I was in Asuncion, Paraguay for some work and had the chance to stay at the Hotel Palmaroga. Hotel Palmaroga isn’t located in the best area of town (it’s downtown). However, I had never stayed at a Tapestry Collection by Hilton property, and it had just opened a few months earlier, so I gave it a try.

Hotel Palmaroga Basics

Hotel Palmaroga is housed in a building that dates to the 1900s which used to house the Superior Court of Justice headquarters. It’s located in the historic downtown of the city, which has a number of tourist attractions but is far from any restaurants or venues. The building reopened as an independent hotel in 2019 then began undergoing a meticulous renovation which culimnated in its reopening in 2024 as Hilton’s first hotel in Paraguay as part of the Tapestry Collection.

The hotel has 107 keys ranging from basic rooms to suites (including several two-floor suites and a sprawling presidential suite). In addition to the two original floors, the hotel has an 8-story tower with a rooftop pool featuring views of Asunción Bay.

Hotel Palmaroga Location

Unfortunately, Hotel Palmaroga is located in Asuncion’s historic downtown rather than in one of its newer and more popular neighborhoods. Like many cities in Latin America, Asuncion’s downtown doesn’t have the best reputation and its best to keep your bearings when walking in the hotel’s neighborhood — particularly after dark.

You’ll find that aside from a few historical tourist sights, the center of gravity in Asuncion is north of the downtown in neighborhoods like Villa Mora, Las Lomas, Molas Lopez, and around the “Shopping del Sol” shopping center.

Luckily, it’s easy to navigate around Asuncion with both Bolt and Uber readily available (and cheap). There’s also a nice buffet-style vegetarian restaurant a couple blocks away.

Hotel Palmaroga Upgrade

A day before my check-in, I received one of my favorite emails: I had been upgraded as a Hilton Honors Diamond member.

Of course, anyone who stays at Hilton with any frequency knows that these emails frequently get triggered for even small changes in room types like an improved view which should be something elite members could expect as a baseline during any stay. That was not the case this time — I opened the app and found that my entry-level room had been upgraded to an Executive Junior Suite. Here are some pictures of the suite from their website which is laid out with a two-floor layout.

Hotel Palmaroga Check-in Experience

The next day, I arrived at the hotel around noon in check in. The lobby was busy when I arrived, with guests congregating in the interior courtyard (I was told two birthday parties were going on) but there was no wait at reception desk where there were two agents ready to help check me in.

The check-in experience was efficient with the agent acknowledging my Diamond status. She also noted that I had been upgraded although she did not specify to what level. I was not proactively asked if wanted a late checkout (I did but didn’t confirm this until after breakfast on the day of my checkout). She did let me know breakfast was included (a Hilton MyWay benefit for diamond members) and that it was served in their restaurant (called Cafe Teria) from 7 am to 10:30 am.

With that, I proceeded to the elevators to my room on the first floor. I was assigned room 103. While I had previously been confirmed (per the app) to an Executive Junior Suite, I realized upon opening the door that I had been assigned a 1 king 1 bedroom suite. While this “suite” is laid out in a single room, this is apparently a further upgrade over the executive junior suite which is laid out over two floors — they’re priced approximately the same.

I later learned that the 1 king 1 bedroom suites are located on the first two floors of the hotel which are part of the original building that housed the Superior Court of Justice while executive junior suites are located in the newer tower offering better views but less character. Which you prefer is likely a matter of personal taste.

Hotel Palmaroga 1 King 1 Bedroom Suite

What’s described as a 1 King 1 Bedroom “suite” is actually a single room with a balcony, not a suite with distinct zones separating the sitting area and the bedroom. The layout is typical for hotel rooms with the door opening to an entryway with the bathroom, closet, and minibar to the right. The room has incredible details, a high ceiling, and two chandeliers.

Then there’s a king-sized bed with a four-poster (canopy) bed frame with a bench against the wall under the TV. I thought the bed was exceptionally comfortable with soft sheets pairing well with a mattress that was the perfect level of firm but not hard.

An information card on the bedside table provided some hotel information.

After that, there’s a sitting area and desk.

Finally, there’s a door (three doors, actually) that lead out to a small balcony overlooking the street.

If I had booked the category expecting a suite I would not have been happy to find myself in a room only slightly larger than an average standard room, but it’s not a bad room and I was satisfied with it as an upgrade from a standard room.

Minibar

There’s a stocked minibar. Two complimentary bottles of water were provided and there was a Nespresso machine with three coffee pods. While I searched quite extensively, I could not find a price list for the minibar anywhere in the room. There was also no tea.

Welcome amenity

I left the room shortly after checking in. When I returned, I noticed an envelope left over the minibar with some snacks as a welcome amenity. While the berries were stale, the macarons were delicious.

Closet

The closet is located off the entryway to the room before the minibar. There was a pair of bathrobes and slippers provided. There is a safe.

Hotel Palmaroga 1 King 1 Bedroom Suite Bathroom

The bathroom is located to the right of the entryway. There’s a double vanity. Toiletries are generic or hotel branded. The toilet and a bidet are to the right.

The shower is to the left. Disappointingly, rather than a waterfall shower there is only a handheld head.

The hotel is stingy with amenities. Only two bars of soap plus shampoo and conditioner were provided. In terms of towels, there were two wash clothes, two bath towels, and a bath rug. Missing were basics like wash cloths, body moisturizer, or body soap.

There was no vanity kit. However, I did message the hotel (via the Hilton app) and they sent up some q-tips on request.

Oddly, the bottles shampoo and conditioner were on the vanity rather than in the shower room. While I initially thought this was due to how bare bones the offerings were, I realized there was another reason. There’s no shelf to place the dispensers in the shower.

This wasn’t the only area where the shower could have used some more attention to detail during the renovation.

When I took a shower, water flooded into the bathroom soaking the bath rug. Why? The designers of this bathroom seem to have concluded that the shower should be about half an inch higher than the bathroom floor allowing the water to run off into the room.

This isn’t the first time I’ve experienced this at a hotel and I don’t understand why hotels seemingly struggle to design showers where the water is directed towards the drain rather than the floor…

Hotel Palmaroga Details

While the hotel’s workmanship could have benefited from some attention to detail to be more practical, the room did feature beautifully restored walls with crown moulding and other details carefully restored. I loved the room’s high ceilings and the art which created a nice sense of space in the room.

Outside the room, the ground-level indoor courtyard seemed to be the heart of the hotel with large tables for groups overlooked by the first and second floors.

Looking up, the courtyard is bordered on three sides by the hotel’s tower allowing natural light to light up the area through the glass while preventing too much sunlight from entering.

In addition to the sitting areas in the lobby, there were a couple of seating areas on my floor overlooking the middle courtyard.

Hotel Palmaroga Gym

Hotel Palmaroga has a basic gym consisting of a few free weights (no bench), triadball, mats, and cardio equipment. I suppose it’s better than nothing.

Hotel Palmaroga Roofop Pool

The pool is a highlight of the hotel with views across the city’s downtown, the bay of Asuncion, and a partially obscured presidential palace. The rooftop would be a great place to hang out but there’s no protection from the sun. Hopefully, they plan to introduce some shading soon.

Hotel Palmaroga Dining

Cafe Teria Breakfast

Free breakfast is included for diamond (and gold) elites across Hilton’s portfolio (except in the United States where it is a food and beverage credit). At Hotel Palmaroga, this is offered at its Cafe Teria restaurant from 7 to 10:30 am.

There’s a buffet with some breakfast basics. Unlike in the minibar, there was tea!

It’s also possible to order barista-made coffee and eggs, although there is no menu (I asked) and it was not proactively offered.

None of the restaurant staff spoke English so, with the help of ChatGPT to translate, I ordered an eggwhite omelet with tomatoes, onion, and mushroom (spinach was not available) and an oat milk cappuccino. The omelet was huge and came with cheese although I had specified no cheese.

The oat milk cappuccino was well-made (note that in Paraguay, if you’d like a traditional espresso drink, you’ll need to specify no chocolate).

Although there were never many guests at breakfast when I went and plenty of staff, service was not proactive with empty dishes left to sit on the table rather than being cleared. I also had to walk to the counter to request a second coffee since nobody came to check on me.

Room Service

The hotel offers room service from its Cafe Teria restaurant but the menu is very limited. Given the hotel’s location, local food options are sparse unless you commit to a 15+ minute ride or order from a food delivery app (estimates there were over an hour). So, I ordered the only non-breakfast/salad vegetarian option on the menu — a margherita pizza.

What was delivered could charitably be described as stale and soggy bread with cheese. It was tasteless.

I also note that I asked for chili flakes with the pizza but it was delivered without the chili. I asked the woman who delivered it to bring chili flakes but they were never delivered.

The full room service menu is below.

Hotel Palmaroga Service

Hotel Palmaroga advertises itself as a four-star hotel but while everyone is polite, the service here definitely leaves something to be desired. None of these would individually be an issue but put together it does point to a lack of staff training.

• Nobody offered to help with my bags at any point during my arrival or check-in. While I would have declined (I travel with a backpack, carry-on, and duffel that slides over my carry-on), it’s unusual not to have it offered at four-star properties.

• While not important, the acknowledgment of my diamond status during check in was rather awkward instead of the standard thank you. The phrasing was along the lines of “I see you’re a Hilton Diamond member…” rather than “thank you for your loyalty as a Diamond member”.

• When I ordered room service, my call was first answered by someone who placed me on hold while I was midsentence (likely because they didn’t speak English). Then, another person picked up (who also didn’t speak English) who also hung up. A few minutes later a third person called me to get my order. During the call, I noted that I would have expected vegetarian options besides only a margharita pizza. He confirmed that was the only vegetarian option and offered to have a manager speak to me (which I said would be fine at breakfast). Knowing that room service pizzas tend to be mediocre, I asked for chili flakes to be sent up with the pizza so I could spice it up.

• There were no chili flakes when my pizza arrived. I realized this right away (the food arrived uncovered) and asked the lady who brought it up to bring them. They never arrived.

• At breakfast, empty dishes were not cleared after use. This wasn’t a staffing issue: there being more staff in the restaurant than guests. None of the wait staff spoke English.

• There is no turndown service at the hotel despite being marketed as a four-star hotel.

• There was no manager follow-up despite the offer while ordering room service. Note that I didn’t ask to speak to the manager, simply noted my disappointment with the lack of vegetarian options which prompted the offer of talking to the manager which I stated would be fine during breakfast the next day. I didn’t follow up since it wasn’t something I cared enough to pursue but, on the hotel’s part, don’t suggest talking to a manager without following through.

Hotel Palmaroga Bottom Line

Hotel Palmaroga is housed in an exquisitely renovated old building in downtown Asuncion. It has advantages that could help it become a top-tier hotel but, at least for now, it’s not there yet. The renovation resulted in aesthetically pleasing rooms but there’s a clear lack of attention to detail in the workmanship. The hotel is stingy with bathroom amenities, has a tiny gym, and doesn’t even provide tea in the minibar. The neighborhood is close to a few tourist sights but wouldn’t be the first choice for most travelers.

It’s not all bad news though: the rooftop pool offers fantastic views overlooking Asuncion Bay and the Presidential Palace. While details could be improved, the renovated hotel looks great. While I wouldn’t go out of my way to stay at this hotel again, I would only go out of my way to avoid the room service. If you’re visiting Asuncion, you’re probably better off finding a place to stay in a better part of town but if you have a reason to be in the neighborhood, this hotel is probably the best option.