San Francisco Plaza Hotel

Cusco is the longest inhabited city in South America and the historic capital of Perù. Our base to explore the city was the San Francisco Plaza Hotel. A colonnial building that has been reimagined as a hotel - successfully in places, less so in others. There is no frontage to speak of, well nothing that immediately says hotel. Inside the courtyard has been covered with a plastic roof that is functional but showing its age. The bedrooms face into the covered courtyard which means that privacy is at a premium if you keep the curtains open. Our room was large comfortable with an equally large bathroom. What didn't work as well was the lack of outside light, the lack of a shaving point and the archaic door locking system that would be better served in a museum. A buffet breakfast was very nice with excellent coffee. The staff were excellent throughout and a reflection of the warm and welcoming reception that we received from the Perùvian people. Nearby unmissable attractions: Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption of the Virgin. Being so centrally located there is a short walk downhill to the city's centre. The cathedral stands as a monument to a country once conquered. It is huge and without doubt remarkable. Whether a believer or not the architecture and decoration must be seen ever if you find such things gaudy. Koricancha Temple Once the heart of the Inca empire this for me is the number one thing to see in Cusco. Be sure to get a guide as the story behind the rise and fall if the Inca's is as enthralling as the site itself. Workmanship that literally lasts five hundred years and earthquake proof to boot, with a background story that will take you through a gamut of emotion. Completely awesome and a must see.

This is a rare case where I strongly disagree with a Trip Advisor rating. This hotel is definitely not deserving of a 4 star rating. It only claims 3 stars itself and to be frank I feel my 3 star rating is generous. The pros of this property are its close proximity to the main squares of the old town and its staff who were all very nice. Also the breakfast was pretty good. It’s negatives are the fact that most rooms face inwards so that the windows are on the inner courtyards. Combined with the thin walls, this causes the noise of the hotel to be very loud in your room. Avoid room 102 at all costs. The buffet is literally set up right next to your window. I could go on. There are a lot of hotels in this town and I would recommend trying a different one.

We liked the hotel. Contrary to other people's reviews, we did not see any bugs and did not smell anything bad. The towels and bedding were very nice. The beds were comfortable. The staff was very friendly. The breakfast was pretty decent as well. The negatives was that not all the rooms had a refrigerator (although they allowed us to leave things in the refrigerator in the lobby), there were no windows to the outside world, and the noise was unbearable. Any little noise outside the door came right inside. We would awaken multiple times per night to people talking or even walking up and down the stairs.

We stayed at this hotel and after 1 day my family was rushed to the hospital. We were told it was extreme altitude sickness but we live at 6k in Colorado and are active hikers and snow boarders. We think there was a gas leak. We have tried to contact the hotel through the tour company and have only received a travel credit. Please be cautious when staying at this hotel. Do not get the room with no windows to the outside.

This stay was horrible. It was noisy and loud throughout the night. The rooms smelled like mildew and the bed linen had holes and were stained . The towels were dingy much so I was afraid to use them. We didn’t know have air conditioning in our room the food wasn’t edible luckily we were near the square where we could get some decent food. Please do not waste your min here.