Peru Travel Guide
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Libertador's Westin Lima Has Opened (Gasp) a Month Early
Presidential Suite
It so rarely happens but yes, a hotel has opened--no, not on time, but early. (We know, take a minute to compose yourself.) OK, so we had it listed as May 1 on our master list, but the Westin Lima wasn't really going to open until June and then, voila!, its doors opened, as if by magic, on May 16.
Not only is the property--the third under the Libertardor partnership with Starwood--ahead of the game, it's also quite dashing looking, as you can see from these photos.
Cubicle Dreamin' / Peru Hotels / Starwood Hotels / Luxury Collection Hotels / → All Tags
When Can We Hit The Quinoa Trail at Tambo del Inka?
Cubicle Dreamin' is a feature in which we ask the hotel mavens to take some time out of their busy work day, surf the Internet, and tell us what hotel they wish they could beam themselves to right that very second--all on the slave driving company's dime, of course. Oh, like these people aren't surfing aimlessly anyway; at least now their purposeless clicking will be cobbled together into useful hotel stories--we hope. Have a destination hotel you are just dying to leave your cube for? Send the story our way.
Call us crazy but this edition of Cubicle Dreamin' actually involves health. All summer long, you see, we've been eating out, partying hard and generally having a good time doing things that are not very good for us. So now, as we return to the grind, we're daydreaming about a getaway that can kick both our mind and body back into gear.
Which is why we love the sound of The Quinoa Trail at Tambo Del Inka in Peru's Sacred Valley.
Hotel Bathrooms / Peekaboo Bathrooms / Hotel Design / Peru Hotels / Cusco Hotels / → All Tags
Cusco's Fallen Angel has a Peekaboo Diorama Bathroom
While we were staying at the Casa Cartagena in Cusco last month, we popped over to the nearby Plazoleta Nazarenas to scope out Fallen Angel, a restaurant-lounge-guest house frequented by the city’s glitterati.
There, we fell under the spell of fancy finger foods and odd furnishings like a 10-foot sparkly angel sculpture, tables that are made from bathtubs converted into fish tanks with glass tabletops on them, and bathrooms that are categorized by “Angel” and “Devil” rather than by sex so that patrons can self-segregate depending on their mood that evening.
But the restaurant bathrooms have nothing on one of the restrooms we spotted upstairs in one of the four new, equally quirky guest rooms.
HotelChatter Reviews / Peru Hotels / Boutique Hotels / Luxury Hotels / Cusco Hotels / → All Tags
High Altitude Means High End at Cusco’s New Casa Cartagena
When we told friends that we were going to Cusco last week, every single one of them, without exception, asked us if we were staying at the city’s most famous and historic property, Orient-Express Hotel Monasterio. We weren’t.
Instead, we got a sneak peek at the city’s newest boutique luxury property, the 16-suite Casa Cartagena, which, as it turns out, is right next door to the Monasterio, but feels a world away.
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Starwood Adds Peruvian Hotels to Its Luxury Collection
When you think Machu Picchu, you probably don't think luxury—but Starwood is hoping to change that, with the addition of a new hotel to its Luxury Collection. The newly opened Tambo del Inka is just 50 minutes from Cusco, making it a great base from which to explore the Sacred Valley. (Dude, there's a spa. Perhaps now we may finally get into this thing called "hiking.")
Starwood are partnering with Libertador Hotels, Resorts & Spas on Tambo del Inka, which has 128 rooms and suites, all with views of the Andes and Vilcanota river.
Treehouse Hotels / Sweet Suites / Eco-Hotels / Peru Hotels / → All Tags
The Canopy Tree House Suite: The Best Room in The Entire Forest
HotelChatter love love loves Treehouse Hotels. We don't know why. Maybe we watched the "Swiss Family Robinson" way too many times on the Disney Channel growing up. But either way, we love 'em and this new Canopy Tree House Suite at the Inkaterra Reserva Amazonica in Peru has us extremely giddy.
If you're looking to spice up your next hotel stay, you must book this suite which sits 90 feet above the forest floor and offers up close and personal viewing of toucans, monkeys, orchids and fauna. But it's not just a wooden plank that's been plopped into a tree and secured by a few nails. No, the thatched roof and wooden treehouse is not only exclusive but a little ritzy too. Well, as ritzy as you can get in a rainforest.
From the hotel:
The Tree House can only be accessed via Inkaterra’s existing Canopy Walk network and is serviced by a dedicated Canopy Butler reachable via walkie-talkie. Meals, excursions, and sundowners on the Canopy Walk network can be arranged by your butler.
Peru Hotel Reviews / Cool Hotels / Hotel Hell / → All Tags
Hotel Libertador Might Look Cool, But Really It Isn't
This picture would be enough to convince us to book a stay at the Libertador Lago Titicaca Puno in Peru without doing any further research. But it seems like we might be disappointed.
This place obviously looks amazing, and definitely has the location thing going for it. It's on Esteves Island on Lake Titicaca, you get amazing views, and it even has a private dock so you can sail off across the lake at your whim.
But it's meant to be a five-star hotel, and it's hard to find anyone who actually thinks it is. Big complaints come in about the beds--we're talking "worst things I've ever slept on" and even worse for people of above-average height. The Libertador is also looking pretty dated on the inside and in need of some modernization and upgrading.
From the outside, this might look like one of the coolest hotels you'll ever stay it. Take pictures looking at the hotel from the lake to impress your friends; then stay in the hotel with low, low expectations, and everyone'll be happy. Rates for standard twin and queen rooms start at $115 a night including breakfast--from the breakfast tables you can watch sunrise over Lake Titicaca. So it's definitely not all bad.
[Photo: templar1307]
Peru Hotel Reviews / Boutique Hotels / → All Tags
Scrap the Backpacker Trail: Take A Boutique Entrance to Machu Picchu
Yes, we subscribe to the standard world traveler's dream of wanting to visit Machu Picchu one day. But we will be sure to spend some time in the gateway town of Cusco on our way there because the La Casona Inkaterra Cusco looks like a damn nice place to stay.
Opening almost a year ago, it claims to be the first boutique hotel to hit Cusco and has just eleven suites arranged around a central courtyard. But although it's a historical building that some think was the first Spanish-built structure in Cusco, it's got all the modern touches too with heated floors and iPods. We see no shame in mixing nifty old stuff with the comforts of technology so we're all for this trend.
For a new hotel things are rolling along nicely--we looked at bookings today and the next month is booked solidly. For a patio suite next month you'd pay $600 a night, or $940 a night for the superior plaza suites. The Incas would no doubt be shocked at these prices but for most people a Peruvian vacation is a once-in-a-lifetime (maybe because you can't afford a second time).
Green Hotels / Hotel Openings / Peru Hotel Reviews / Hotel Hype / → All Tags
Boutique Hotels Are Even Springing Up Near Machu Picchu
If you want to trek to Machu Picchu, but sleep beforehand with a bit of style, take note of the new La Casona Inkaterra, opening this month. It's Cusco's first boutique hotel (with just 11 rooms), a renovation of a colonial manor house. Each suite overlooks either the hotel's courtyard (Patio Suites) or has views over the town of Cusco (Plaza Suites).
Laguna Seca / Peru Hotel Reviews / → All Tags
In Peru, the Hotel and Spa Laguna Seca is Worth Checking Out
Tropical spas usually mean world-class workout facilities, intense yoga classes and steep prices. But that's not the case at Hotel & Spa Laguna Seca in Cajamarca, Peru, about a two-hour flight from Lima. The 42-room resort may not have exercise classes or meditation--in fact,guests can even smoke in the dining area--but it has enough deluxe accommodations that even the most stressed of travelers can unwind.
Guests lounge in fluffy white terry-cloth robes between unique spa treatments like Turkish bath sessions, dips in geothermal pools, and one-and-a-half-hour mud messages and mineral baths that cost a fraction of typical costs in the U.S. or Europe. (Double occupancies start at $120 a night and massages will set travelers back a mere $40.)
But guests don't need to partake in Laguna Seca's lengthy service menu to enjoy all the resort has to offer. Rooms boast beautiful views of the grounds, which include gardens, cobblestone courtyards and fountains. And each bathroom has its own huge sunken tub that's perfect for unwinding, with the same geothermal water Incas swore by for medicinal purposes. [Photo: NYT Times
Related Stories:
· Check In, Check Out: Hotel & Spa Laguna Seca [NYT]
· Peru Hotel Reviews [HotelChatter]
Lima Hotel Reviews / Peru Hotel Reviews / Best Western Hotels / → All Tags
Best Western in Lima May Be Your Best Bet
An FOHC--that'd be a friend of HotelChatter--just got back from an 11-day trip through in Peru. While he didn't enjoy being trapped on a boat with retirees, cruising up the Amazon, he did have a time and a half in Lima.
He dropped this report in our tip jar after spending a couple nights in the Peruvian capital:
In a huge city like Lima, a ride from the airport is a valuable commodity. The Best Western Embajadores will send a driver to the airport for you. Nothing like coming out of customs and seeing a sign with your name on it, held by a friendly driver. Embajadores is only 5 blocks from the best shopping center in town, built into the cliffs above the beach.
Hotel E is compact, very clean and well-maintained, and features an excellent breakfast buffet, with eggs, boiled yucca, a variety of breads, and Peruvian fruit. The hotel staff were eager to practice their English on us, and did very well. Miraflores is a well-to-do section of Lima, with plenty of shops and restaurants.
From the hotel it is an easy walk to the long park built along the top of the cliff above the beach. Lots of joggers, strolling couples, and ice cream vendors on 3 wheeled bikes. For 58 dollars a night, this is a great bargain!
Just don't get your hopes up about the rooftop pool--our tipster's been in hot tubs that were bigger.
[Photo: Tripadvisor]
Related Stories:
· Best Western Lima reviews [TripAdvisor]
Hotels in Peru / → All Tags
A Peruvian Bath Butler in the Nice Neighborhood
You can go two routes when staying in Lima, Peru: sketchy neighborhood or nice neighborhood. We're going to go ahead and highly recommend the good neighborhood and its hotel, the Miraflores Park Hotel.
So you know the neighborhood is safe but to add to your feeling of well-being, it also helps to know that this hotel comes in at #1 with TripAdvisor. Past guests have appreciated the staff, hotel restaurant, breakfast, location, and rooms but what we find the most interesting here is the Bath Butler.
Bath butlers aren't very new but just in case you didn't know, here's how they describe it:
The very act of calling the Bath Butler suggests that you are preparing to lapse into a couple of hours of state-of-the-art relaxation and decadent, purely selfish pleasure.
The Bath Butler sets the scene of your choice - You might begin with a half hour massage in your room, and in the meantime, the Bath Butler is busy drawing your bath with your selection of bath salts, oils and soaps. The bathroom lights are dimmed and scented candles are placed around the bath while music of your choice plays in the background.
It seems they stop at nothing, no matter what type of soap or scent you want, Champagne, massage, you name it. The Bath Butler Package rates start at $480 per night and includes the Presidential Suite.
And all this time, we didn't think Peru was that kind of destination. But again, this is all the more reason why it's important to take your bath in the good neighborhood.
Related Stories:
· Miraflores Park Hotel Reviews [TripAdvisor]
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