Del Castillo Plaza Hotel Pucallpa

This is the second time I've stayed at this hotel and I'll be here until tomorrow (Boxing Day). I arrived on December 18th. The fact that I'm writing this on Christmas Day, rather than connecting with loved ones at the moment, shows my level of disappointment. I returned to this hotel because of Celeste who works at the front desk. She's wonderful; helpful; pleasant. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for her co-worker Catherine. Yesterday morning I brought coconut milk I had purchased down to the lobby. Catherine was working at the front desk; it was just after 6:00 am. I asked if she could heat a cup for me, as other staff had happily done thus far. She said the kitchen staff don't start until 7:00 am. It was Christmas Eve morning, she was sitting at the front desk doing nothing, but couldn't muster the customer service to walk the 20 feet to to the kitchen to heat a cup of milk. I told her I could do it myself and we went to the kitchen together. With reluctance, she assisted. This morning after returning to the hotel at 9:45, I asked if I could have 3 boiled eggs and a cup of tea. She said the kitchen "Mrs." left at 8:30, but I could have a tea for free. My understanding is that breakfast is served until 9:00 am, not 8:30. If the window was shortened due to Christmas, this should have been communicated to guests. While I was late and understand nobody was required to provide breakfast, it is utterly ridiculous that since I appear to be the only one staying at the hotel, she couldn't boil 3 eggs for a guest on Christmas Day. Again, with reluctance and after some nudging from me, she said she would do it. She returned with 3 runny eggs. I arrived here after spending 3 months in the jungle for a short break before I return to the plant medicine. I brought my laundry, including 2 blankets. The cost was $458 sols (about $168 Canadian dollars). After this exhorbitant charge, I met 2 friends for lunch who live here. I was informed that if you take your clothes to a laundry service, (C & T Laundry in Yarinacocha was recommended), including bedding, the maximum cost should be about $50 sols. The hotel cost for laundry is an appalling rip off. When laundry costs more than staying at the hotel for a few nights, there's a serious problem. I like the hotel and its proximity to things. All the other staff have been wonderful. It's really unfortunate that one staff member can ruin the reputation of a hotel when the others work hard to be of assistance. If Catherine continues to work here when I next venture to Pucallpa for another break, I will sadly need to stay somewhere else. She clearly doesn't care about her job or guest satisfaction.

I have business in Peru, especially in the city of Pucallpa. My husband and I came for work and the service they provided me was excellent, the cleanliness of the room, a varied breakfast and a good coffee to start the day, good internet connection to my laptop and cell phone.

I cannot recommend this hotel. I came to Pucallpa after a week in the Amazon thinking that I could rest here after reading some positive reviews. Upon my arrival there was no hot water. I raised the issue with the receptionist who asked me to wait for an hour. An hour later still no water! They then move me to another room on the fifth floor adjacent to the super noisy street, still no hot water. Next day I wake up and of course still no hot water and the elevator is now out of service. I told the receptionist that I wanted to checkout and move to a hotel with hot showers, she said that she could not reimburse me the second night as I had already paid. Despite raising - again the issue of the hot water- nothing was done. Paying this kind of price for this place is a total ripoff and despite the fact that staff were courteous no action was taken to fix the problem. Stay somewhere else.