Peru: Where to Stay: Setting: Machu Picchu Hotel

Machu Picchu Hotel

On a hillside overlooking the Vilcanota River, paved paths wind among a profusion of bushes and trees to connect the hotel’s eighty-five casitas, which are built on more levels than you can count. Nothing’s higgledy-piggledy about the running of the place, though; the service is friendly and professional.

With their whitewashed walls and red-tile roofs, the casitas are charming on the outside, and they’re spacious and comfortable within. A terra-cotta-tile floor, exposed eucalyptus rafters, white cotton curtains and plain wooden furniture covered with gorgeously colored local textiles make up the attractive, unpretentious decor. The open fire can be lit on request. The stone, glass and marble bathrooms have showers but not tubs.

If the hotel has a slightly restless atmosphere, it’s because its raison d’être is to serve as a base for Machu Picchu (half an hour away by coach) and few visitors stay for more than one or two nights. From the highly civilized tearoom to the outdoor bar by the central plunge pool, there are plenty of places to relax at the end of a day’s sightseeing. Both the glass-fronted double-height main dining room and the more informal Café Inkaterra, idiosyncratically sited at the bottom of the hill on a railroad platform, serve good food with an emphasis on local ingredients, such as Andean trout, quinoa risotto and spicy alpaca brochettes. Other amenities are a sauna, a spa with four treatment rooms and a tastefully stocked gift shop. Children are welcome; indeed, the hotel accommodates those under twelve free.

Go to What to See & Do for tips on visiting Machu Picchu. In addition, the hotel also offers many other activities, including perusing its beautiful orchid garden (it contains 372 varieties) and going on nature walks through the grounds. More energetic guests can hike up the mountains adjoining Machu Picchu. En route to the Inca city is the Manuel Chavez Ballon Museum, with a fine collection of artifacts from the site.

INDAGARE TIP: The best suites are Numbers 39 and 40, which can be combined to create one large luxurious villa. They have private terraces with daybeds, plunge pools and outdoor showers and are the only rooms with televisions and DVD players.