The Hospedaje el Artesano de San Blas is one of the nicest and least expensive hostels in all of Cuzco. I should know! I went to about 20 different hostels and checked out the accommodations they provide before finally deciding that the Hospedaje el Artesano would be my temporary home in Cuzco, Peru for the next 3-4 weeks. The following are some of the photos I snapped of the interior and exterior of this San Blas hostel.

The photo above was taken while standing at the entrance to the Hospedaje el Artesano de San Blas and looking to the left down a set of stone stairs. If you follow this set of stairs down the hill, you’ll pass the San Blas plaza and you’ll eventually end up in Cuzco’s large Plaza de Armas.

The photo below shows the entrance to the hostel and the sign, which is missing a few letters.

Once you enter the main gate of the hostel, the office is on the right and the courtyard leading to the rooms can be found by walking through the arch you see here. There is a small room on the left where the staff member on duty hangs out, sleeps, and watches TV.

If you stand at the entrance to the hostel and look out, this is the view you will see. It’s a long, steep set of stairs leading up the hillside.

Below is the main courtyard inside the Hospedaje El Artesano de San Blas. As you can see, it was laundry day when I snapped this picture. The man in the middle of the picture is the staff member on duty and he is painting some chairs and benches for the hostel’s interior courtyard. I took this photo while standing on the balcony outside the door to my room – Room 204.

There is a large kitchen on site that you can use… and there is a dark dinning room on site as well.

To get to my room you have to climb up a small staircase and then circle around the balcony to my room.

My room is the one with the closed blue door on the second story. It’s the door in the upper-right hand corner of the photo.

Inside my room, I have my own queen-size bed, a nightstand, desk and stool, closet, bathroom, television, and big tall ceilings (which are very uncommon in a lot of Peruvian hostels).

The great thing about this bathroom is that there is an actual sink with a counter (again – not something many hostels seem to have) and the shower has hot water (something I’ve come to treasure after staying in so many other places that don’t have hot water of any kind).

My room even has a large closet area where I am storing my clothes, food, trash and other belongings.

Even thought the hike up to my hostel is a long one that usually takes my breathe away by the time I’ve reached the top, I benefit is that I have a great little view of Cuzco from my bedroom window. I sit by the window all day long as I do my work… and I’ll occasionally open up the window door and lean out over the balcony railing so I can get a better glimpse of the city below.

For only 25 Soles per night (about $9.00 USD), the Hospedaje el Artesano de San Blas is certainly one of the best and cheapest hostels in all of Cuzco. If they had high-speed internet in all of the rooms, the place would be out of this world!