Loreto Boutique Hotel

For an affordable place near Cuzco’s historic centre, it was okay, and breakfast was included. It was nice but basic. The room was quite chilly in winter with no heating, and the frosted glass door to the corridor let in enough light to keep it bright much of the night.

We only stayed one night before finding somewhere just as nice about ten minutes from Plaza del Armas for $100 less. This hotel is pleasant, with a good breakfast and friendly staff who speak English, and it’s right in Plaza del Armas. For the price, though, I didn’t think it was worth it. Nothing about it felt special.

We left after just one night of our four-night booking at Hotel Loreto, despite its strict NO REFUNDS POLICY. My wife and I stayed in late October 2018, and this was one of the worst hotels I’ve experienced in more than 20 countries and all over the United States. The room was dirty, loud, badly outdated, and uncomfortable. There were cobwebs on the ceiling and mold on the shower curtain. The bed was awful. A crack ran almost top to bottom in the courtyard-facing door, wide enough for someone to look into the room. The website doesn’t mention that the hotel shares its courtyard with a hostel and a Starbucks above it, with people coming and going at all hours. Sleep was impossible. A window in the shower had been painted shut, and we couldn’t tell what was on the other side. Around 10 pm a light came on there and cast an eerie glow into the room. At six in the morning, we realized the space beyond the window was the breakfast area when dishes clinked and people talked loudly. When we raised all this, staff pointed to the NO REFUNDS POLICY with a knowing smile and didn’t offer to move us. The room we got looked nothing like the website photos, which made me feel the hotel was running a BAIT AND SWITCH SCAM on tourists to increase profits.

We stopped for a drink in the bar. It’s upscale and expensive, but the quality of the drinks matched, and the dining area and courtyard are beautiful. They were showing the Peru / Chile soccer game in the courtyard. It’s a lovely old building.