Here we look at the best hotels in the city of Cusco, Peru, the capital of the Incas who called it the "navel of the world."
Cusco, Peru is one of the world’s tourist capitals and has the highest number of hotels and guest rooms in Peru. Here is a list of the top; the five very best hotels in Cusco:
-Hotel Monasterio (Calle Palacios 136, Plazoleta Nazarenas, tel: (51 84) 24 1777, www.monasterio.orient-express.com)- Set in a former monastery that was once an Incan palace, this is widely considered one of the finest hotels in the world. Extreme elegance and decadence is paired with unique features such as oxygen being pumped into the guest rooms to scare off soroche, or altitude sickness. Illary, which many consider the best restaurant in the Cusco is located just off the colonial style courtyard.
-Libertador Palacio del Inka (Plazoleta Santo Domingo 259, tel: (51 84) 23 1961, www.libertador.com.pe) - Sitting just beside Qorikancha, (aka the Incan temple of the Sun or San Francisco Church), the Libertador Cusco is one of the second most luxurious hotel in Cusco’s center outside of the Monasterio. The hotel is several centuries old and built of mostly Incan stone walls. It was used as a resting place for important figures from around the Incan empire and later a house for Spanish nobility. An Inti Napaykuy (Greeting to the Sun)show and buffet is performed solely for their visitors.
-Casa Andina Private Collection (Plazoleta de Limacpampa Chico - 473, tel: (51 84) 23-2610 www.casa-andina.com)- Located just a few blocks from the main plaza, the first of Casa Andina’s private collection in the city (they have four other of their hotels here though) opened in 2007. The 18th century colonial house will have more than one hundred rooms by the end of 2007 and can have oxygen pumped in on request.
-Novotel (San Augustin 239, tel: (51 84) 581-030, www.novotel.com) - The ninety nine rooms in a 16th century building are quite stunning and comfortable. The stylish courtyard, bar area, and restaurants are big pluses too. The hotel is located just a few blocks from the plaza.
-Casa San Blas Boutique Hotel (Tocuyeros 566, tel: (51 84) 237900, www.casasanblas.com)- Hidden away in a small alley in the San Blas arts quarter of Cusco, the hotel is the first boutique hotel in Cusco, Peru. Many of the large rooms and suites face the center of the city from high on the hillside giving you stunning views of the surrounding mountains and villages, particularly at night when the stars are out and house lights are light.
