Hotel Golden Inca Cusco — Hotel in Distrito de Cusco

Not Worth the Money - There Are Better Options in Cusco

Let’s be honest, this is not a 4-star hotel, not even close. I wouldn’t recommend staying at the Golden Inca Hotel, especially if you’re expecting something close to a true 4-star experience. We booked this hotel on the recommendation of our travel agent, who said it was a good mix of affordability and decent comfort for our group of six. It ended up being a big disappointment across the board.

Let’s start with the location. The hotel advertises itself as being a short walk from the Plaza de Armas, but that’s just not true. It’s far from all the activity. It took us 25 to 30 minutes on foot to get to the Plaza de Armas, and that’s at a decent pace. We ended up using Uber or taxis for everything. If you’re hoping to explore the heart of Cusco easily, this location will be frustrating.

The hotel itself feels neglected. There’s no elevator, so if you’re staying on the upper floors, be prepared to carry your luggage up the stairs yourself. That was a hassle for us. Our room was also not clean. The comforter had black mold on it, and the floor left black stains on our socks. That tells me they’re not doing proper deep cleaning between guests.

Toilet paper is rationed to one small roll per room. Yes, you can ask for more, but why should you have to? It’s a basic necessity for a hotel stay. We were lucky to have brought some of our own, and later purchased more at a nearby store. You shouldn’t have to do that.

The breakfast is probably the most ridiculous part. It’s advertised as “included,” but it’s incredibly limited. You get to choose either one egg, one pancake, or a tiny one-egg omelet with a slice of ham. If you want more, you’re charged per item. I ended up ordering six separate things just to feel like I had a normal meal. And yes, they made sure to bill for each one. It felt really cheap, like they were trying to cut every corner possible.

On the plus side, the staff are friendly. They greet you warmly and are polite, which I appreciated. But friendliness alone doesn’t make up for the lack of basic comfort and cleanliness.

To put things in perspective, this was not our first time in Cusco. On a previous trip, my wife and I stayed at the San Agustín El Dorado Hotel on Avenida El Sol, just a couple blocks from the Plaza. That hotel was clean, comfortable, professionally run, and included a full breakfast buffet. It wasn’t even that much more expensive than the Golden Inca, and the experience was night and day. During this trip, we actually walked over to El Dorado just to see it again and were reminded how great our stay there had been. Unfortunately, they were fully booked this time or we would’ve switched immediately.

On our way out of the Golden Inca (we only stayed three nights in Cusco), the manager asked us how our stay was. I kept it brief and mentioned the moldy blanket, dirty floor, and toilet paper issue. He said we could’ve called the front desk for replacements, but honestly, most people don’t want to make that kind of effort just to get basic standards met. We should’ve never had to ask in the first place.

He then showed me some awards the hotel had received from Viator and other travel websites, but after this experience, I’d say take those with a grain of salt. If you’re considering this hotel, please take time to read the negative reviews first, especially from people who have traveled before and know what a decent hotel experience should look like.

Bottom line: This place might seem like a deal, but it’s not worth it. There are better places to stay in Cusco for a similar price, and San Agustín El Dorado would be one such recommendation. I usually never post reviews, but I felt I had to go out of my way on this one just because my hotel stay at the Golden Inca was so...

First I want to start off by saying the staff was very kind and hospitable. However, what appears in pictures and through words online is not completely accurate. For starters, the rooms are much smaller than they appear in the pictures. The bathrooms are showers only. Although the shower is very nice, it doesn't drain well, and we had no hot water for one of our days. Very inconvenient. There are also no elevators to take your luggage up and down stairs. Housekeeping did not change sheets, but only made beds even when we requested that they change the sheets. Tour prices through the hotel agency were more expensive than agencies found at the Plaza de Armas. Breakfast was simple and left out for hours. Lastly, unlike on their website, airport transportation was only free one way. We ended up meeting a really cool taxi driver who would drive us around at a lesser price than the agency the hotel would contact. All in all, I would not recommend this hotel. After meeting and befriending many other tourists, we discovered that not only was this hotel overpriced, but under serviced. For my next stay I will choose a...

My family of 4 arrived late after a long day of traveling. We were booked in a suite with 2 rooms and 4 beds. This was not the room they put us in. I ended up having to pay for another room with beds to accommodate us all. After the airlines lost our luggage, I was disappointed to find that the hotels Wifi did not work. We stayed 3 nights and had wifi one of the 3 nights. The staff was friendly and the free breakfast was great. The price was great but I was upset that we weren't put in the room I booked. They ended up moving us the 2nd night to a room with 4 beds but that room was small as well. I honestly thought about staying somewhere else but after a long day of traveling and the stress of lost luggage , we ended up staying. I will not stay here if I...