I don't remember the exact reason why I chose this place. Probably, it was the cheapest single room with private bath that I could find. For 20USD, I got a spacious room (albeit dark and old) and breakfast of bread, butter, jam and coffee. I was the only guest that time so I received a very personal service from Ana, the owner. She made sure I had everything I needed for the night before she left. She let me had my breakfast late because I wanted to sleep in, check-out much later because my bus didn't leave until 4pm and called a taxi to take me to the bus station.
The guesthouse is located in a residential area in San Borja but very near bus stations such as Cruz del Sur, Excluciva, among others.
Hospedaje Turistico Recoleta - Cusco
Again, I booked this accommodation before getting to Cusco and the price is 20USD. When the taxi driver told me that we were already in front of the guesthouse, I was confused because I couldn't see where the entrance is. It turns out that I had to ring a bell (which is the case in many guesthouses) before someone opens the door for me. It is a little walk from the Plaza de Armas but at least the streets are not going up.
What I liked about Recoleta is that they serve a hearty breakfast (relatively); two pieces of bread, butter, jam, coffee, egg and banana. But what I really hated is the noise. The floor is wooden so I could hear all the footsteps. My room was beside the dining area so people chatting in the early morning disturbed my sleep. The acoustics was so bad that I could even hear the sound of a bag being zipped open. They are also a little strict because washing of clothes in the toilet was not allowed (it's difficult to dry them anyway, but still) and shower time must be limited. Staff is average. They let me leave my bag when I left for Aguas Calientes.
I learned here that there are no complimentary drinking water in the accommodations at least in Peru and Bolivia. (When I was in Vietnam, all the places I stayed in offered free refills of safe drinking water.)
 |
| Hallway of Recoleta. |
Hospedaje los Caminantes - Aguas Calientes
I expected everything to be expensive in Aguas Calientes so I consider Los Caminantes as the best value accommodation I had in Peru. I paid 30 Soles for a private room and bath with plenty of hot water. There was no breakfast included but it didn't matter since I left at the crack of dawn to hike up Machu Picchu anyway. WiFi was only available in the lobby.
Los Caminantes is along the train tracks but still relatively quiet. The room I got was facing the river so I had a beautiful view from my window.
 |
| View from my room. |
??? - Ollantaytambo
I was too exhausted to even bother get the name of this hostel. It's the nearest hostel from the train station (right side of the road if heading to the station). For 25 Soles, I got a room with a private bath. The room was clean enough for my standard and surprisingly, there was also hot shower. The hostel is along a river but the sound of the rushing water was overpowered by the annoying noise from the television the night I was there.
The receiving area has lots of tables and chairs so I assumed it was also a restaurant, but it wasn't. The nearby restaurants were still close at 9am so I had to walk a few hundred meters to get breakfast.
La Posada del Virrey - Arequipa
Posada means inn, so do I call this place an inn? Anyway, I showed up here at night without prior booking. Thanks to the low season, I was able to get a private room, but a shared bath for 25 Soles. Breakfast was not included but they have two kitchens. The place itself looked old. And it was difficult to climb up the very narrow stairs. The rooftop terrace was a lovely touch and there is a nice view of the city at night when the buildings are all lit up.
The shared bathroom was clean. There was plenty of hot water but only from the faucet, not the shower. On my second night, an earthquake rocked Arequipa and for a moment I was scared that the building might collapse.
I booked my one-day tour of the Colca Canyon with them. Staff didn't speak English but I was touched when she walked me outside, hailed a cab for me to the bus station and made sure that the driver charged me the right amount.
Nasca Lodge - Nasca
At a price of only 12USD, they even offer a free pick-up service. Now that's value for money. But I made a mistake in my e-mail and instead of typing 8pm, I put 8am as the time of my departure from Arequipa. When I get there, Maribel, the friendly lady in the lodge who by the way speaks good English was still apologetic that she was not able to send someone to pick me up at the bus station.
The building looked new. My room was big, and I mean really big. I had a small cable television. WiFi was fast but there were times when I lost connection in my room. Breakfast for 6 Soles consist of three pieces of bread, butter, jam, egg, ham, coffee and juice.
I booked a flight over Nasca in the hotel the morning I arrived. And in the afternoon Maribel provided me with a city map and gave suggestions on what to do in town. Since I was undecided on whether I should go to Ica or Paracas the next day, she gave me info on how to get to both towns and possible place to stay.
Hotel Posada del Sol - Ica
I headed to Ica from Nasca eventually. I was lucky that the bus station was just a walking distance to the city center so I can just walk around and look for a room. The first three guesthouses I went to didn't have WiFi so I ended up in Posada del Sol. The price was a little steep considering the area and the season. And the room I was given was in the fifth floor. Elevators are unheard of in budget accommodations.
The staff didn't speak English and wasn't really nice when I checked in. But when I got back the next day from a tour, he suddenly became friendly and tried to engage me in a conversation, in Spanish.
Belen Annex - Lima
As usual, the lack of WiFi in my first choice of accommodation led me to this hostel. During the last days of my travel, a means to communicate with friends became a necessity to me.
The hostel is in a large colonial building on the Plaza San Martin. I was hesitant to enter at first because I couldn't fathom how a budget (45 Soles isn't exactly cheap but I was in Lima) accommodation will exist in such a place. But the charm of the building didn't reflect in my room. Figures. The age showed, and my television didn't work (not that it mattered). And although my room was facing the plaza, I had no windows.
The staff who welcomed me took forever to fill out the guestbook before he gave me my keys. On my first night, the television in its huge lobby was turned on all night so I had difficulty to get some sleep. Fortunately, someone was in his right mind to turn it off the next day.
 |
| The gold/yellow door is the entrance to Belen Annex. |
No comments:
Post a Comment