Secret garden - Hostel

We were not given a key to the hostel’s front door, so we had to ring the bell and wait for a family member to let us in. The shared room was also used by the family, as was the kitchen, where pots and food were left out and everything was dirty. After paying, we learned our room was in a separate building around the corner. We asked to move to the main building and got a very small room beside the main road, with a window that wouldn’t shut fully. It was impossible to sleep, so the next morning we said we wanted to leave and asked for our money back. The owner claimed we’d only paid for three nights, though we had paid for five, and was very rude and aggressive. We eventually got a refund for the nights we hadn’t used. The facilities are basic: the showers had no roof and there was no soap.

The sheets were not changed, and using the family’s gas stove came with an extra charge, even though they cook together there. There are excessive fees, and he charges higher accommodation rates using an inflated exchange rate that has not changed. He was rude.

The location was good and the shower pressure was decent, but the hostel was so noisy. The bathroom ceiling is clear, and there’s no soap in the bathrooms. If you want a proper night’s sleep, I’d stay somewhere else.

We spent two months in the cuzco area, and most of our nights in the city were at the wonderful secret garden. Before we found it, we tried so many hostels in cuzco that were too crowded, dirty, or loud. This one was clean and quiet, with an equipped kitchen, hot water, a perfect location, and amazing hospitality from the owner and his family. We can’t recommend it enough!