Gringo Bills Aguas Calientes

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2.50

Calle Colla Raymi 104 Aguas Calientes, Sacred Valley, Peru, 84-211046

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Travel Blogs by Travelers Who Stayed at the Gringo Bills Aguas Calientes

Aguas Calientes, Sacred Valley, Peru braveliver1314
Machu Picchu

We left Ollyantambo this morning at 5:00 AM to catch our 5:30 train.  It was interesting seeing a line of Americans overwhelmed by backpacks walking through this tiny town in the pitch black.  Everyone was completely silent and seemed to keep their heads pointed up as the stars were so bright. After an hour and a half we arrived in Aguas Calientes, the town below Machu Picchu.  We got checked into our hotel and by 7:30 we were on the buses headed to the ruins.  Let me go ahead and say that Ma...

Aguas Calientes, Sacred Valley, Peru elise.hammonds
What The F_ck Were These People Thinking?

And I´ve got to say that I agree with Eric but I´ll get to that in a bit. We answered the 5:01 AM alarm --- the minute makes all the difference --- with no problem but, at least in my case, that wasn´t so much the product of getting to bed early and having a great sleep as it was tossing and turning for most of the night. Between the kids in the room above ours partying until the wee hours of the morning and my body´s slow acclimation to my steady diet of trout in as many ways as the Peruvian...

Machu Picchu, Peru judasdac
Machu F_cking Picchu!

Tuesday, the day of our trip to Machu Picchu, started auspiciously enough with Eric falling victim to Tupac Amaru´s revenge. I´ve got to say waking up to the sounds emanating from the bathroom at Gringo Bill´s wasn´t the most pleasant way to start the day. A few Cipros and chugs of water later and we were on the bus headed to Machu Picchu at the relatively early time of about 5:40 AM, which would get us to Machu Picchu in time to see the sunrise. Something about the big tourist sites like Mac...

Machu Picchu, Peru judasdac
Hello from South America

We left Mexico City flying Lan Peru to Lima and had an excellent flight with good service. Had prebooked one night in a hostel near to Lima airport, where a representative arranged to pick us up (midnight) and drop us back for the morning flight to Cusco. This worked out really well and was a good overnight stop. We had been told Lima was not the best place to spend a few days, so decided to give it a miss. The flight to Cusco was delayed for two hours due to poor visibility at Cusco, but des...

Cusco, Peru pauleddy
Machu Picchu! at long last :-)

17th July - 20th July 2008 Well as alot of you know I've wanted to see Machu Picchu since I was 6 years old and a couple of guys came to my infant school to do a talk on the Incas, they had been out in Peru working and showed us a slide show which included Machu Picchu and since then I've wanted to come here, well...I'm finally here nearly 20 years later but here all the same! We got to the train station about 5.30 so sat and chilled over a coffee as the train wasn't until 6am, it was then as...

Aguas Calientes, Sacred Valley, Peru pbush68
Cusco to Machu Picchu

So, off to Machu Picchu on the train. We went backpacker class but was still a fortune! Anyway, after 4 hours on the train we reached the village at the bottom of the Machu Picchu site called Aguas Calientes. Here we stayed at Gringo Bill´s hostal (very nice and friendly place) and then headed off to Machu Picchu on the half hour gringo-filled bus! At the top, we walked all around the old Inca site and were amazed at the grandeur of it and also how photogenic Machi Picchu was. We thought is w...

Machu Picchu, Peru risint
Mountains 2 - Ruth 0

Day 17: After the annoying driver from yesterday, the lady at the front desk promised us our taxi driver would be there on time to take us to the train station. That promise seemed to fade as we stood there waiting. Our driver ran into a problem and so she called a different taxi driver. We were a little concerned because the day before she told us to leave an hour before our train and now we'd be leaving about 30 minutes before our train. Again, we didn't know how long it would take to get t...

Machu Picchu, Peru ruthmike
Machu Picchu - every archaeologists dream

We arrived in Aquas Calientes (sometimes refered to as Machu Picchu Pleblo). It is mad the main street is not a street it is a railway. You stop and there you are in town!!! Again the fight of the hosteliers begins but i was coming down with a terrible cold and did not want to take any chances so we headed (with the aid of an internet cafe owner who took my bag - lovely man) to Gringo Bills BUT it was booked up. Probably good for us as it looked rather expensive. We got nabbed by a place next...

Aqua Calientes, Peru slp
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Historical Traveler Reviews of Gringo Bills Aguas Calientes

Gringo Bill's recommended

from sltravel
We stayed at Gringo Bill's for 2 nights and didn't encounter problems that other reviewers had encountered. We had no issues with hot water and the breakfast was ready at 5:30 am (fruits, breads, coffee, juice). The room was clean with a balcony facing the plaza.

Loved Gringo Bill's July 2006

from sohec
Although I had read several bad reviews about Gringo Bill's I still booked two rooms for myself and my traveling partner for three days this past July 29, 2006. Gringo Bill's was the only hotel that had rooms available for dates I would be in Aguas Calientes. It was in the Cosmos that everyday in Peru was to be a special day for me.

We arrived and were picked up at the train station and walked to the hotel which is a few minutes away.

We were greeted warmly by the staff, confirmed who we were and were helped up to our rooms that I had booked in May and paid for at their bank(no Paypal, too many problems reported from Paypal members). I had asked for a balcony room and that's what I got. My room was very nice with a little balcony, hot water/heat and clean. We got in early in the morning before check in time so my room was not ready yet, but I was able to leave my things and go off to get my bus tickets and entrance tickets to Machu Picchu. On my return, my room was ready. . I loved the hotel and the town. It was very comfortable and the staff was very friendly and warm (always asking how are you and did you like-? where ever we had gone to visit). As stated I booked our rooms in May, I think the owner Ms. Margarita overcharged us a bit. $90. (US) with a very small breakfast. I saw the rooms for less online after I already had booked. Oh well...She wasn't there the few days we stayed, but her nephew Hanz was managing the hotel and he truly took care of us. He was so pleasant, charming and very hospitable. He spent time with us talking, eating and even went shopping with us so that we would not be overcharged at the market. I loved Gringo Bill's and Aguas Calientes. It couldn't get better. No cars...In by train out by train...

I'm happy to have had a good stay at Gringo Bill's.....

Sohec

Overrated Hotel in Guidebooks

from A TripAdvisor Member
I spent an evening at Gringo Bill's at the end of June, 2006.

The toliet did not work, the room smelled like septic and the service from the receptionist was rude. Online I was offered a balcony view, dinner and a full american breakfast for $75.00. I made payment in advance thru Paypal online. I did not receive a balcony view, nor did I receive dinner at Gringo Bill's-the restaurant was closed and for breakfast I received coffee and bread. In addition, the receptionist kept questioning my payment/reservation. The guidebooks have overrated this hotel. I would not recommend this hotel to anyone. Don't be fooled by their website and the ease of payment thru Paypal.

Gringo Bill's Hostal in Aguas Calientes - overrated and overpriced

from pulcino3
I stayed at Gringo Bill's in June 2006 because it was recommended in several guide books.

I made a reservation on their website and was required to send payment in full via PayPal a couple of months before my visit.

Despite the advance reservation and payment in full, once I got there I was asked about payment again. Fortunately, I had a copy of the payment receipt with me, which the receptionist didn't bother to return.

The room was very noisy, due to the ongoing construction next door and to the fact that it was facing the main plaza in Aguas Calientes.

The receptionist was unplesant (from the start) and refused to give me another room, although the hostal was almost empty and I made the request before even putting my bags down.

The shower had no hot water in the evening or in the early morning. Another guest there told me there supposedly was hot water later in the day, when everyone was at Machupicchu.

All in all, I found Gringo Bill's overrated and overly priced.

There are dozens of other hostals in Aguas Calientes (eg. John Hostal, Joe Hostal, etc) and next time I would definitely stay elsewhere.

Good budget choice, with some small problems

from A TripAdvisor Member
We had two rooms and stayed here for one night. Both rooms had big hot water problems. I actually burned myself because the water was either boiling hot or icy cold. My screams during my shower could probably be heard all through Aguas Calientes! The bathrooms were not sparkling clean, either. The free breakfast was pretty sub-par, with a few pieces of dried out bread, some unripened tropical fruit, and little cups of juice. That said, we actually had a pretty nice stay. The beds were comfortable, and, the though the staff didn't go the second mile, they did fulfill all of our requests. The location was nice, and we had one room with a balcony that overlooked the charming square beneath. We spend some time sitting out there looking at the people doing their thing, and it was fun and memorable... we would stay there again. Not every budget hotel can be perfect, and this one wasn't, but, it fit our needs quite well.

Gringo Bill's not Great

from justintimeforlaugh
My husband and I stayed at Gringo Bill's for two nights in Sept 2005. We booked a room with balcony - don't waste your money. There is no decent view from the hotel. Additionally, our shower had an open electrical connection box in it. We complained and were told they would take care of it - they never did. The shower also leaked all over the floor. However, the location was great for getting to the bus to Machu Picchu in the morning. If we ever go back to Machu Picchu, we would not stay at Bill's.

For food, we recommend Pueblo Viejo. Anything grilled was fantastic.

Gringo Bill's- not highly recommended

from Travels2005
We stayed at Gringo Bill's for 2 nights in July. Like other people, we had also prepaid but when we arrived they had no knowledge of this and tried to get us to pay again. Also, they had given away the room I had reserved and we ended up staying in a smaller, older room with no heat. In July it was freezing cold and we ended up sleeping under 4 wool blankets but still it wasn't enough. The location of the hotel is in a shady spot and the walls are concrete so it is quite cold inside even if it is nice outside.

The next night we moved into the room I had originally reserved, which was more expensive (60 USD) and advertised to have heat. The heat consisted of a portable gas heater that was moved between rooms for a few hours in each room. But probably no one could manage to sleep the whole night with this heater anyway because of the gas fumes and smell. At one point we tried to use the heater with the window open just to have breathable air but eventually gave up, returned the heater, and settled down for another freezing night.

There are no phones in the rooms and if you need anything you will have to go down to the front desk and wait around for someone to show up to help you.

The included breakfast was horrible: bread and very watery hot chocolate served by 1 over-worked man who was trying to run around and serve all tables at once. You can pay extra to get something else such as eggs or pancakes but be prepared to wait a long time due to having only one person cooking for and serving all guests. Breakfast took us about 40 minutes and the second day we didn't bother returning for the free breakfast, but instead paid to eat somewhere else!

Plumbing problems, lost reservations

from A TripAdvisor Member
Gringo Bill's is very cute place, full of atmosphere, but has some significant problems. First, they had no idea we were coming. I had paid in full when I made the reservation through Peru-hotels. Luckily, I had printed out all the conformation paperwork and they agreed to let us stay, though they moved one of us from room to room. Another person who arrived at the same time, made his reservation through the same service, did not have proof and they did not give him a room.

The bathroom had not been cleaned - old soaps and hairs all over. When I asked it to be cleaned, they gave me an extra towel to wipe it down with. The first night we had no hot water and no cold water in the shower. There was a significant leak under the sink, with water all over the floor in the bathroom. It was obvous they knew that the leak was there - there was a plastic bucket under the sink, but it did no good - the water ran down the wall, not into the bucket. At first, nobody would even come to look at it when we complained at the desk. Reluctantly, a fellow came and restored the hot water, the water to the tub and gave us several towels to absorb the leak under the sink. The next day, while we were gone, they did fix the leak under the sink. Our co-traveller was moved to another room that had no cold water and the toilet ran all the time. They did manage to get her cold water, but could not fix the toilet. The last morning, we had no water at all.

Frequently, there was nobody available at the front desk and several of us would gather and wait until somebody showed up; 10 - 20 min or so. They do have bag storage, and stored our bags after our check out for a few hours. When I came to pick up the bags, there was nobody around and I found that the equipment storage area was unlocked. I simply picked up our bags and left. Anyone could have done the same.

We will not stay there again. There are plenty of wonderful hostals to choose from in Cusco and Aguas Calientes.

Modest rooms are great value

from travelfreedom
Gringo Bill's Hostal is located off of a small square, nestled in the hillside of Aguas Calientes. Although it's name suggests that it is a hostal, it offers a better product and services than any hostal i have experienced. The rooms are basic and clean, with hot water 24 hours a day. Many of the rooms have balconies, which look onto local life of the square below. The property also offers a complimentary breakfast, which consists of coffee or tea, bread and condiments. You can also order an American breakfast for an additional charge. For the mere $27.00US/night that I paid, it was an amazing deal. It is minutes from local shops and restaurants, as well as the bus stop for transportation up to Macchu Picchu. They also have a website for direct bookings.

Gringos offers great value

from A TripAdvisor Member
gringo bills is in the city of aguas calientes, this is the start point if you want to visit Machu Picchu, gringo bills offered very comfortable rooms with nice size bathrooms for a great price. it is located a few minutes from the train station (same train that comes from cuzco). it was clean and offered come great banana pancakes for breakfast. staff was friendly and very helpful to offer local eateries.

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