Palacio Nazarenas, A Belmond Hotel, Cusco

Rooms and decor

Picture pushing through an old wooden door hidden in a corner of Plazoleta Nazarenas and stepping into the central courtyard of a colonial palace more than 400 years old — that is the first moment at Palacio Nazarenas. Belmond spent years on the restoration before opening in 2012, and the remarkable part is that the team uncovered genuine Inca stone walls beneath the colonial plaster, old ceiling frescoes, and storerooms from the building's convent days. All of it was left on show for guests rather than plastered back over. The 55 suites are done in warm Spanish-Peruvian cream and gold, with hand-woven Andean textiles as detail, soft king beds under alpaca throws, marble bathrooms with a separate tub, and a window sofa looking onto the inner garden or the tiled rooftops of the old town. Some suites have a private balcony with a distant view of the Andes. Waking to first light on an Inca stone wall feels like sleeping inside a page of Peruvian history — and no equally priced new build can manufacture that.

Food and amenities

What defines a stay here is not merely the pretty building — it is the oxygen-enrichment system wired into every room's air conditioning. Cusco sits 3,400m (11,150 ft) above sea level, and anyone flying straight in from Lima or home tends to hit altitude sickness: headaches, broken sleep, tiring fast. The system raises in-room oxygen toward the level of a lower city, and you genuinely sleep better and wake fresher than at other Cusco hotels. Plenty of reviews call it the reason their Machu Picchu trip started well from day one. Downstairs sits the heated outdoor infinity pool, the only one of its kind in the city, set in a quiet garden behind the old church wall — an oasis that feels a world away from the streets outside. Nearby is the Hypnoze spa, with about four treatment rooms using Andean herbs and Inca-inspired rituals alongside European technique; the leg treatment for tired Sacred Valley hikers is a favorite in reviews. Rounding it off is Senzo, its menu shaped by chef Virgilio Martinez of Central in Lima — contemporary Andean cooking built on Sacred Valley ingredients, served under old wooden beams and candlelight.

Location and getting there

The hotel sits in Plazoleta Nazarenas, a small, quiet square about a 3-minute walk from Plaza de Armas, the heart of Cusco, through the pretty cobbled lanes of the old town. Step out the door and you meet a real Inca stone wall running along the street — 1500s stonework so tightly fitted you cannot slip a blade between the blocks. The cathedral, the Pre-Columbian Art Museum, and Coricancha (the ancient Temple of the Sun) are all a 5-to-10-minute walk away, enough to fill your first half-day on foot without a single car ride. For the onward trip to Machu Picchu — the reason most people come to Peru — the location is hard to beat. Belmond runs the Hiram Bingham luxury train from a station near Cusco, seating you at a fine-dining table through the Andes to the foot of Machu Picchu in a single morning; the concierge can also book PeruRail's Vistadome or Expedition. Anyone keen on the Sacred Valley en route (Pisac, Ollantaytambo) can arrange a private tour straight from the hotel. Cusco airport (CUZ) is about 20 minutes by car, and the team handles transfers and can supply portable oxygen from the moment you land.

Things to know before booking

Straight talk to help you decide. The first thing to weigh is price: rooms start around $800 a night and climb past $1,850 for the larger suites, making this the most expensive hotel in Cusco. Whether that is worth it for a small mountain city comes down to how much you value the oxygen system, the infinity pool, the historic building, and easy access to the Hiram Bingham train. Many guests book just the first one or two nights here to acclimatize and start the trip well, then move to something cheaper. Second, it is all-suite with no budget entry room, so even a one-night Belmond trial costs full suite rate. Third, as a restored historic building, some suites have uneven layouts, ceilings of varying height, windows that do not open onto wide views, and the odd set of steps or split-level floor that may not suit young kids or older travelers — ask for a room plan and state your needs clearly when booking. Last, mind the altitude itself: the oxygen helps a lot, but take your first day slowly, drink plenty of water, and sip the coca tea the team offers on arrival before you go sightseeing in earnest.

Our take

After reading through hundreds of real guest reviews, Palacio Nazarenas, A Belmond Hotel, Cusco is the property that sells "start your Peru trip in serious style" with no real rival in the city. The in-room oxygen genuinely changes how an altitude trip feels, and the infinity pool and Hypnoze spa turn the night back from Machu Picchu into a reward worth every dollar. The building itself — a colonial palace over Inca stone over an old convent — is a layered piece of history you will not find anywhere else. Staff that reviews consistently describe as warm, and who remember your name, are the bonus that brings people back. If you are planning Peru and Machu Picchu as a once-in-a-lifetime trip and want your first Cusco night to be a soft, comfortable landing rather than a headache from thin air, this is the most complete choice. If you are traveling light on budget, this rate may take too big a slice of the trip. Overall we give it 9.5/10, best for couples, honeymooners, and luxury travelers who want a Machu Picchu trip they will remember for a long time.