Although we were not that thrilled with the hotel, compared to the other options (libertador at double the price), this is the place to stay. This was the one place we splurged on our trip and we were very glad that we did.

First, the hotel. Your basic boring hotel with two big plusses: it is right on the lake and it is not in town. Sonesta had an online deal and our rooms were 70$ for two plus an excellent (the best we had) breakfast buffet. The dinner was acceptable although not cheap. The service was good. We had a nice view of the lake (see photo). The bathroom was big, the showers hot. For the most part (see below) the reception was good.

On the negative, the doors are not insulated at all as I could here my neighbor pissing in his bathroom two different times, as well as all of their conversations. "I am going to the front desk to pay the bill. Honey? What do you think?" "Oh, ok, sounds good." They were not loud and I was wondering what conversations with my wife they got to inadvertantly enjoy. We stayed in 25$ a night places with much better sound proofing. The other problem was that despite booking online at the special rate, they somehow "lost" it for the second room. Luckily I had a printed copy, so be sure to bring it (although I suppose if we had argued enough...) Also, though we didnt get a room over the kitchen (as some previous posts complained) I could see the problem: the vents from the kitchen are right in front of the windows. We were glad we werent there. Finally it is a bit out of town but the taxi is just 5 soles. Note our driver tried to take us to a hotel in town pretending he misunderstood (we are latin americans).

To put it kindly, Puno is not a pleasant town (although the people have great energy; some of the most insightful conversations) but sadly infinitely better than Juliaca (as a local said, every type of dust is available there). Basically Juliaca is the "wild west" with incredible growth located in a very poor part of Peru.

The fourth star was because you don't want to stay in Puno unless it is a stop over before staying on an island. What is the point of coming here if you cant see the lake?

This hotel is nothing fabulous, but it does the trick. It's situated nicely on the lake, commanding a pretty nice view. The rooms are a good size, nothing too fancy, but nice. Breakfast is buffet style, with a decent variety of food.

We liked that this hotel had a down-to-earth, relaxing feel to it. We had pretty good meals at the hotel and never felt the urge to go into Puno (granted it was our final destination and we didn't really feel like it). The little bar area next to the restaurant is a cozy place to relax with a drink or light appetizer.

This hotel was a little out of the town for walking but right by the lake so had great views. Shame that most seemed to use this hotel as a stopping off point. Service was good. Rooms were okay

Beware – Do not book here unless you’re absolutely sure you’re not going to suffer from altitude sickness or any other sort of problem!
I was meant to go from Cusco to Puno but on arriving in Cusco I became sick from the altitude. I could not go to Puno which was 500 metres higher and so had to cancel the Sonesta hotel in Puno. Gabriella from central booking told me I would have to pay the $77 for the night. While she had the legal right to do this I felt she could have been more sympathetic. My husband explained the situation (I was too ill to do so) and that I had to go to a lower altitude immediately, she merely insisted on sticking to her legal rights. Not what you’d call sympathetic to the customer!!!

However, when we checked on arriving home we discovered they had takaen $99! We have sent at least ten emails, but not one of them has been answered.