EL FARO PACASMAYO RESORT — Hotel in Pacasmayo

Mixed feelings regarding my experience at El faro. They will decide the price you pay based on where you are coming from (we paid USD 120/night), while they advertise deals on social media for the same amount for three nights (we only found this out afterwards). We heard afterward some people were paying less than this. Payment is accepted in cash (USD or Soles), but if you pay by credit card it’s 6% more expensive.

For those expecting hotel-like service, beware: there is none. No fresh towels except for the first day, no housekeeping, no shampoo or hairdryer, no AC/heating, the receptionist is almost never there, and the terrace chairs and tables were covered in dust and bird droppings. The restaurant quality could definitely be improved (to put it politely), moreover there is a long waiting time and high prices. Breakfast is basic but ok (bread rolls, fresh fruit, scrambled eggs, butter, tea, and coffee - exhaustive list). The pool and nice terrace don't exist anymore, this is only on the old pictures.

The rooms have the bare minimum, it was clean though. We had 2 beds in our room (a double and a single) while requesting a double bed room. The double bed was a 140x200, some ppl may think it's ok, but it's clearly too small to sleep comfortably for 2 ppl. So we slept separately.

The location is great for windsurfing and kitesurfing, and they do offer convenient storage for equipment. Carlos, who manages this area and also rents out a few surfboards, is very friendly and helpful—but he’s the only staff member we saw smiling.

In short, the hotel prices are based solely on the location and view. The good comments are probably written by people who got a much better deal than us. Finally, the hotel service has nothing to do with a hotel, it's more a hostel style while it's the most expensive in Pacasmayo! Now you know, and if you still decide to go, don’t hesitate to negotiate the price!

Very last point: do not organise your transfer with them, they will propose a crazy expensive price. (200 soles from Puerto Chicama to Pacasmayo, while on our side, we found transfers for 200 soles while going to Chiclayo or Trujillo airport, which is double...

The resort is set aside from the town of Pacasmayo - enough for giving the impression that you are at a beach resort - but within walking distance of the town. The resort will also arrange a mototaxi (motorcycle with covered seating in back) to drive you to town. The town has banks, pharmacies, places to buy alcohol, sunscreen, restaurants etc. (being able to speak Spanish makes it easier to navigate these places). However, we were able to convert $ to soles at the bank with minimal language skills. The walled in resort is self contained, so you could stay there the whole time without leaving if you just want to relax since they have a bar (just OK but good service), pool, restaurant, ping pong table and plenty of people from all over the country get to know if you are inclined to do so. They even had a BBQ (for pay) in which all guests hung out, talked, and mingled. All units came with a little porch facing the ocean and the sunsets were beautiful (see picture below). The service here was amazing and, Jenny (also in picture below), the manager bent over backwards to be helpful. I had a few complaints but was willing to overlook them here but would not if I was paying more or if I was in New York or London. The free breakfast was OK - nothing special and did get tiring since it was the same thing every morning. The beds were OK and the toilet was semi functioning (we used the changing room toilet depending on our needs) and the water could be intermittent (we timed our showers not to coincide with their watering routine (the resort grounds were very well kept up) and times when others would be showering). You are a captive audience there so we felt they overcharged for the drinks so a trip to the town to get wine and water might save you some soles. Having said all of that we still enjoyed ourselves since you have to set your expectations when coming to Peru. We will definitely be...

El Faro is the only place you'll want to stay at in Pacasmayo if you're visiting for a kitesurfing holiday. It's right next to where you'll end your session (very convenient). It's also the closest hotel to the main surf point, but note that it is a long walk - 15 minutes, at least. Staff are friendly and the breakfast is good. Pricing at the resort is maxed out, compared to other places in Peru, and we found our room to be a bit grubby and dimly lit though the sea view was nice (most rooms here have sea views). Towels were threadbare as were the sheets on the bed. The rooms are not up to the same standards of others at this price in Peru. Restaurant meal portion sizes were very generous, which is a good thing because prices are again high by Peru standards. The showers are hot but pressure is not great - nothing that we didn't experience elsewhere in Peru as water problems are pretty common. The resort seems to be very much geared to package tour visitors from Europe and Brazil who may not be aware of what is good value here. Rental surfboards are very, very old and expensive (SUP boards are the best of the lot, but still very expensive) definitely bring your own. When we were there we heard a lot of talk about how they have jet skis and boats but none were "working", you'll want to have access to them if the swell is big so make sure to confirm whether they're operational. They have a nice pool for non-surfers...