Hostal Iskay is a wonderful hostal. It’s located on a quiet street in Ollantaytambo, and is about a 5 minute walk from the town plaza. We chose to stay here, honestly, because it had really good reviews on TripAdvisor and had a good website with lots of information. Additionally, the administrator, Marcos, was excellent at getting back to our emails as soon as possible and bent over backwards to make sure we had everything in order for our trip, including our tickets to Machu Picchu.
The hostal offers both shared and private accommodation. We chose to stay in a private room that came with a double bed, lots of warm blankets, fresh towels daily, fresh flowers, and hot water. The room was just what we needed for our time in Ollantaytambo. I had read previously that many people suffered from cold at night in Ollantaytambo, but rest assured Hostal Iskay will give you enough blankets to stay warm and cozy! We had no qualms in terms of our room.
Hostal Iskay also includes a buffet type breakfast in your room fee. Basically, from 6am-10am there is a table loaded with bread, cheese, ham, sometimes eggs and/or pancakes, and fresh fruit (normally Peruvian papaya–a mix between a mango and a papaya), puffed cereal, plain yoghurt, two fruit sauces and hot water with herbal tea, coffee, or fresh fruit juice. While the selection is abundant, often times the food bread was a bit stale/hard and if you didn’t arrive as soon as the eggs/pancakes were put out they were often very cold. Even so, we always left with a full stomach, and, honestly, we’ve had worse breakfast selections at hostels!
In terms of customer service, Hostal Iskay was amazing. On our arrival day, even though we arrived after breakfast hours, we were still given a plate of food and a maté de coca. When I got extremely sick from altitude sickness, the staff helped me to get hot herbal “teas” and made sure I was ok throughout the day. From the moment we arrived to the moment we left, we felt the warm hospitality of all the staff at Hostal Iskay.
If you’re heading to Ollantaytambo, I would HIGHLY recommend Hostal Iskay. My pictures are below, but if you’d like more information or more photos, visit their website and look at the reviews on TripAdvisor:
Happy travels!
(unfortunately, all my pictures are of the hostel’s exterior)
(hallway to guestrooms)
(view of hostel from restaurant below)
(garden area in hostel)
(stairs to hostel from the street)
Transatlantic Adventure 