Cusco hostels

Cons: 1) Water in rooms not potable -- have to buy bottled water yourself (though they can sell you their own branded bottled water at a very reasonable price) 2) In order to pass through the 24-hour security, you have to have a wristband you wear throughout your stay. I know that others hostels in Cusco do this, so it's not unique to this one, but your little wristband marks you as a tourist everywhere you go (if it wasn't fairly obvious already). 3) Our private room was right on the entry courtyard. While convenient, there was one night when a huge group of young travelers all checked in at once and then held an impromptu gathering in the courtyard and kept it going past the sanctioned "quite time" (10pm I think). Might've been a lot of fun if we were 20 years old and didn't have to get up super-early the next morning. 4) As with many establishments in Peru (and some very nice ones in some developing countries), the plumbing requires you to deposit used toilet paper in a trash can beside the toilet rather than in the toilet. Not a huge deal, but if you're not used to this sort of thing, be prepared. 5) Not a ton of plugs or furnishings in the room to help you organize your things, charge your devices, etc. Similar situation with bathroom and shower. 6) Bed was reasonable, but not the most comfortable. 7) Noise: There was a water pipe running through the wall next to our bed that made it sound like a waterfall every time someone took a shower or flushed a toilet (to the point where we started to get paranoid that their might be a leak somewhere -- there wasn't) and the noise from the streets and the courtyard really invaded the room. Also, the glass in our door and transom rattled loudly every time a truck went by. 8) Shower had very poor drainage. It was up to our ankles after a normal length shower. 9) No in-room safe, but they did provide a series of lockers in the common area that you could attach your own bad lock to. If you happened to have thought ahead to bring a padlock, it was very convenient and safe. 10) Temporary: There was major construction going on while we were there so a lot of the usual features were not available. For example, breakfast was crammed into the bar and many daily events (e.g. karaoke) did not take place. One major complaint I had about how this was handled however was that on our last night, someone decided it was a bright idea to have workers move in massive stacks of bricks STARTING AT 4:30AM. As we were right on the courtyard where this was happening, we were awoken by it and could not get back to sleep. That's something that could and should have been avoided.

Cons: Be prepared for no running water throughout the day and night, purchase and use your own TP, and your bed may be sold to someone else who pays cash upfront.