The hostal is located 7-8 blocks from the Plaza de Armas (center of Arequipa). The entrance is off of a very busy street with a bus stop right in front of the hostal. The entrance to the hostal itself, however is shielder from the street with a protective fence, and a lovely painted and planted front garden. One must buzz in to enter.

Inside, there is a reception area and a living room. There are about 10 rooms, from what I counted, a sunroof, and a beautiful garden with a bar. The bar however seems to function as a decoration. Breakfast is included and served in the garden in the morning.

We were greeted and looked after by an exceptionally nice lady in her 50s who spoke absolutely no English but did everything she could to help and more. When one of my friends got sick, the young man (did speak some English) who was on the night shift woke her up and she gave us a thermometer, drugs and advice on how to bring the fewer down. They also did laundry for us for an additional charge.

As far as the rooms, the bathrooms are very clean and some seem to be recently upgraded/remodeled. The beds are comforable.

When we stayed here in December of 2007, we got 2 rooms each room to house 3 people and paid US$10 per person per night. Each room had a private bathroom with shower.

I would highly recommend this place to anybody traveling to Arequipa.

Normally I do not do this but I think I should share my story.
I booked their best private suite for me and my boyfriend for 8 days which is located in the back garden area. It started off nice, the breakfast were great, like the pancakes (when they have the ingredients to make what is on the menu which for the most part wasn't the case) Again I booked it so that it RESERVED..however they don't respect that as they wanted to relinquish my room to a larger group coming in that wanted it for the private bath. The help, not the owner or manager spoke to me about it as I opened the door to go to breakfast. First, they offered me in exchange a dorm room (to share with my boyfriend and with others) which would offer no privacy...that was the point of the private suite. After I gave them a NO and gave my thoughts on the idea, they later came back to offer me to go to another hotel. Again, the owner or manager was nowhere to be found to talk directly and offer any apologies or anything to make the situation better. Then when I refused, the owner (who told staff to me) insisted and wanted immediate payments on everything while eating my breakfast...a payment which I offered upfront but they said that payment is at the end. I felt uncomfortable for at least half of my stay.
Result, hostel convinced the large group to take the room at other hotel associate with them.
In addition to this, it was agreed to get 10% discount with my long stay but no one could find that agreement that I had with the unseen manager which caused other commotions.
I also found out that they normally don't take Peruvians there or many hostels in the city (my boyfriend was), so that was a courtesy and should have been grateful.
This place could be great if they stay committed to their customers and took some customer service courses.

found this place via their website:[-]

rooms and bathrooms are very cute, clean. this place is a converted mansion and has a lot of charm and a very pretty backyard. they also run a tour agency and can answer questions. overall i was happy with my stay there, just a few comments:

-they claim to accept credit cards, but they don't, so make sure you have either dollars or soles to pay your bill

-their email reply to me said all rooms had cable tv which doesn't seem to be totally true, unless they move tvs around, so request one if you want one

-their email reply also said $18 for a double room with private bathroom without breakfast, $20 with breakfast, and we requested with breakfast, but couldn't find anyone to serve us breakfast, so we requested our bill get adjusted, but they said the price was $20 regardless. didn't want to argue about $2 but maybe just reserve yourself with the $18 price so the correct price gets written down in their reservation book. if u want breakfast pay for it when you get there, they have a little cafe area and it costs the same

-their email said the price included 1 hour free internet a day but the guy working there told us S/1.00/hour. the computer was really slow so we went to an internet cabina

-just so you know, they are in a safe part of town and its really not a terrible walk, but they are not near the center of town, its maybe a 10min walk

My wife & I stayed with our 1 year-old at this absolute gem for 10 days in April after pre-arranging our stay from Canada.
Approx. $18 US/night provided us with a very large & comfortable room that came complete with a private bathroom and television. Of course no two rooms are anything alike but we think we saw them all and can't speak negatively of any. And they're priced according to amenities so perhaps ask to see the selection before commiting.
Wonderful place to hang out at, and with a staff that, if anything, works a little too hard to satisfy.
And I read some criticism, before leaving Canada, about Tambo Viejo being a little too far from the action, but I disagree. Sure we had to walk for 10 minutes before getting to the Plaza but what's 10 minutes, especially when the walk is through the streets of Arequipa.
My only suggestion would be to tip the hard-working girls that look after the place. Nobody earns it more than these folks and I don't think they get enough of them.

Calgary, AB Canada