I feared that the Amaru Hostel could not live up to it's online photos, but I was wrong.
It was great, beautiful and in a wonderful location. We didn't talk to the other guests, but there was a great mix of young and old and the hotel was very welcoming. Central location was wonderful and it was very easy to get everywhere we wanted to go including the major sites and the best restaurants. I would stay again for sure.
The breakfast (included) was also solid.

Hi,

I have stayed both in Amaru 1 and Amaru 2. This review concerns Amaru 1 (the better of the two?) where a group of 8 of us stayed in July 2011.

Positives:

o Three of the 4 rooms were great with lovely views and hot water.The fourth was quite small and dingy and one of the 4 good ones was full of beds.
o The whole hotel is filled with wood and we really liked the style.
o The staff are continually cleaning, day and night. Really impressive.
o There is a lovely small garden with hummingbirds and a view over Cuzco.
o Breakfast is very good and plentiful.
o There is free coca tea 24 hours a day.
o The WiFi generally worked fine and there was TV in the rooms.
o From what I remember the showers always had hot water.
o We paid about 45 dollars for a double per night that is OK to good value.
o Transfer from the hotel worked fine.

Negatives:
o It is a bit of an uphill walk to the main Plaza in Cuzco - to be honest fine for most people.
o My sister was asked to pay twice due to a confusion between Amaru 1 and Amaru 2. It added unnecessary stress to her visit as she does not speak Spanish.
o I got a few mosquito (?) bites whilst staying here although how that is possible I don't know as they really clean all day long.

Overall we would definitely stay in this hotel again.

Peace,

Jonathan

Be prepared that if considering to stay in San Blas district of Cusco you have to climb many steep steps before arriving at your hostel.

In the case of the Amaru hostal 1 you are lucky as it is located very close to the main plaza de Armas area with only a few steps to take in contrary to the other (good) hostels in this area. All in all I can say it has the ideal location as it combines great views over the city with only a few meters to the city center. And furthermore it is pretty quiet at night.

The Amaru hostel was very professional with everything.
Airport pick up worked fine, even people who didn`t contact Amaru hostel for pick-up were on the list. The driver waited as long as possible for all the people to show up.
The hostel itself looked very good and clean. Staff was very nice and good English speaking. As recommended by other Tripadvisor reviews before we had asked for a room on the upper floor. It was worth while as we had a nice view from there and seemed to get more light as the ones on the ground floor. The room itself was pretty decorated and had TV, a hot shower and a nice bed. Wifi worked perfectly. Koka Tea was available for free at anytime.
Each day we had sensational breakfast with bread, butter, fruit salad eggs and a fresh made orange juice.

Staff was helpful with keeping our money in a safe and storing our luggage on the last day.

My girl-friend and me really felt like home here and we can recommend this hostel to everyone travelling to Cusco.

Stayed there for 5 nights. Perfect location, amazing city/mountain views, wonderful breakfasts, friendly accommodating staff. The property with its gardens is gorgeous and I enjoyed relaxing with a cup of (unlimited) coca tea. The staff kept our bags in a secured storage area while we hiked to Machu Picchu. There was always a staff member there overnight, sleeping on the couch and unlocking the door for us if we strolled in late or left very early. My only complaint is the pillows are small and thin, but they are happy to provide extra towels/pillows, advice on local attractions, or whatever else you need!