Puno · Peru
Iguana Hostel Puno
Fresh fruit, made-to-order eggs and pancakes fuel early starts; staff book Lake Titicaca tours, arrange dawn taxis and hold luggage. Some rooms feel damp.
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Vibe Analysis
The staff are the reason to stay here. They book your Lake Titicaca and kayak tours at the desk (usually cheaper than the bus terminal), sort taxis for 5am buses, hold your luggage while you head to the islands, and let you check in early off a night bus. One front-desk person named Sayda (also spelled Saida/Sayda) stands out for knowing Puno inside out and speaking French, English and Spanish. The warmth is real enough that stays often stretch longer and you leave feeling like part of a family. Once they brought oxygen to a room in the middle of the night for altitude sickness. Breakfast is a genuine high point: a buffet with fresh fruit, made-to-order eggs, and freshly cooked pancakes that are among the best of a Peru trip. The dining room is up on the 6th floor with wide windows and a view over the city and Lake Titicaca. Free hot tea and coffee run all day, and rooms often get a fresh thermos of hot water for tea. This is really three hostels sharing one building (Iguana, Koala, Kantaya, sometimes Intiqa), so book any of them and you likely end up in the same place. It sits about five minutes' walk from the Plaza de Armas and the pedestrian streets full of bars and restaurants. Heated rooms are a real plus for the cold, showers are usually hot with good pressure, beds come with plenty of warm blankets, and there's a kitchen, luggage storage, common areas and terraces to hang out in. A basic gym and a pool table sit on the upper floors. The front door stays locked and opened by staff, which most find reassuring for safety. Atmosphere is more quiet and stopover than party, which suits Puno itself. It's basic and a bit run-down, and you get what you pay for. The most common gripe is musty, mouldy-smelling bathrooms and damp rooms. Some rooms have no windows or natural light, including the 10-bed dorm, where air can feel stuffy with that many people. Walls are thin and the building is open, so noise carries early in the morning when breakfast starts and people leave for tours. Lockers are small, often only big enough for valuables.
Signals to check
- Bathrooms and some rooms can smell musty or mouldy, and damp is a recurring problem; a couple of windowless rooms feel stuffy.
- It's basic and run-down in places, with dated bathrooms and a kitchen that can be poorly equipped or in need of a clean.
- The building is open and walls are thin, so expect noise early in the morning once breakfast and tours start; some rooms also have a bathroom inside with no sound barrier.
- Lockers are small, often only fitting valuables, so larger bags may sit out in the open.
- Staff can be disorganized at times, including unclear addresses (entry is at number 220, not 222), and a tour price once changed at checkout, so confirm prices in advance.
- There has been a serious bed bug problem in a private room, and an incident where the door was locked overnight and a late arrival was not let back in until 4am, despite 24-hour reception being advertised.
- Hot water is usually reliable but not guaranteed; on at least one occasion the shower ran cold with no fix offered.
- Towels are not always provided, so bring your own or plan to rent one.