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A brief guide on where to stay in Pereira, Colombia. Hotels are located in both the city center and in the entertainment district along Avenida Circunvalar. The budget options are very reasonable and even upscale hotels can be affordable at times.
I’ll rank the rest of the hotels here from our best experience to our worst:
Movich Hotel Pereira
The Movich Hotel is our preferred place to stay in Pereira. This four-star hotel is located right at the beginning of the Circunvalar district near several restaurants and bars.
The hotel has been the focus of lots of great memories for my family. When my dad came to visit, we stayed at the Movich. When Marisol and I got married, we had the wedding and all our guests stayed there. We’ve also spent at least two or three nights a year there just to relax and enjoy the pool and comfort.
Rooms at the Movich Hotel Pereira
The rooms are extremely clean and super comfortable. There are standard rooms, junior suites, and suites, and we’ve stayed in all three types. All are reasonably priced for the comfort and amenities provided, and the sleep quality is fabulous.
Obviously the suite is the largest room option. Suites are located on the corners of the building and have a king size bed, a living room, and a huge bathroom. We’ve stayed in suites when we wanted to splurge or for special occasions.
Amenities at the Movich Hotel Pereira
The amenities of the hotel are excellent. Staff is wonderful and they’re very helpful. There’s a gym with lots of equipment as well as a heated pool. The spa has a sauna and Turkish bath and also offers massages.
If you’re looking for nightlife, Tipsy Bird, the hotel bar, is a fun place to hang out and often has live music. We also enjoy having a coffee in the lobby. There’s also a salon, and the hotel is connected to a shopping mall, Pereira Plaza, with plenty of good stores and a small food court.
The restaurant, Ébano, has excellent gourmet Colombian food and is considered one of the top upscale restaurants in Pereira. It’s a bit expensive for Colombia, but it’s worth trying at least once. Also, if you don’t want to order off their menu, you can choose something off the room service menu, including pastas, burgers, soups, salads, and more.
Breakfast at the Movich Hotel Pereira
My only complaint about the Movich Hotel is that the complimentary buffet breakfast has lacked service on our visits. It has been terribly understaffed. For example, on one occasion we had to wait a good 10 minutes before our table was cleared from the previous guests, and some of the food wasn’t replenished during the entire breakfast. The selection of the food is good, but the quality has been hit or miss depending on our visits.
GHL Abadía Plaza
A great option is the GHL Abadía Plaza, conveniently located in the heart of the city. It’s an affordable business class hotel with an excellent staff. They greeted us by name and went well out of their way to make us happy.
The rooms are super comfortable, soundproof, and the air conditioning is amazing. Breakfast has a lot of options and the restaurant serves good food. Rates are good, and they’re often lower on the weekends because it caters to business travelers during the week.
Hotel Soratama
Hotel Soratama is good hotel that has improved since our first stay. It’s located on Plaza de Bolívar and features a very nice rooftop lounge with a jacuzzi and great views of the plaza below. An excellent buffet breakfast is included in the rate.
The hotel staff is friendly and helpful, although check-in takes a little while longer than we like. We’ve stayed in both double rooms and suites at fair prices. The air conditioning is great and the beds are comfortable. In the past, the bathrooms definitely needed an upgrade and the street noise was unbearable, but both problems have been resolved through extensive renovations.
San Simón Hotel Boutique
San Simón Hotel Boutique, located right on Plaza de Bolívar in the city center, was a nice surprise. First of all, staff greeted us with a smile and were friendly and helpful throughout our entire stay. The valet parking service was a plus.
Secondly, the room was better than we had expected. We upgraded to a suite for a slightly higher price and loved the large space. Beds were very comfortable and there was a nice view of Plaza de Bolívar from the window. A kitchenette and small sitting area was just inside the door, and we loved the water pressure from the shower head. At night, there was a little noise from the bars on the plaza but it died down and we were able to have a quiet night of sleep.
In the morning, a decent buffet breakfast is served on the ground floor. We were able to get eggs to order as well as fresh bread, arepa, fruit, and coffee. For room service, the hotel works with the restaurant at its partner hotel, Hotel Soratama, across the street.
Hotel Castilla Real
An affordable hotel near the Movich and in a great location is Hotel Castilla Real. It’s at the beginning of Circunvalar and short walking distance from Plaza Victoria. They have a friendly and attentive staff who go out of their way to help guests. A decent breakfast is included in the rate.
There’s also a very good restaurant on the ground floor, Salón Inglés, and a balcony on both the 2nd and 3rd floors with nice views.
The rooms are very comfortable and modern and feature soundproof windows and good air conditioning. WiFi is excellent, and the showers are amazing. The only drawback is that the beds, although comfortable, are quite small for two people. Also keep in mind that there’s no elevator. The rate is a great deal for the quality of the room.
Hotel Boutique Don Alfonso
Hotel Boutique Don Alfonso is a boutique hotel in the Casa de Alfonso Jaramillo, a restored mansion along Circunvalar. The decorations inside the hotel lobby and common areas are beautiful, staff is friendly and helpful, and the location is excellent. The owners have done a nice job there.
The rooms are a bit simple for a boutique hotel, but they’re clean and comfortable. We were missing a desk lamp, which was shown in all the photos before we booked. We also thought the bathrooms could use an upgrade.
Breakfast is served in a small open area outside our room. It was simple but good. We had fresh fruit, fresh squeezed orange juice, coffee, arepa, and eggs served to order.
The only real problem we had with the hotel was the noise. The bars located near the hotel play loud music until very late at night and it’s nearly impossible to sleep. It’s a shame because it’s a beautiful building and it has good potential. They could benefit from some soundproofing.
Habitat Suites Hotel
Habitat Suites Hotel is in the upscale Álamos neighborhood along Calle 14. It features large suites with kitchenettes at a reasonable price.
Our room was very spacious and had basically two separate rooms. There was a king size bed in the main bedroom and a double bed in the kitchenette area just inside the door. We also had a decent view of the city from one of the windows.
The bathroom was the only negative. It definitely needed an upgrade. The toilet seat didn’t fit the toilet, we couldn’t turn on the water without the faucet lever banging on the mirror, and there was nowhere in the shower to put the soap.
Breakfast was simple but filling. We had a choice of eggs served with bread or arepa and fresh fruit. There’s a table with cereal, yogurt, and a coffee station.
Olaya Plaza Hotel
On some occasions, I stay at the Olaya Plaza Hotel. It’s located a short walk from the Risaralda Government Building. At first glance from the street, it doesn’t look like much. In fact, it’s a little hard to spot. There’s a staircase under a sign with an “H” that indicates the hotel.
Once inside, it’s pleasant and modern. Rooms are clean and comfortable and a nice small breakfast is included. WiFi is hit or miss. Sometimes it can be great and other times it’s a bit choppy. It can also be very loud from the street noise outside and it often sounds like the cars are in the room. Sleeping with the fan on can reduce some of the external noise. The hotel isn’t in the best area, so take a taxi after dark.
Gran Hotel Pereira
Gran Hotel Pereira is located just a block south of Plaza de Bolívar. The hotel was built in 1938 by Italian architect Giovanni Di Zitti Barbati (1903-1981) during the heyday of the railroad in Colombia. It was located on the main street visitors took from the railroad station to Plaza de Bolívar. Famous guests included politician Jorge Eliécer Gaitán (1903-1948), who visited in the 1940s.
I’ve stayed at Gran Hotel Pereira a few times. The best things about it are the wonderful staff and the absolute silence at night. I enjoyed being able to sleep without any traffic noise. After that it’s nothing to write home about. It’s well past its prime. For a supposed four-star hotel, there are much better options for just a slightly higher price.
On my first stay, the room had no air conditioning, was very dated, and the bathroom was a serious problem. The shower flooded the bathroom, the shower head could have used an upgrade, the sink was clogged, and the toilet seat was loose. The towels were also very thin. In the morning, breakfast was included but it wasn’t very good. The juice was more like flavored water, and there was nothing else other than a choice of eggs and bread.
Six years had passed between my stays and not much had changed. The room the second time around was slightly better than during my first stay. This one had air conditioning but was still very dated. Some of the furniture was falling apart and the carpet was dirty. The bathroom didn’t flood, but the shower head was still in need of an upgrade. Breakfast was more of the same.
Hotel Pereira Lago
For budget accommodation, I used to stay at Hotel Pereira Lago on Parque El Lago. It’s extremely basic. Actually, things are often in disrepair, the walls are paper thin, there’s no hot water, and some rooms don’t even have power outlets, but the staff is wonderful and friendly and do everything possible to make your stay comfortable. The best rooms are on the very top floor and are very good for the price.
Hotel Condina
Just a couple blocks from Plaza de Bolívar is Hotel Condina. The rooms are comfortable, clean, and completely silent at night. Breakfast is included in the rate.
I have two issues with the hotel that will prevent me from staying there again. The first is that we argued with staff for 10 minutes over the hotel tax that shouldn’t be charged to foreigners on a tourist visa. We won in the end, but they kept insisting that the law changed the week before our visit. The other is that the man who showed us to the room took an inventory of everything in it, including towels, the minibar, pillows, and the TV remote. We felt like we were being booked into a prison, not checking into a hotel. Those incidences left us with a bad taste in our mouths.
Hotel Rosales
Listed as a four star hotel, it’s anything BUT. Hotel Rosales (formerly Hotel Posada Don Jacobo) near Parque El Lago advertised air conditioned rooms and comfortable beds, but had neither. There wasn’t even a table in the room to put our things on. The only nice thing about this hotel was the rooftop terrace where breakfast was served.
Jardínes de la Alhambra (Permanently Closed)
Note: Had the hotel not closed, it would have been listed in our top three based on our experience.
Jardines de la Alhambra is a Spanish-themed boutique luxury hotel in Pereira. It’s located in a quiet residential district and is perfect for a romantic weekend. The hotel has a spa with several different types of baths included with a massage package. Guests receive 50% off on any treatments. A Spanish restaurant, Vuestro, was once located there but it has since closed down.
There are only five rooms available on the property, each inspired by a city in Spain. On the ground floor is Barcelona, which is the biggest room available. It has a large jacuzzi and its design is inspired by Antoni Gaudí (1852-1926).
Upstairs are the other four rooms, starting with Granada. It has a large bathroom and a balcony overlooking the pool. It was designed with colors that dominate the Alhambra.
Next is Toledo, which overlooks the pool. It has a smaller bathroom than the other rooms and is decorated in mostly neutral colors.
Madrid is a room of contrasts, with a mix of modern and antique decor. It offers a small private balcony that’s perfect for a quiet night with a bottle of wine.
Finally, there’s Sevilla. Featuring a sun room with a jacuzzi and a large bathroom, this room is our choice for the best in the hotel.
