Casona Plaza Hotel Puno

The location is excellent for walking around the city, but for everything else you have to be prepared to overlook quite a lot. The hotel feels old and poorly maintained, with almost no sound insulation. Street noise comes through even with the windows closed, and hallway sounds make it seem as if people are coming into your room. You can hear everything from the next room through the bathroom, including the toilet, shower and conversations. If your neighbor sings in the shower for an hour, you get the whole performance. Breakfast felt inconsiderate too. The only water in the breakfast area is warm. Cold water is in the fridge, but costs 4 soles a bottle even though breakfast is included. We stayed at Casona Plaza Hotel in Puno and found the experience quite disappointing. It feels like you’re mainly paying for the location.

The location is nice, just minutes from the main square, restaurants and shops, and the dining room and shared areas are beautiful and well kept. My room was small, but the bed was comfortable, which I appreciated after a long day of hiking and sightseeing. The lighting wasn’t bright enough for proper reading, and the portable heater didn’t seem to work. The bathroom was a good size, but the tub wasn’t: it seemed designed for a small person to soak in, and showering meant carefully stepping across different levels. The shower head was high up, and at 5'4" I could barely reach it to adjust it. There was no kettle in the room, so I had to go to the lobby for hot tea before bed. Breakfast was quite sparse, with the usual cold meats, jams, juice and coffee. For fried or scrambled eggs you have to ask, and you only get one per person.

The shower was the best I’ve had in hostels or hotels in South America, and the bed was huge and comfortable. The hotel is central to all the amenities, and the room had a good WiFi signal. My only complaint is the restricted breakfast window, from 6 to 8:30, and the limited choices: cereal, dry bread, cold meats and cheeses.

A nice budget option for a traveler. The rooms are very basic, and the food was freshly cooked.