Antigua Casona San Blas — Hotel in Distrito de Cusco

Very Impressed. My wife and I stayed here for almost 2 weeks with the 5 day Salkantay Trek in the middle of our stay. I've never stayed that long in one place and not had one single complaint. This hotel has thought of everything and goes above and beyond to make their hotel more than just a place to stay, but actually one of the highlights of your trip. Below is a list of positive aspects of the hotel (again, I experienced ZERO negative aspects):

1.) BREAKFAST! You will look forward to this complimentary breakfast when you go to sleep each night. Not only does it have an excellent breakfast bar, but the free breakfast actually includes several made to order menu items. We tried them all and they were incredible, especially the french toast. This breakfast is way too good to be included with your stay, but it is!

2.) Very relaxing vibe. Everything is immaculately clean. After a day trek or spending time in the hustle and bustle of Cusco, you will feel immediate calming and safety as soon as you walk through the hotel doors. The staff is very friendly, hard working, and personable. They really do care but also don't pester you if you just want to chill. They are very professional and will drop everything to help you if you have a request, need a taxi, or help finding anything in the city. Edwin, the front door/concierge, made me feel right at home and was one of the kindest humans I have ever had the good fortune of meeting.

3.) Filtered Water. This hotel has a filtered water system with a faucet near the entrance to freely refill your water bottles. They even bring a fresh jug of drinkable water to your room everytime they come in to clean. This is very important as you cannot drink tap water in Cusco and many hotels make you pay for bottled water, which adds up fast.

4.) Free Yoga. Id never tried yoga before, figured it wasn't for me. But because it was free I gave it a chance and ended up going to 3 classes! Excellent top floor studio with natural light, all the props, and very welcoming and knowledgeable instructors.

5.) Free luggage storage. When we left for our trek they told us to leave our luggage in our room with provided labelled tags. When we returned from our trek they had our bags waiting for us in our new room. We didn't have to lift a finger.

6.) Airport taxi service set up by the hotel. Very easy, timely, and convenient.

7.) Hot Water Bottles. Cusco can get very cold at night. Each room has a heater and we were never cold, but as an added touch the hotel brings two hot water bottles to each room each night and places them under the covers so you have a nice warm bed to climb into. They also bring hot tea to your room at this time to help you sleep.

8.) Live music. It seemed like every other night they had live music from 7-8:30 in the courtyard. One of the nights the courtyard was lively and full of guests chanting "encore", and another night my wife and I had the courtyard almost to ourselves for what felt like a private concert next to the fire with a bottle of wine. The musicians were fun and far too talented to be performing at a hotel. It was very special.

9.) Location. The hotel is a 5 minute walk from the main square. It is located near several of the sought after restaurants. Being able to walk everywhere was advantageous due to the narrow one way streets that make driving and taxis difficult in the historic district of Cusco. Being from the USA, we found the driving style in Cusco rather terrifying. Walking is a must.

10.) The Restaurant. The hotel restaurant was very good, had excellent service, and was fairly priced when compared to the restaurants in the city. After a long day, it was nice to have the option to stay in and order high quality Peruvian cuisine without having to venture out again. Especially when there was live music in the courtyard.

11.) Very nice showers with HOT water. We never ran out. Many hotels...

A I’m now at Cusco airport after my annual trip to Cusco to run the Andesrace.pe 100km. I don’t often write reviews, but I feel that having stayed at this absolute gem that it deserved special mention. As a precursor, I have built and manage my own highly rated day trek and acclimatisation lodge in the Cordillera Blanca (Highest mountain chain outside of Asia) Peru & am an early retired Chartered Accountant from the UK. I was recommended Casa Antigua by good friends that live in Ollantaytambo, my favourite village in Peru, they have also stayed at my lodge. I was not disappointed. Of all the hotels I have stayed in around the world, this is my favourite. I was surprised when chatting with the doorman Edwin, whilst waiting for my airport taxi, that the hotel has 50 rooms. During my stay it felt like a boutique hotel of 10 rooms. …..I’m now comfortably installed in seat 1A on the plane….. Edwin told me that the Casona Antigua - “The big old house” was bought, in dilapidated state, by an enterprising young North American 12 years ago. He spent 4 years having it restored to impeccable standards. The attention to detail is obvious and everywhere. I don’t think that a single trick has been missed. Working in hospitality I’d like to leave some constructive criticism, but I am at an embarrassing loss. For my annual Cusco trip I’d usually stay in Nazarenas or a boutique hotel in the Sacred Valley. Casona Antigua is now my home from home in Cusco and shall be getting my reservation in early for the next visit. The breakfast had plenty of fresh fruits, and paleo options but also some gluten delights that I wouldn’t usually embark on, but after running 100km through the mountains I treated myself to the croissants, pan au chocolat, carrot and banana cakes. I was then brought a paleo omelette with bacon and avocado to feel less guilty. The coffee was excellent. I was in room 201 which had a king size bed and two singles, the mattress was exceptional and the down duvet fluffy light. There were hot water bottles in the bed when I retired for the night, but I slept with my windows open - something you cannot do in the Marriott in Cusco - and left my hot water bottles by the window so I could enjoy the cool fresh air of the Andean night. Also a good idea at 3400m to improve oxygen flow, as each lung full has ⅓ less O2 molecules. My windows opened onto a quiet back area so I had no street/town noise so, after having run for 24 hours through the previous night, I feel into a deep slumber from 20:00-05:30 when reception gave me my wake up call, in time for another steaming hot shower and a 6am breakfast. I’d like to thank Kevin and Grace on the front desk for Their warm welcome when I turned up rather disheveled from The Mountain Marathon and to Angie the restaurant team leader for the personalized service and crème brûlée recommendation. I don’t feel this boutique hotel needs a Google review as I’m sure word of mouth, how I heard about it, will be strong enough. But I thought I’d leave a review, more for me than for the hotel, to help ensure it is there for me for many more years to come. See you next year Casona Antigua. I think I’ll bring the wife and kid next year and install ourselves for a mini break! Thank you to all the team at Casona Antigua, see...

My wife and I stayed at Antigua Casona San Blas for 10 days. They say it’s the little things that matter and staying here was no exception. The service was impeccable. You are always greeted with a smile from every employee. You have delicious tea in your room, they bring you chocolates, and hot water bottles to warm the sheets at night. There is no shortage of filtered water. The beds are very comfortable and the rooms are beautifully decorated. They have a coca tea and muña tea station that we used daily.

We had leftovers one night from another restaurant and called to see if they would mind heating it up. Not only did they heat it up for us, they brought it to us in a beautiful dish, along with silverware and napkins.

They arranged for our taxis around town and to the airport. They even arranged for a private taxi to take us to different areas like Ollantaytambo, Chinchero, Maras Salt Mines, etc.

The food was delicious. We had dinner at the hotel twice and breakfast every morning. Their selection was top notch. This was not your typical included hotel breakfast. They had fresh fruits, fresh juices, cheeses, baked goods, breakfast bowls, French toast, made to order eggs, and more. As much as I wanted to go have breakfast at other restaurants, theirs was too good to pass up and it was included.

They remembered it was my birthday and brought me a delicious dessert. They brought wine and chocolate covered strawberries to our room to help us celebrate our 7 year wedding anniversary.

We had two massages that were probably the best massages I’ve ever had. I wish I could remember their names but I believe one started with an E and the other with an R(sorry ladies). We got the private sauna and jacuzzi experience which came with delicious fresh fruit and water.

For early morning tours, you can get a pre-packaged breakfast bag which comes with dried fruit, trail mix, chips, a drink, and a sandwich. This was also complimentary and we took advantage at least twice.

It is in a great location and is a short walk to the main square.

Areas of improvement:

The shower. Although the pressure was great the drain hole could be bigger. Depending on how high your pressure is, it could start to puddle. Nothing crazy but it is a slower drain.

Noise. They do have a soundproof door to filter out the sounds from the hallway but if you have a very noisy neighbor either above you or next door, you can hear them. It’s muffled but you can hear them nonetheless. Only once did this interrupt my sleep.

All in all, would I stay here again? Yes! Thank you to Edwin, Grace, Kevin, Victor and all the other amazing staff for making our 10 days at your hotel...