Hotels Overview

No matter what your travel budget, you won't be priced out of the market staying in Cusco: luxury hotels, backpackers' digs, and everything in between await. Most lodgings discount rates during the unofficial off-season of September through May. With a couple of exceptions, absent are the international hotel chains, but in their place you'll find some smaller, top-end, independently run lodgings offering impeccable service, even if they do lack swimming pools and concierges. Lodgings in all price ranges, whether housed in a former 17th-century convent or newly built, mimic the old Spanish colonial style of construction arranged around a central courtyard or patio. Breakfast, at least a continental one (and usually something more ample), is included in most lodging rates.

You may have to adjust your internal thermostat if you stay in moderate or budget lodgings at this altitude, but all provide extra blankets to keep you comfy at night. (Air-conditioning is almost unheard of at this altitude; you won't miss it.) And the hot water might not be on all day, or could be lukewarm at best, even though hotels in this price range say they have agua caliente. Larger accommodations keep an oxygen supply on hand for those having trouble adjusting to the thin air. Lodgings in Cusco keep shockingly early checkout times. (Flights to Cusco arrive early in the morning.) Expect to have to vacate your room by 8 or 9 AM, though this is less strictly enforced in the off season. Most lodgings will hold your luggage if you're not leaving town until later in the day.