Review: Casa Faustina Boutique Hotel Cusco Peru
After a terrific flight onboard the Avianca A320neo, it was time to explore the lovely town of Cusco, Peru! There are plenty of options in this over-saturated market when it comes to places to stay! Prices are also relatively good in Cusco, with the 5-star JW Marriot starting at just over 500$ per night.
Overall, this is one of those reviews where the hotel was brilliant, but the service was the opposite.
Let's get into the review and tune into the end for some extra drama!
How I Booked
For my 3-night stay in Cusco, the grand total came out to 188.16$ for 3 nights including services and fees.
While this property is accessible to be booked through bookings.com and similar websites, I found availability, which would turn out to be a mistake in the end.
Interestingly, upon booking, I sent a lovely note to the staff of Faustina and politely asked if they had any recommendations for tour guides in Cusco. This was 2 weeks before and I never heard a response.
The Hotel
Casa Faustina consists of various rooms as well as 4 restaurants, and one small hang-out area near the lobby. Since the restaurants weren't exactly a part of the hotel, I won't include them in this review which means we'll just be looking at the rooms.
At 188$ for three nights, these rooms are gorgeous. Heading over to the master suite I was booked into, we passed some interior wall art.
Everything was decorated perfectly and felt very cozy.
Outside of my room lay a beautiful pink and green sofa. Although I didn't have time to lounge on it, I tested it out and it was more than comfortable enough.
To the right of my door was a locked closet. Is this a Narnia situation?
The Rooms
A beautiful doorway awaited my physical key. There is something special about having physical keys instead of one of the electronic ones, much like the weird one at Amankora which I loved!
Once entering the room, I saw one of the largest beds I had ever seen in my life!
Accompanying the bed was a coffee table and two plush chairs.
The bed was so large I could roll over four times until I ended up on the other side😅.
To add to that, the bedding was plush and soft. A blanket was tucked between the two sheets, making for the perfect sleep.
A beautiful hand-crafted cabinet came with the room, although who has time to unpack😅.
As mentioned earlier, the chairs were overly comfortable to sit around and do some work on.
A flat-screen television was facing the bed, although much like with the cabinet, I didn't try it out.
If there is one thing you should know about me, I love the old spin phones featured on the bedside table in the picture below. There is something about them that gives off a nostalgic feeling. The Anik Palace in Cambodia had a similar phone.
Another bedside table was featured on the opposite side of the bed. Perfect for resting devices when charging.
Lastly, if you are a smoker, there is an outdoor area to have a cigarette if you desire.
Okay, the rooms are absolutely lovely, there is no doubt at all! Large and comfortable beds, fantastic furniture, and old phones.
Other Amenities
Free Wifi is available for all guests. This is given to you upon check-in.
There is coffee for a fee (about 3$) by check-in, as well as a pizza restaurant (40-50 PEN) and other options such as a beer garden.
What Went Wrong
On paper, this sounds like a fantastic stay, right? A couple of aspects went wrong, leaving me with a bitter taste in my mouth.
For starters, the hot water went out on the night when I came back from Machu Picchu. I travel a lot and hot water goes out all the time, it's not a big deal at all. However, when I am told it will take only 15 minutes and after 1. 5 hours I have to go down and politely ask, that is not a good sign. After 2.5 hours, it finally came back on, I didn't appreciate the lack of communication. It takes 10 seconds to send a message through Airbnb or let me know.
Secondly, picture this. You wake up and outside of your room is a man sleeping on the couch with a full blanket and jacket. He asks you for your "key" and says you will get it back later that day. It is 4 am and you are coffee-deprived. What do you say? Not until we went back and forth did he finally mention he was a staff member of the hotel.
In the past 5 years of traveling, I have yet to have a negative review. Casa Faustina wrote, "disrespectful to our staff and home". I tend to think of myself as outgoing and fun but respectful in general and apologize if I came across that way.
I do have to say, it's funny they wouldn't respond to my messages before check-in or during but wrote a review within 1 day of leaving😂
Final Thoughts
Casa Faustina is a very nice property from the looks. However, the service leaves a lot to be desired which means, I suggest you look elsewhere regarding accommodation in Cusco. It's a shame as this is a family establishment and has unbelievable potential with the quality of their rooms😉.
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