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Inside a Room at the Orient-Express Hotel Monasterio in Cusco, Peru

Go To The Hotel's Web Site Where: Calle Palacio 136, Cusco, Peru
October 17, 2012 at 3:07 PM | by | Comments (0)

If you've made it as far as Cusco, Peru, chances are you want to feel like you're in Cusco, Peru. That's where the Hotel Monasterio comes into play, as it not only calls a well preserved 15th century monastery home (hence the name), but keeps the furnishings and food as locally sources as possible. It's not all so foreign, however; the toiletries are L'Occitane, the staff speaks excellent English and its membership in the Orient-Express Collection ensures a certain level of service.

Yesterday we showed you all around the property and made mention of the fact that it was the first Cusco hotel to introduce the option of oxygen enriching guest rooms to counter the effects of Cusco's high altitude. Luckily we didn't suffer from "soroche," or altitude sickness, and thus didn't need to add the additional service.

Rooms here begin at $310 per night, which includes a very large breakfast buffet and property-wide WiFi.

What we liked:
· Free and fast WiFi despite the thick stone monastery walls.
· The commitment to preserving the historic building. You definitely won't mistake the Monasterio for a chain hotel.
· Extra amenities like the private chapel, al fresco courtyard dining and lobby lounge coca tea.
· The complimentary breakfast buffet opened very early (5am) for guests heading out on tours and the spread was large, with the additional option of the ordering a hot entree.
· The concierges are extremely experiences in arranging Machu Picchu tour and train ticketing.
· El Tupay restaurant was awesome for ambience, cuisine and value (we paid $50 for one person, totally binging on foie gras and such).
· Turndown service includes pillow chocolates (which are becoming quite rare)

Things to note:
· The extra $48/day charge for oxygen enriching the room (optional).
· Rooms of the Superior category (the lowest) are small with little chance of a view, but they were monk's quarters once...
· The monk chanting you can occasionally hear in the courtyard? It's piped-in music.
· It can get pretty chilly at night, depending on the season. Check the wardrobe for extra-thick blankets.

Disclosure: We stayed as a guest of Orient-Express but all photos and opinions are completely our own.

[Photos: Cynthia Drescher]

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