Review - Palacio Nazarenas, A Belmond Hotel, Cusco

Palacio Nazarenas, A Belmond Hotel, Cusco

November 27th, 2024

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Introduction - The Best of Peru with Belmond

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Review - Miraflores Park, A Belmond Hotel, Lima

Review - El Salon by Newrest Lima

Review - LATAM Airlines Premium Economy Class A319 Lima to Cusco

Review - Palacio Nazarenas, A Belmond Hotel, Cusco

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Enroute:

Compared to Lima, Cusco is more of a tourism hotspot, as it’s the city you fly into when visiting Machu Picchu and the Sacred Valley. As a result, the hotel options were more abundant than those of Lima. There were the JW Marriott El Convento, Palacio del Inka, and the Inkaterra La Casona, a Peruvian brand that participated in Relais & Châteaux. To cater to its Hiram Bingham and Andean Explorer train guests, Belmond offered two properties in Cusco - Monasterio and Palacio Nazarenas. These two properties were right next to each other, so guests could freely access the shared facilities of either property.

We stayed at Palacio Nazarenas this time, the smaller of the two properties with just 55 rooms. Meanwhile, Monasterio had 122 rooms. After you claimed your luggage at Cusco Airport, there was a booth for Belmond if you had arranged transportation.

Check-in:

We met our driver Edison from the hotel and were soon on our way. He was the driver for our entire stay, so he took us to and from the Hiram Bingham train station the following day and back to the airport days later.

The hotel was around 20 minutes away from the airport and nestled among historic buildings on a small public square.

Palacio Nazarenas, A Belmond Hotel, Cusco Exterior

The hotel had a small lobby, given it was converted from an old convent. There was an alcove to the right that acted as the concierge desk. The hotel was giving me White Lotus season 2 vibes, as the religious theme was pervasive.

Palacio Nazarenas, A Belmond Hotel, Cusco Concierge

The front desk agent who checked us in was Jair. He suggested that since our room was ready, he could perform check-in in our room. He gave us a brief tour of the property, so the bellmen could have enough time to deliver our suitcases to the room. I absolutely adored the architecture of this hotel. Frankly, it might be the most charming hotel I’ve ever stayed at. There were two sections of the hotel, one of which was the actual convent from colonial times, while the other was added on later but followed the same aesthetic of the original building. Walking around the hotel, you wouldn’t be able to tell one from another, as they blended together so cohesively.

Palacio Nazarenas, A Belmond Hotel, Cusco Hallway

The hotel was made up with several courtyards, with rooms dotted along the parameters. Staff at the hotel were already preparing for Christmas. While most hotels would only have decorations in public areas, we had a Christmas wreath on the door of our room.

Palacio Nazarenas, A Belmond Hotel, Cusco Christmas Decoration

Unpack:

Much like the Belmond Miraflores Park in Lima, the base level rooms here were also marketed as junior suites. I am beyond obsessed with all the design details in this room. You’ll see what I mean.

Upon entry, there was an elongated landing leading to the main room. The bathroom was to the left.

Palacio Nazarenas, A Belmond Hotel, Cusco Junior Suite Entryway

What a fabulous bathroom. We were on the second floor, and the gable roof of the building gave the ceiling impressive height.

Palacio Nazarenas, A Belmond Hotel, Cusco Junior Suite Bathroom

The closets served as a transitional space between the entryway and the bathroom. There were two kinds of bathrobes. I guess the ones on the right were intended for day use? Temperatures in Cusco fluctuated quite a bit throughout the day.

Palacio Nazarenas, A Belmond Hotel, Cusco Junior Suite Closet

The bathroom complex featured dual vanity, a soaking tub and a walk-in shower. The towels here were extremely plush.

The logo of this hotel was the letter “Z”, derived from its name “Nazarenas”. The Z logo was prominent on many amenities around the hotel.

Now, how pretty were these birds on the bathroom wall???

The bedroom was punctiliously appointed, from the beautiful rug to the poster bed, from the opulent linen to the paintings that portrayed Inka daily life. Everything was so tasteful and appropriate for the setting.

Palacio Nazarenas, A Belmond Hotel, Cusco Junior Suite Bedroom

The rooms at Palacio Nazarenas were oxygen enriched - pure oxygen was pumped into the room continuously to relieve altitude sickness. Turndown service came with a few cute touches.

These slippers were possibly the best hotel slippers ever - comfy, stylish and sturdy.

Our housekeeper prepared us hot water bottles every night, which were placed inside these ridiculously cute Alpaca mitts.

It took somebody who cared to think of these granular details.

Complimentary pisco was provided in the room, as well as rum. Nothing says “hey, make yourself at home!” like a decanter of something already in the room.

We were told that our minibar was included, and that it would be replenished daily.

Palacio Nazarenas, A Belmond Hotel, Cusco Junior Suite Minibar

Customary at all Belmond properties, there was a pillow menu.

Palacio Nazarenas, A Belmond Hotel, Cusco Junior Suite Pillow Menu

We received a little fruit plate as welcome amenity, along with a handwritten note from the hotel manager.

Palacio Nazarenas, A Belmond Hotel, Cusco Junior Suite Welcome Amenity

You can place the knitted dolls to indicate whether you wish to have the room refreshed or to be left alone. It took some serious constraint for these to stay out of my suitcase.

Palacio Nazarenas, A Belmond Hotel, Cusco Junior Suite Do-Not-Disturb Signs

I truly enjoyed the paintings in our room. There were signatures on them. Can anyone identify them so I can procure one?

Palacio Nazarenas, A Belmond Hotel, Cusco Junior Suite Wall Art

Overall, I’m a huge fan of the design of our room. It was full of character.

Unwind:

Walking around the hotel can be a fun activity on its own. It kind of felt like a maze, because every turn was different.

Palacio Nazarenas, A Belmond Hotel, Cusco

I can’t begin to describe how magical it was to roam around the property, particularly at last light.

I kept imagining the lives of the nuns who used to live here. I would love to stay for a month or so, read and sunbathe in the numerous gardens, take care of plants and just simply ponder.

Like I mentioned earlier, every turn led you to something new and beautiful.

In keeping with the conservation spirit of the hotel, old ruins were protected when the new building was constructed.

Rather randomly, there was a small lounge with billiard, some bean bags and a coffee and tea setup.

Palacio Nazarenas, A Belmond Hotel, Cusco Billiard Lounge

Not surprisingly for a convent, there was a chapel within the hotel.

Palacio Nazarenas, A Belmond Hotel, Cusco Chapel

On the second floor was a cozy library, with similar coffee and tea setup as the billiard room.

Palacio Nazarenas, A Belmond Hotel, Cusco Library

The library’s windows opened up to the square in front of the hotel.

We didn’t have time to visit the spa here, but it looked pretty nice.

Palacio Nazarenas, A Belmond Hotel, Cusco Spa

Nazarenas had one of the more unique hotel gift shops, where it sold these cute ceramics from a local artist. I wanted to buy something from here. Unfortunately, after we returned from Machu Picchu, the shop was closed for the weekend.

Palacio Nazarenas, A Belmond Hotel, Cusco Gift Shop

Lastly, there was a gorgeous heated pool (84°F). We didn’t have a chance to swim in it, and I’m still bummed to this day.

Palacio Nazarenas, A Belmond Hotel, Cusco Pool

In late November, the evenings and the mornings were in the 40s, so the hotel set up a hot chocolate station by the pool.

Refuel:

Mauka was the only restaurant at Nazarenas, and it served three meals a day.

Palacio Nazarenas, A Belmond Hotel, Cusco Mauka Restaurant

The breakfast here was absolutely phenomenal. There was a small buffet spread for cold cuts, but the highlight was the à la carte menu.

We were first offered an array of juices, coffee and smoothies. The wait staff here were super encouraging of us trying different things.

Palacio Nazarenas, A Belmond Hotel, Cusco Mauka Restaurant Breakfast

We were proactively offered some coca tea, which is a common remedy in Cusco for altitude sickness.

Throughout our stay, we sampled freshly baked pastries with various jams, yoghurt bowls, fruits and etc. Of course, everything was excellent. Fun fact, in addition to quinoa and vicuña wool, Peru is one of the world’s top 5 producers of avocados, blueberries and asparagus.

I mean, look how pretty it all was.

And was this not the cutest donut, dusted with peanut powder???

I asked one of the wait staff if they had any hot sauce for the scrambled eggs, and he brought me this insanely delicious aioli. It wasn’t very spicy, but I’d never turn down an aioli, lol.

One night we walked over to Monasterio for dinner, as they had an opera singer. It was kind of gimmicky. On our last night, we had dinner at Mauka, and it was fantastic.

We started off with some homemade sourdough and butter.

Palacio Nazarenas, A Belmond Hotel, Cusco Mauka Restaurant Dinner

For appetizer, we shared fire-cooked tubers. I’m not the biggest fan of root vegetables, but this one was quite good.

For main course, my partner went for the trout sudado. I’m not a freshwater fish person, so I thought it tasted like catfish. My partner liked it, though. Btw, I really need to lay off portrait mode on food pics, ugh…

It was our last night in Peru, and I had yet to have lomo saltado (which is a testament to how good food in Peru was). I asked the waiter if that was possible, and he was so happy to oblige.

Was it the best lomo saltado ever? Probably not. Was it the most expensive lomo saltado I’ve had? Porbably yes. Have I ever had bad lomo saltado? Not that I can recall.

Also, y’all, the Andean potatoes definitely be hitting different. A white woman after 3 sangrias would not want to share those fries with her friends.

We were beyond full at this point, but the waiter suggested we should at least try the lucuma dessert. Lucuma is an Amazonian fruit, and to me it tastes like a blend of sweet potato and pumpkin. I like it a lot. Actually, the restaurant at Belmond Miraflores Park has baked Alaska with lucuma ice cream and brownie on the inside. It’s probably the best dessert I’ve ever had in my life. You guys have to order it if you go.

I figured we’d also get the prickly pear dessert, since it sounded interesting. This was on the more refreshing side and not as rich as the lucuma.

Depart:

Palacio Nazarenas is one of the most design-rich hotels I’ve experienced. It’s such a precious property that felt fitting for the locale without compromising on luxury.

Palacio Nazarenas, A Belmond Hotel, Cusco Notebook

We had an early morning flight out of Cusco. As any true luxury hotel would do, Nazarenas offered us to-go breakfast boxes. While nothing fancy, it’s the detail that mattered.

Palacio Nazarenas, A Belmond Hotel, Cusco Breakfast Box

I can’t recommend Palacio Nazarenas enough. Peruvians strike me as proud people of their heritage and culture, but not in an overly nationalistic way. And they love to share that with you. Special shoutout to Cinthia, Miguel and Edwardiño. I don’t remember who worked at which property, as we spent some time at Monasterio as well. These two hotels didn’t just have charm, they had souls. I can’t wait to come back and stay at Monasterio.

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