Peru

Monasterio, A Belmond Hotel, Cusco stands at the heart of the old Peruvian city, on Plazoleta Nazarenas, just two blocks from the Plaza de Armas. A protected national monument, it began as the Seminary of San Antonio Abad, built in 1592 on the foundations of an Inca palace, layer upon layer telling the story of a city written by one civilization and then another. An earthquake damaged the building in 1650, and during its reconstruction a small but splendid Baroque chapel was added, still open to guests today; its old oil paintings in gold-plated frames move many guests more than any sight in town. In 1995 it was reborn as a hotel. It holds 117 rooms and suites, once monks' quarters, now dressed in dark wood, antique art, and soft alpaca blankets, with marble bathrooms and views over the quiet cloistered courtyards or Cusco's red-tiled rooftops. Because Cusco sits at high altitude and many feel it on arrival, the hotel offers rooms with oxygen-enriched air for an easier night's sleep, and a butler will even draw you a bath after a day on the cobbled streets.

What makes Monasterio so affecting is the way it has set time into atmosphere. At the center, a cloistered courtyard is anchored by a cedar tree some three hundred years old, over the fountain and the guests who pass. The hotel holds one of Cusco's finest private collections of 17th and 18th century Cusco School religious painting, and an expert can walk you through the symbolism and myth behind each work, and into the chapel rarely open to the public. Dining is rooted in the same history: at El Tupay, candlelit dinners unfold beneath stone arches, sometimes to the voice of a soprano, while Illariy serves breakfast and lunch in the leafy courtyard. You are welcomed with muña tea, and you might sip a Pisco Sour in the vaulted lounge to the faint sound of Gregorian chant. This is a hotel for those who like history to keep them company through the night.

With 115 guest rooms and suites dotted around the lake filled compound, the hotel allows you to choose between colonial style rooms and suites in the historic hacienda, adorned in paintings from the Cusco Art School, or contemporary lodging in more modern buildings. For something extra special, stay at one of the two bedroom duplexes known as the Lake Suites, which are decorated to complement the three main regions of Peru — the coast, the highlands, and the jungle — and feature living rooms, kitchenettes, and magnificent mountain views.

Escape to a luxurious and mystical journey like no other at Tambo del Inka, a Luxury Collection Resort & Spa, Valle Sagrado. Our luxury hotel in Peru is nestled in the heart of the Sacred Valley of the Incas and stands as a contemporary doorway to the vast cultural richness of this region. The only hotel in Urubamba with a private train station to Machu Picchu, we go to every length to ensure your experience is truly an awe-inspiring one. You'll love lingering in your elegantly designed hotel room or suite with mesmerizing views of the Andes and the Vilcanota River from a private balcony. 

Savor the refined dining options available at our hotel, with on-site restaurants featuring organic ingredients and local products. Our lobby bar even serves refreshing cocktails. Indulge in self-care at our therapeutic spa and maintain your exercise routine at our premier fitness center and heated indoor pool. Luxurious adventure awaits at Tambo del Inka, a Luxury Collection Resort & Spa, Valle Sagrado.

Just a sun-drenched stroll from the Plaza de Armas, Palacio Nazarenas, A Belmond Hotel, Cusco occupies a 17th-century convent built, in turn, on the foundations of Inca stone walls. This intimate urban retreat holds just 55 suites, each enriched with supplemental oxygen to ease the adjustment to Cusco's altitude. Inside, four-poster beds are dressed in hand-embroidered coverlets, Peruvian marble bathrooms run warm with underfloor heating, and hand-painted frescoes watch over the soaking tub. Some suites preserve original Inca stonework, vaulted ceilings, and hand-carved woodwork; others open onto balconies with views of the distant, mist-wrapped Andes. Every suite comes with its own private bar, where your 24-hour butler can be summoned to demonstrate a proper Pisco Sour, Peru's national drink.

The signature restaurant, Mauka, is led by acclaimed Peruvian chef Pía León, the force behind the Lima institutions Kjolle and Central. Her menu draws on the terroir of Cusco and the surrounding Andes, turning local produce into genuine invention. At Hypnôze Spa, a glass floor reveals Inca stonework beneath your feet, and treatments are built from native botanicals, pink Andean salt, purple corn, and coca. Hidden within the largest of seven cloistered terraces lies Cusco's first outdoor heated pool, the social heart of the palace. Mornings might begin with yoga on a sun-splashed terrace above the water; afternoons call for a cup of mate de coca in the secret garden. This is a palace that stitches Inca, colonial, and contemporary under one roof, a place to read Cusco's soul before you set out for the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu.

Rio Sagrado, A Belmond Hotel, Sacred Valley sits at the heart of the Incas' Sacred Valley in Peru, right on the bank of the Urubamba River, which gives the hotel its name: in Quechua it means Sacred River. This is Belmond's most Andean property, about an hour to ninety minutes from Cusco airport, and its lower altitude makes it an ideal place to acclimatize before the climb to Machu Picchu. The whole hotel is built to resemble a traditional Andean village, its stone-and-timber casitas scattered through riverside gardens and shaped to merge with the valley. There are 21 rooms and suites, plus two villas, each with three bedrooms, its own living and dining rooms, and a kitchen, sleeping up to six. Interiors are dressed in alpaca wool and bright local color, each with a private terrace and floor-to-ceiling windows, beds angled toward the valley, and no television, so only the river and the wind keep you company. On arrival, a doorman sounds a conch shell, the pututu once used to welcome Inca royalty.

At Rio Sagrado, the valley sets the pace. Step out of your casita in the morning and the resort's baby alpacas greet you on the lawn; feeding them, at eight and four, is the softest memory many guests carry home. The Mayu Willka Spa, Sacred River again in Quechua, draws only on Andean herbs, minerals, and botanicals, with two warm pools, one indoors and one on a deck above the river. Dining turns on Inca superfoods and produce from the hotel's own garden, and El Huerto serves trout from the Urubamba and highland ingredients passed down for generations. You can ride through the villages, raft the river, or begin morning yoga with a shaman's tribute to Pachamama, Mother Earth. Best of all, the hotel has its own private station, and from January to April the legendary Hiram Bingham train departs the grounds directly for Machu Picchu. This is a place for those who want to slow down and draw close to the land.