Astrophsx

Has anyone tried an airbnb here? Last time we flew in and went right to the Tambo Del Inka and never spent any time in Cuzco. We are looking at Airbnb so that we do not have to get 3 rooms at a hotel.

Villavic

I'm not familiar with AirBnb but this article may help, there is a contact that have commented about Cusco

http://www.peruthisweek.com/travel-do-you-airbnb-109119

Astrophsx

The place in the article is way outside of Cusco. We ended up booking an apartment down the street (2 blocks) from the Plaza De Armas. For four people the rate for the 2 bedroom 2 bathroom (2 level) apartment was around $100 per night. The host is rated as a "super host". We are going late May so I'll try to report back on the experience.

Forrest Bump

Searching an Airbnb for a 3 night stay in Cusco.
For a large family is a no brainer. The saving is great.
As a single traveler looking for the entire apartment, prices (with the unrefundable booking fee) are not competitive.

One listing looks a lot cheaper if booked directly.

Astrophsx

I'll try and post a report on staying in an Airbnb in Cusco. We went with a "top rated" Airbnb in the city that was around 5-6 blocks from the Plaza De Armas. It was a 2 bedroom 2 bathroom and was also a two level apartment.

Pros:
- The owner was 10 times more helpful than any hotel concierge could have been. She had custom maps made, booked all our private tours, had a list of places she recommended to eat, how to best use our time in the city, had her own price list to let us compare private/group tours, etc... This saved us some serious time and money. On the first day we got there she also booked us reservations at a restaurant that had a 4-5 day waiting list.
- We were able to negotiate the Airbnb rate and saved some serious $$$ by paying the "extra guest" fee in person and not through the website.
- The apartment was quite large and was great for 4 people. The living room was a huge plus. We also liked having a kitchen to make a small quick breakfast for early tour departure times.

Cons:
- You miss out on things you'd typically get at a hotel. This included daily cleaning, newish rooms/interior, sometimes nice toiletries, etc..
- Cusco at night drops down to just below freezing and in the day is quite warm. At night the apartment was fairly cold. Space heaters were provided but did not do much to heat rooms. This ended up causing major comfort issues.
- You cannot flush toilet paper down the toilet. Without the daily cleaning you can imagine how unpleasant the smell could get if you did not empty the tiny trash cans. The AirBnb host charged $10 for each daily cleaning. Though, they have a sealed larger trash can you could empty them into. This is something you don't think about!
- Beds were very firm... almost to Asian standards.
- The rooms had a slightly musty smell.
- Slightly dated interior.
- The steps to the second level were slippery. I almost took a hard spill several times.
- Even though the people who clean the place did a great job before we came they just aren't up to the standards of a hotel.
- Even though we were "6 blocks" from the Plaza... it's not really a walk you'd want to do each day. We ended up paying $1 each way to the Plaza. While that was a slight negative, the positive was that we were in a more quiet and safe location.

Hopefully will get some photos up soon. Overall it saved us a huge amount of $$$. I think it also provided us a slightly more authentic experience. The advice from the owner and having her help us book things was awesome. Though everyone in the group (2 of which are Peruvian) said that they would not do it again, but didn't regret trying it out.