Trep

We are looking for some economical, quiet, comfortable places (hot water) to stay at Ollantaytambo and Pisac and Cusco. Most of what we have found are $50/double which is a little high for our budget. We do want comfort but not luxury. We are 61 and 58 years old. If you have a favorite places, please advise.
Also, are travelers checks easy to use in Peru (how much % taken?) or are ATMs the way to go? Thanks for all the advise.

mlgb

Travelers checks...no.

Atms..yes

Have you tried KB Tambo in Ollantaytambo? They have some cheaper rooms starting at $18 per person. It is very well located in the center of town. Very popular, may be booked out. Has a good restaurant. http://www.kbtambo.com/Rooms_Page.html

If you are traveling off season you can ask for a discount often substantial.

I stayed at a more expensive place ($25 per person off season) in Cusco. Be aware that many inexpensive lodgings in Cusco are not heated and you may pay extra for a room heater.

qwovadis

www.apulodge.com

my fav negotiate for discounts KB Tambo also ok.

www.walkoninn.com Cusco cheap good close to plaza

www.ninoshotel.com little more of a walk also good.

Pisac is nothing special would just do the market there

maybe the ruins one day from Cusco...few little hotels

on the plaza that are not great for price...

Have fun

Trep

Thanks, I looked up all of the hostels that were sent and they look nice. Our original plans were to fly into Lima at midnight and leave for Cusco real early. Those plans have changed. We still fly in at midnight but we leave early afternoon so I still am asking for a good,inexpensive, quiet hostel in Lima. Someone said "Hotal Victor"? Any others?
If anyone wants to add some hostels to this in Ollantaytambo and Pisac and Cusco...please do. Travelers checks are not easy? Thanks again.
TREP

fball

Hotel San Antonio Abad in the Miraflores District of Lima is very nice. Very reasonably priced & well located. The staff is very helpful. It is an easy & safe walking to Lorca Mar, where you can find a good place to eat & people watch. Their taxi will pick you up at the airport when your flight arrives. Ask for a room in the back where it is quieter. Our room was in front & quite noisy but my children had a room in back that was quiet. The breakfast was great.

Hotel San Antonio Abad did take traveller's cheques as did our hotel in Cusco. In Ollantaytambo, no one took them &, in fact, KB said he hadn't even seen one in 3+ years. When you are in Lima or Cusco, stock up on cash before going to Ollantaytambo. There are only 2 ATM's & there was no power for 2 days. Consequently, we had very little money for the 5 of us.

We stayed at KB Tambo (breakfast not included). Some of the rooms are better than others. The downstairs rooms are older but quieter. It was cold at night so we used extra blankets. We had hot water when there was power. It is a good location for getting to the train station, the ruins & other areas of town. We hiked all over the hills to various ruins from there. You can walk up to the plaza to catch a cab to other areas of the Valley. It was pretty expensive to use taxi's that KB's staff ordered for us.

mlgb

Apu is not as conveniently located in Ollantaytambo.

mlgb

Re Lima, if you stay near Miraflores be sure to allow an hour each way to the airport, and the taxi rate is about $18 each way, more or less. Since you are on a budget this may be important to you. It will run you over $100 for the lodging and taxi.

I stayed at a place that in mid-Lima called "Home Peru". It has a few private rooms. It's down the block from a supermarket Plaza Vea which is a trip in itself.

I found it quieter and less expensive than San Antonio Abad, and they do have hot water. The private room I had in the back was spartan but fine. I did NOT have hot water or a good night's sleep at San Antonio Abad!

http://www.homeperu.com/tarifa.htm

crellston

We were travelling for some time in SA on a similar budget. In Lima we stayed at D'Osma - http://www.deosma.com/english/description.html a small B&B in Barranco, very clean and comfortable in a nice bohemian type area close to Miraflores, with lots of good places to eat close by. Dobles range from $30 to $50 pn. It is about 40 mins from the airport.

Can't help you with Ollantaytambo as we stayed in a friends house for much of our time there, but I would concur with mlgb's suggestion of KB Tambo - we ate there a few times and tried unsucessfully to get a room after we arrived fom our trek from Lares. It really is the best option in your price range. We ended up staying a couple of nights at the Inca Wasi right on the Plaza it was clean and had gas as opposed to electric hot water ( a big plus IMHO if you don't fancy being electrocuted in the shower!)

We found http://www.hostelbookers.com/ , www.hostelworld.com to be efficient booking sites with reasonably accurate reviews.

Personally, I wouldn't bother staying in Pisac but rather visit on a day trip from Olly whilst taking in some of the other sights in the SV (Chinchero etc.)

In Cusco, we stayed in a small place in San Blas for about $20 per night but as mlgb points out do check the heating and hot water situation as these places an be REALLY cold (i.e.. sleep in your fleece cold!). I would tend to go with qwovadis's suggestion of Ninos Hotel. We try to get in on the advice of friends who loved it but it was booked way in advance (book now), it has teh added advantage of supporting a great cause. Have fun, it is a wonderful part of the world