Cusco

Belmond Hotel Monasterio occupies a 16th-century monastery, but with modern amenities plus the service standards of Belmond hotels.

Palacio Nazarenas, A Belmond Hotel, Cusco, occupies a fabulous former palace and convent, but has been updated to feature the best room product in Cusco.

This 18th-century mansion was converted into a 94-room hotel in 2006 and quickly became a less expensive alternative to the Hotel Monasterio. In fact, it is the only four-star hotel in Cusco to offer oxygen-enriched rooms. (The five-star Monasterio, Palacio Nazarenas and the Casa Cartagena are the other options.) Casa Andina is a major Peruvian hotel chain, and the Private Collection brand is its most luxurious tier. This hotel is popular particularly with Europeans, who are drawn to the family rooms, which can accommodate six people.

Centered on three interior courtyards, the building has loads of Spanish colonial charm, which is played up in the public spaces. The lobby has huge wooden doors, stone archways, cobalt blue walls and views into the courtyard, with its stone fountain. There’s a lovely bar and sitting area off the lobby that has deep red walls, religious paintings in gilded frames and a stone fireplace where a fire burns continuously. The restaurant offers seating outside in the courtyard at umbrella-shaded teak tables and chairs and buzzes with locals from morning until late at night.

Often a woman sits weaving in the courtyard, giving visitors the sense that they are sitting in a village plaza somewhere in the Sacred Valley. The rooms are a tad corporate in feeling, as they have cookie-cutter furniture and generic bathrooms, but they are spacious and comfortable. And while it’s a bit less central than some of the other top hotels, Casa Andina is a great choice for families and those who don’t want to spend more than a lot per room.

Who Shouldn’t Stay

Those who expect antiques in every room and snap-to service.