Casa Intihuatana - Hostel

The price is the best thing here, and I can imagine people staying longer appreciating the atmosphere more than we did during our one night. Our room was clean but smelled of tobacco and damp, and its only window faced inside. The kitchen and bathrooms were free to use, but both were a mess, which is a shame when people don’t respect shared spaces. It’s a nice area for nature and archaeology, though the mercado is a bit far, about a 20-25 minute walk along a busy road.

The photos and location give a misleading impression. It’s a long way from central Pisac, and the low price seems to be the draw. The rooms smelled awful, everything was very dirty, and the service and atmosphere were bad. I wouldn’t stay here.

EDIT Someone from your hostel just wrote to me, irate that I criticized their "ecological' design. I was baffled because my concern was defective wiring. The anonymous person said they’d look into it immediately, which was a relief. But I wrote this review YEARS ago, maybe two or possibly three years, when the place seemed close to collapse. No one noticed the review or the sparks from the outlets all that time? It makes me wonder what’s been happening since. Was the WiFi out and recently restored? Did the roof collapse? Was there a fire? Anyway, I’d forgotten all about you, but it’s been a long time. I’m glad everything is better now. I haven’t reread what I wrote, but this hostel is halfway up to the ruins, so there’s a nice walk with fields, mountains, and animals all around. There’s a trapeze school across the way and a meditation center next door. It’s also really cheap. The place was a fire trap. I wish I were kidding or exaggerating, but I’m not. People could die here. Whenever I tried an outlet in any room, sparks flew and things came out of the wall. The rooms were disgusting. The upside was that the hostel is far up the hill, surrounded by nature, and the rats preferred to stay outside. I was warned not to go upstairs to the common room because the roof might collapse, yet people slept up there. As is normal for hostels in Peru, nobody is a paid worker. Your experience depends on which northern European volunteer you get involved with. The kitchen was narrow and empty most of the day, then suddenly crowded with people nobody had seen before at mealtimes. I suppose they slept somewhere else. It’s a strange place, but maybe it’s great if price is the only thing that matters.

What I expected to be three days turned into a month. The people made the magic for me. Things may change over a longer stay, but during mine, I met amazing people both at the hostel and around town. The staff are volunteers, so I can’t really rate them, though I had a great crew while I was there. It’s not the best spot if you want to be right in the center, but town is only a five-minute walk or 2.5 sols away. The shared kitchen is a plus, and it’s affordable. I’d highly recommend it.