Hotel Pucara Machupicchu

A good option if you can’t afford the expensive hotel up near Machu Picchu. We had worried that Aguas Calientes wouldn’t have anything decent because the choices looked pretty poor, but we picked this place and were glad we did. It was pleasant, very clean, and everything seemed new and in perfect condition. None of the negative reviews matched our experience. I can really recommend it.

The receptionist moved us to another room, but the smell was still there. We couldn’t open the windows because mosquitoes would get in, so we had to sleep in that unhealthy air and woke up feeling unwell, with breathing problems. The room smelled unbearably moldy, like old socks or rotten cheese. I won’t guess at the cause, but with that price the hotel should find a proper fix for the humidity or whatever the issue is. Rooms facing the river are noisy at night too. Breakfast was okay. We stayed one night.

I wouldn’t recommend staying here if you want to sleep before 10 pm. Our room was above a long queue of people waiting for the train, talking and playing music until then, and we could make out their conversations clearly. We had to get up early to visit Machu Picchu, but the staff weren’t helpful about changing rooms or finding another solution.

The room was small and cost 90 USD, with a smell like a rotten animal that made it hard to breathe. Street noise was massive, and breakfast was very basic.