.

Many international visitors to Tingo María stay at this excellent Danish-Peruvian-run lodge, a nine-room bird-watchers' haven on 10 hectares (25 acres) not far from the national park.

Though not fancy, this traveler's hotel exudes a homey vibe and offers bright, spacious rooms at a reasonable cost. No lavish amenities here: just a clean, quiet place to lay your head while enjoying the staff's cheerful hospitality.

On the plaza, Huancavelica's top hotel is an attractive, Spanish colonial building with bland but sizable rooms that have individual heating, Wi-Fi, and hot showers. The hotel is now part of the Casa Andina chain, so the common areas and staff are looking a bit spiffier than in the past. The restaurant serves good criollo dishes and chifa.

The most popular lodging among visiting limeños has all the comforts of a modern hotel: rooms with Andean accents, TVs, Wi-Fi, phones, and private baths with hot water. True, the 20th-century architecture is boring, but service is brisker since the hotel was incorporated into the Casa Andina chain. It also features a wheelchair-accessible elevator and a coworking space.

At this rambling Spanish mansion, folk art, textiles, and local crafts lend charm to a building that dates back centuries. Antique furnishings bring the colonial era to life, but modern amenities like TVs, refrigerators, and Wi-Fi provide 21st-century comfort. Book a room with a balcony to enjoy the street scene below, or dine at the rooftop restaurant for city and mountain views.

The rooms in this pleasant little hotel, located one block from the Plaza de Armas, have a mix of antiques, handmade fabrics, and contemporary furnishings, plus modern amenities like TV and Wi-Fi. The property has a pretty courtyard filled with bright sunlight and an elegant fountain, and the service is warm and friendly. The prime location makes this a great value.

Sleek, modern decor and an extremely personable staff make this small hotel a good choice for first-timers in Huancavelica. The on-site restaurant is a notch above other local eateries, with decent criollo fare and a homey feel in the main dining room.

By far the most luxurious hotel in town, this frequently updated, colonial-style mansion surrounded by gardens offers warmth as well as grandeur. Rooms, which have Wi-Fi and flat-screen TVs in addition to private baths with hot water, are decorated with a mix of real and reproduction antiques that complement the elegant architecture. The friendly staff is helpful with advice for regional sightseeing. Visit on the weekend to avoid the business crowds.

This hotel and its eponymous café sit in a restored colonial building on the plaza and offer some of the city's best, most eclectic lodgings. Each spotless room features unique decor, from flowing curtains to Andean tapestries, lending the hotel a hip, modern vibe. All rooms have hot water and free Wi-Fi, but street noise seeps into some of the rooms, so choose your quarters carefully.