My boyfriend and I stayed here last September for two nights. We wanted to go to Huacachina but also see Ica. The location was good for walking to the city centre (15 mins) and around - there was some sort of large food market nearby. I probably wouldn't go out alone, esp. at night - we only saw one other tourist while we were out for the morning. It was a short cab ride to Huacachina, and to/from the bus station (although the guy bringing us back from Huacachina had to stop for directions - I think that was just him though).
The hotel room was very clean and was what you would expect for the price. We had our choice of several rooms but they all seemed fairly similar. The manager/front desk man didn't speak English so this was a little confusing, but he was very nice and there was another couple checking out who could translate a bit for us. There was less English in restaurants, stores, etc. in Ica than other cities we had been overall though. We had laundry done there and it was done quickly and very well, good price. Even our underwear was folded (and potentially ironed).