The Country Club Lima Hotel is a

five-star hotel Hotel ratings are often used to classify hotels according to their quality. From the initial purpose of informing travellers on basic facilities that can be expected, the objectives of hotel rating have expanded into a focus on the hotel experie ...

San Isidro District, Lima San Isidro is an upscale Districts of Peru, district of the Lima Province in Peru. It is located in the west center of the city, it has a few meters of coastline. Officially created on April 24, 1931, San Isidro, along with Orrantia and Country ...

, Peru. It was inaugurated on February 8, 1927, as the most exclusive

country club A country club is a privately-owned Club (organization), club, often with a membership quota and admittance by invitation or sponsorship, that generally offers both a variety of recreational sports and facilities for dining and entertaining. Ty ...

in Lima before being reorganised as a hotel. It is part of the

Cultural heritage of Peru The cultural heritage of Peru, officially the Cultural heritage of the Nation, is the name given to the set of goods, both tangible and intangible, accumulated over time. These goods can be paleontological, archaeological, architectural, historical ...

. The hotel has housed a number of important personalities of the 20th century, including the

Duke of Windsor Duke of Windsor was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 8 March 1937 for the former monarch Edward VIII, following his Abdication of Edward VIII, abdication on 11 December 1936. The Duchy, dukedom takes its name from ...

and his wife, French President

Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French general and statesman who led the Free France, Free French Forces against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government of the French Re ...

, U.S. President

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...

, writer

Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway ( ; July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer and journalist. Known for an economical, understated style that influenced later 20th-century writers, he has been romanticized fo ...

, actors

Ava Gardner Ava Lavinia Gardner (December 24, 1922 – January 25, 1990) was an American actress during the Golden Age of Hollywood. She first signed a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1941 and appeared mainly in small roles until she drew critics' att ...

and

John Wayne Marion Robert Morrison (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne, was an American actor. Nicknamed "Duke", he became a Pop icon, popular icon through his starring roles in films which were produced during Hollywood' ...

, musician

Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English musician. He is known as the lead singer and one of the founder members of The Rolling Stones. Jagger has co-written most of the band's songs with lead guitarist Keith Richards; Jagge ...

, among others.

History

In 1925 the ''Sociedad Anónima Propietaria del Country Club'' was formed with a capital of Lp. 150,000, with the purpose of building developing the adjoining area of 1,300,000 m² acquired from the Conde de San Isidro, Lobatón, Matalechuzas and Orrantia estates. The sale of the land was calculated at S/. 15 per urbanised m² to reinvest part of the profits in building's construction. In 1926 ''Lima Country Club'' was founded, an independent company from the previous one, which contracted the preparation of the architectural project for the club's premises. The project's execution was entrusted to the American architect T.J. O'Brien, who completed the project and inspected the construction, whose materials were imported from the United States and Great Britain. The premises were inaugurated on Sunday, February 8, 1927, by President

Augusto B. Leguía Augusto Bernardino Leguía y Salcedo (19 February 1863 – 6 February 1932) was a Peruvian politician who served as President of Peru from 1908 to 1912 and from 1919 to 1930, the latter term known as the " Oncenio" after its eleven-year length. ...

. There was a lunch for the President, his Cabinet of Ministers and a series of political, intellectual and artistic personalities of the city. Up until the 1970s, it was the meeting point for the Peruvian elite and the city's

British colony A Crown colony or royal colony was a colony governed by England, and then Great Britain or the United Kingdom within the English and later British Empire. There was usually a governor to represent the Crown, appointed by the British monarch on ...

, also receiving important guests from other countries, such as the adbicated

and his wife, French President

, U.S. writer

, and actress

, among others. After being negatively affected during the

economic crisis A financial crisis is any of a broad variety of situations in which some financial assets suddenly lose a large part of their nominal value. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, many financial crises were associated with banking panics, and ma ...

of the 1980s, it was acquired by the ''Consorcio Inmobiliario Los Portales'' and '' ICA'' in 1996, who invested in the hotel's renovation, being reinaugurated on July 21, 1998. It was subsequently declared part of the

by the

Ministry of Culture Ministry of Culture may refer to: * Ministry of Tourism, Cultural Affairs, Youth and Sports (Albania) * Ministry of Culture (Algeria) * Ministry of Culture (Argentina) * Minister for the Arts (Australia) * Ministry of Culture (Azerbaijan)Ministry o ...

and the

National Institute of Culture The Ministry of Culture (, MINCUL) is the government ministry of Peru in charge of the promotion of Peruvian culture and identity. It was created on 20 July 2010, during the Second presidency of Alan García. It replaced the National Institute ...

. It was again renovated from 2015 to 2017. In 2020, due to the

COVID-19 pandemic in Peru The COVID-19 pandemic in Peru has resulted in confirmed cases of COVID-19 and deaths. The virus spread to Peru on 6 March 2020, when a 25-year-old man who had travelled to Spain, France, and the Czech Republic tested positive. On 15 March 202 ...

, the hotel remained open as it adopted the biosecurity measures mandated by the

Peruvian government The Republic of Peru is a unitary state with a multi-party semi-presidential system. The current government was established by the 1993 Constitution of Peru. The government is composed of three branches, being executive, judicial, and legisla ...

. The hotel restaurant, ''Perroquet'', has won first place for "Best Hotel Restaurant" in several international awards for several years. The hotel's traditional English bar is recognized for having one of the best pisco sours in the city, and in 2012, 2013 and 2022 it was awarded as the best bar in Lima according to the SUMMUM awards.

In popular culture

The hotel is featured in two novels by

Alfredo Bryce Alfredo Bryce Echenique (born February 19, 1939) is a Peruvian writer born in Lima. He has written numerous books and short stories. Early days Bryce was born to a Peruvian family of upper class, related to the Scottish-Peruvian businessman John ...

, '' Un mundo para Julius'' and ', being a prominent part of the latter's story. Peruvian saxophonist

Jean Pierre Magnet Jean Pierre Magnet Vargas Prada (born in Lima, Peru on September 11, 1949) is a saxophonist, composer, music producer, and director. Early life Magnet is the oldest of three and the son of a French Basque father and Peruvian mother. He sta ...

, member of

Traffic Sound Traffic Sound was a Peruvian rock band founded in 1967 by Manuel Sanguinetti (vocals), Freddy Rizo-Patrón Buckley (rhythm guitar), Jean Pierre Magnet (sax), Willy "Wilito" Barclay Ricketts (lead guitar), Willy Thorne Valega (bass, d.2019) and Lu ...

, started his career in the club.

References

{{Lima landmarks Hotels in Lima Clubs and societies in Peru Historicist architecture San Isidro District, Lima Cultural heritage of Peru

History

In popular culture

See also

References