After a tour through Colombia we decided to come to Peru and boy was that a good decition. Casa Andina was the perfect spot. The hotel has a great staff and they are allways wanting to make you feel special. The concierge was stupendous. The guy knew where all the hot places were and even arranged for us to have a tour of the city with the Hotel driver at no extra cost.

The hotel's room are very comfortable and the sheets are very nice too. If you are a cigar fanatic like I am, they have Cigars available for sale. I had some good Montecristo's after dinner in the property.

We stayed three nights in a spacious and comfortable double (actually two double beds) room. The room was cosy (important here because it gets cold at night), very clean with a modern bathroom with plenty of hot water (actually the shower pressure could not be changed so it was always on full!). Free safe in the room. We had a great view of Lake Titicaca from our room (see photos). The hotel is on the shores of Lake Titicaca on the very edge of Puno city, about 4km from the centre of town (Plaza de Armas). Taxi into town costs about 6 nuevo soles.

Free internet for 30 mins each day. Lovely lobby and nice bar (if comparatively pricey).

Restaurant very good. Good place to try the guinea pig as it is a bit toned down for westerners. It comes in joints rather than spreadeagled on the plate. Nevertheless I still found it a bit too rich for my taste. Great buffet breakfast as we found all over the place in Peru - the fresh tropical fruit is good as are the homemade biscuits and cakes.

We did a few trips with good local operator "Kontiki". Floating Uros islands & Taquile Island, Puno market and nearby Chimu and Chucuito villages, and our transfer back to Juliaca airport via the beautiful archealogical site of Sillustani. All trips interesting in their own ways.

In Puno I would recommend "Le Gourmet Gaston" at 775 Calle Lima, just off Plaza de Armas for great andean food. We went at lunchtime and the place was full of smart locals eating there. I would also recommend the Dreyer museum where the somewhat pricey admission fee includes a very good personal guided tour of the exhibits which include a fabulous golden treasure hoard from Sillustani discovered in the mid 70s.

From the hotel it's a five minute leisurely walk in the direction of Puno to the lovingly rescued "Yavari", an antique ship which you can visit in the grounds of the Sonesta Posada hotel. Admission and a guided tour is free but visitors are encouraged to leave a donation towards maintenance and ongoing work on the vessel.