Top 10 Hotels In Cusco And The Sacred Valley, Peru

Hostal Madre Tierra, Cusco

High up in the picturesque artists’ quarter of San Blas, with its narrow cobbled streets and whitewashed houses, this small and cosy guesthouse has just seven rooms. All are decorated in natural materials – including wicker furniture – and the wine-red bedspreads add a welcoming touch. There’s a small living area with a crackling fireplace and the buffet breakfast is served at the communal table in the open-plan kitchen.
• Doubles from $58 B&B, +51 84 248452, hostalmadretierra.com

El Balcón, Cusco

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A short walk from Cusco’s main plaza, this welcoming guesthouse built on Incan agricultural terraces has a lovely wooden balcony running the length of the colonial-era building. The cosy, rustic rooms have sturdy beds with orthopaedic mattresses, and the walls are adorned with woven materials and local artefacts. The leafy interior garden area is a pleasant spot to relax with a book, while the welcoming dining area has wooden furniture and brightly coloured local paintings.
• Doubles from $75, +51 84 236738, balconcusco.com

Andenes al Cielo, Cusco

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This central hotel in a colonial mansion offers a welcome respite from the hustle and bustle of Cusco’s streets. It is just a short walk from Cusco’s Plaza de Armas, with rooms set around a pretty internal courtyard. The neat and tidy doubles have tasteful plush chocolate-coloured furnishings and polished wooden floors, while the more spacious deluxe rooms with wooden beams come with fireplaces and balconies with street views.
• Doubles from $80 B&B, +51 84 222237, andenesalcielo.com

Rumi Punku, Cusco

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On Cusco’s picturesque Choquecheca Street, this hotel is built on an old Inca temple site and is entered via an ancient stone doorway (rumi punku is Quechua for stone door). The rooms are set around a series of courtyards with dangling potted plants, and are accessed via stone stairways with wooden banisters. Rooms have hardwood floors and robust beds draped with alpaca blankets, and there’s a pleasant lounge area with a fireplace, as well as a Finnish sauna, a hot tub and a gym.
• Doubles $100 B&B, +51 84 236957, rumipunku.com

El Albergue, Ollantaytambo

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In Ollantaytambo station, where trains to Machu Picchu Pueblo depart, this wonderful hotel, dating from 1925, has elegant yet rustic rooms with original parquet floors. Balconies and hallways are strewn with leather chairs and large containers used to store chicha, Peru’s national beverage, made from fermented maize. The walls are adorned with artist and owner Wendy Weeks’ abstract paintings, while the living area features hand-woven textiles, a wooden harp and nostalgic black-and-white photos. The gardens, visited daily by hummingbirds, are home to passionflower, fuchsia, avocado and peach trees, while the organic farm, with its aromatic herbs and vegetable garden, supplies the restaurant with seasonal produce.
• Doubles from $84 B&B, +51 84 204014, elalbergue.com

Las Casitas del Arco Iris, Urubamba

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Amid pretty gardens full of hummingbirds, swallows and butterflies, this lovelyposada (guesthouse) is run by Niños del Arco Iris, a non-profit foundation that runs five programmes for deprived children and youngsters, offering healthcare and education, including careers in carpentry, wood sculpture and industrial sewing. Set in 2.7 hectares of land, the welcoming rooms with parquet floors are furnished with young students’ work, from solid beds to handmade lamps and beautifully sewn curtains. The superior rooms are equipped with a fireplace, and the breakfast area has a cabinet with jewellery and other ornaments for sale, made by the pupils’ mothers. All profits go to the foundation.
• Doubles from $80, +51 84 201475, lascasitasdelarcoiris.com

La Casa de Barro, Chinchero

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In the picturesque village of Chinchero, La Casa de Barro has warm and welcoming rooms with dark wood floors and thick adobe walls. Ceramic and wicker lamps provide mellow lighting, and the bedroom walls have floral designs. The large garden has outdoor seating shaded by parasols, and climbing plants adorn the side facade of the building. There’s an excellent restaurant too, serving Andean and Creole home cooking in a cosy dining area with a fireplace and decorated with leather masks, local fabrics and ceramics.
• Doubles from $88, +51 84 306 031, lacasadebarro.com

Rupa Wasi Lodge, Machu Picchu Pueblo

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In a prime location on the fringes of Machu Picchu Pueblo and the protected cloud forest, this eco-lodge is run by an enthusiastic team of young conservationists. The lodge’s wooden huts, all built using natural materials, blend in with the surrounding environment and are surrounded by avocado, walnut and native trees. The rooms are cosily furnished, with wooden beds and crisp, white linen and some have little balconies with cushioned seating overlooking the cloud forest and the town below. The lodge’s stylish restaurant, The Tree House, offers cuisine that blends the best of Peruvian, Asian, Italian and Latin American flavours. Guests can take two-hour cooking classes ($70pp), focusing on Peru’s star dishes, including causita acevichada (mashed potatoes topped with trout ceviche, avocado and sweet-and-sour tamarind sauce).
• Doubles from $65 B&B, +51 84 435 849, rupaswasi.net

Melissa Wasi, Písac

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This family-run guesthouse is a short walk from the town of Písac, home to some of the Sacred Valley’s most spectacular Inca ruins. A wooden entrance gate opens on to a large, peaceful garden with beautiful eucalyptus trees. The rustic rooms have clay tiles and wooden furniture, and the walls are brightened up with local fabrics. The spacious duplex bungalows have a kitchenette, a living area with fireplace, and a mezzanine bedroom. The restaurant area is built into natural rock, and yoga classes are held in the adjacent room. The owners’ son, a shaman, lives on the premises and performs ayahuasca ceremonies: medicinal rituals during which the hallucinogenic vine ayahuasca, said to purify and heal the body and mind, is consumed.
• Doubles from $95 B&B, +51 84 797589, melissa-wasi.com

Q’awana Lodge, Huarán

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The real draw here is the wonderfully peaceful location on the banks of the Urubamba river. Doubles, with wooden beams, overlook farmland or the garden, and woolly blankets add a cosy touch. Walls are painted in warm red and yellow hues, and the interiors are mostly in stone and wood. The larger family apartments giving on to the river have a private porch and living area with locally made carpets and sofas. Breakfast is served on a balcony with panoramic river views, and local and international dishes in the restaurant are prepared with organic ingredients sourced from the Sacred Valley.
• Doubles from $100 B&B, +51 97 4791456, qawana.com

By Kiki Deere www.theguardian.com

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