stayed here with an oats tour group- the hotel mainly caters to groups. it was clearly superior to both jose antonio hotels in lima. the rooms were nicer and quieter, although you do hear some traffic noise in the rooms facing the street. the breakfast buffet and restaurant service was good with better service and more food choices than the lima jose antonio hotel. there were restaurants nearby and a craft market across the street. it was an easy walk to the town center. there was a sauna and hottubs on an upper floor that was outside but enclosed. overall a good experience.

We stayed at Jose Antonio because the Novotel was booked up (see my Novotel review from 4/09), The hotels are comparable in price. The Jose Antonio had MUCH better internet service, a better bathroom (mostly marble), more closet space (with a light fixture) and a Jaccuzi on the 5th floor. The Novotel trumps the Jose Antonio when it comes to general ambience, room furnishings, and location. The two hotels have equally helpful staff and equally sufficient breakfasts.

The Jose Antonio was less than half full during our stay. It is my impression that the Jose Antonio does a lot of business with package tour providers. That would explain why it was so empty since Machu Picchu was closed during our stay...and Cusco in general was lacking the normal number of toursits.

I would like to reassure any VT member that if your tour provider has booked you at this hotel, it is well-run and clean. Our room on the street-side of the 6th (top) floor was a little noisy with sounds from the activity below. If you ask for a courtyard-facing room, it would probably be quieter. I've included a picture from the 6th floor looking down Av. Sol. The picture was taken early on a Sunday morning which is why there is very little traffic and the Centro Artesanal stalls (red building on the lower right) are closed.

At night, we took taxis to/from the Plazas. 5 or 6 soles. The doorman was picky about hailing taxis. He would look for taxis that are large and in excellent condition. There are a lot of very small rickety taxis in Cusco, so we appreciated his attention to this detail.

When we go back to Cusco, we will probably book the Novotel just because of proximity to excellent restaurants. But if the Novotel is full, we wouldn't hesitate to stay at the Jose Antonio.

Our flight out of Cusco was cancelled by our airline and as a result, they put us up in the Jose Antonio hotel in Cusco. I'm not sure how much this place cost, but I was very pleased we were able to spend our last night in Cusco at this hotel. Especially since we were tired, irritable, and just wanted to fly back to Lima so we could get home.

The rooms and bathroom were impeccably clean. It felt like staying at a Courtyard or something similar. This was definitely a departure since I had been booking budget hotels for most of our trip in Peru.

The restaurant downstairs serves great dinner and an awesome breakfast (also provided by the airline!). If you're looking for something similar to the comforts of home, this would be it.

It is a little bit of a distance from the main square, so that would be the only issue if you were hoping to stay closer to the plaza.