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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 few exceptions, the international hotel chains are absent. In their place are smaller, top-end, independently run lodgings offering impeccable service, even if some lack swimming pools and concierges. Lodgings in all price ranges, whether in a former 17th-century convent or newly built, mimic the old Spanish-colonial style of construction arranged around a central courtyard or patio.
You may have to adjust your internal thermostat in moderate or budget lodgings at this altitude, but all provide extra blankets and may have electric heaters available at an extra charge. High-end establishments have heating. Most places provide hot water around the clock, but if you're wondering, just ask if there's agua caliente. Many accommodations keep an oxygen supply on hand for those having trouble adjusting to the thin air.
Part of a national chain, all the Casa Andina hotels exude professionalism and are a great value, but each hotel differs in style—the San Blas branch, in a colonial house perched up on the hillside, offers great views over the city's terra-cotta rooftops. The modern and comfortable rooms are tastefully furnished with Andean touches.
This upscale option, where rates are a fraction of those at other Cusco lodgings, has two wings: the front half, which drips with colonial charm—with accommodations set around the attractive, arcaded courtyard of a 17th-century building (once the home of the Marquis of Picoaga)—and the new wing, which features modern rooms and minimalist design but is still big on comfort. The old rooftop bar has been converted into three rooms with the best views in the house.
Tucked behind a high wall, this casona from 1630 was built on Inca terraces and has been transformed into a charming boutique hotel managed by the same company behind Ollantaytambo's El Albergue. Stone walls and wooden fittings welcome guests into a quaint and lush garden that leads upstairs to the “balcón” proper—a wooden balustrade where the best rooms have balconies, all fitted with rustic-chic adobe tiles and timber beams, and offer a truly stunning view of the city nestled between the mountains. On clear days, you can sit on the balcony's benches and see Nevado Ausangate on the horizon.
A massive stone door—that's what rumi punku means in Quechua—opens onto a rambling complex of balconies, patios, gardens, courtyards, terraces, fireplace, and bits of Inca wall scattered here and there linking a series of pleasantly furnished rooms that have hardwood floors and comfy beds covered with plush blankets. The top-level sauna and gym have stupendous views of the city. The Rumi Punku Superior section offers slightly larger, more lavish rooms, but everyone can enjoy lounging in the cafeteria and courtyards.
