7 Best Hotels in Sucre, Southern Bolivia

This is a good option for those on a budget who still want to stay in colonial-style splendor—so long as you don’t mind some peeling paint and a healthy dose of kitsch in the furnishings. It's not totally without charm: the interior courtyard is colorfully painted and full of greenery, and the rooms, although worn and not very well illuminated, are spacious and clean. There is a small crafts market across the road; a lot of the crafts are pretty generic, but it will do for some traditional woven textiles in a pinch.

When you notice the colorful wood ceiling in the reception room—a reproduction of the original painted by a Jesuit priest—you know instantly that this family-owned hotel is a gem. Built as a private home in the late 17th century, the gleaming white colonial structure with a handsome rooftop terrace has large, airy rooms with sunlight streaming in through tall windows. The top-floor rooms are the best, and are worth the extra cost. All the outdoor spaces are inviting, particularly the upper terraces and the sundeck that offers excellent views of the entire city.

This is the typical Sucre hotel experience of an old colonial-style mansion-turned-hotel, but La Posada rises to the top thanks to its recent renovation and expansion and its location not half a block from the plaza. The rooms are spacious and comfortable, with new finishes; unfortunately they are a little dark because of the small windows that come with the old architecture. Those on the second level, overlooking the ancient apricot tree in the courtyard, are the best, with nice open spaces to relax in.

Calm and soothing, the well-kept lobby that greets you as you walk into the Hotel Monasterio sets the perfect tone for this beautiful hotel, once a 16th-century monastery. Though a couple of the rooms have rather overbearing decor (the blue room and the gold room, in particular), most are nicely decorated and comfortable.

This hotel has a serious claim to the top spot in Sucre to spend your tourist dollars. Details throughout the hotel blend traditional colonial architecture with a colorful Bolivian finish. The manicured central courtyard garden and the expansive bougainvillea that flows down from the third floor will definitely grab your attention, but it's the little things that will win you over: the option to try a traditional breakfast with bread made in a wood-fired oven; the comfortable and colorful lounging area; the luxurious and modern rooms decorated in colorful good taste.

This historic hotel with its impressive warren of arches and courtyards has been impeccably restored, and is a paradise for history and antique buffs thanks to its colonial exterior and neo-classical French interior. Some of the mural work and antique furniture is truly impressive. A visit to the tunnels below offers a rare insight into the life of this storied building, originally built in the late 17th century as the seat of the royal administrator of the region. Unfortunately, it is only really worth it if you shell out for the very best rooms; the standard rooms, while luxurious, are aging a little—peeling paint, rattling fridge, imitation antique furniture—and not in line with the price.

This impeccable hotel offers something different in a city full of hotels set in colonial-style buildings. Here, you'll find a stylish, modern take on mid-19th-century neoclassical, republican architecture. The central courtyard with its tall red columns surrounding a pleasant fountain wows as you walk in, and the rooms more than deliver on this initial promise. They are all tastefully decorated and unassumingly luxurious, and always respectful of the surrounding historic building. The best rooms are on the ground floor overlooking the spacious and beautiful garden out back, but all are a pleasure to be in.