From the time that Machu Picchu made it to our travel bucket list, a stay at the Belmond Sanctuary Lodge was never a question. I didn’t even ask the travel agent how much a room cost—I just wanted it to happen. (Tim would probably have preferred I asked. Always the accountant!)

The Belmond is the only hotel within the Machu Picchu park, and it’s literally a stone’s throw from the site. If we were going to do Machu Picchu we were going to do it right.

With only 40 rooms, the Belmond is small, but big on amenities. The stay is all-inclusive, and we took advantage of room service tea delivery and the gourmet meals offered in the dining room. The hotel offers a pisco tasting each evening, and we enjoyed sampling different piscos and having pisco sours with new friends we met from Toronto and Glendale, California. We spent so long talking at the bar that we almost missed our dinner reservation!

 

Dinner was delicious with high-end choices including lamb and steak. We enjoyed live music during the first part of dinner from some local musicians.

We got a room upgrade thanks to our guide, Nick, and the view from our room was the best in the hotel, I think (and the postcard at the hotel with the view from our room says they think so too).

Both days we were there, we sat out on the lounge or at the table and enjoyed the view of Huayna Picchu.

The room itself is on the small side, but who needs a big room when you are going to be spending your days outside enjoying Machu Picchu park?

 

One of the real perks of staying in this hotel is the easy access to the park. We had tickets for a 6 am entry, which is when the park opens. We were some of the first in line at 5:50, and the buses from Machu Picchu Pueblo were just starting to arrive. Those poor people had to be at the bus stop by 5:20, which means they had to get up way early. We set the alarm for 5:15 and had time to spare. That was a real plus in my book.

Though this hotel is extremely expensive, it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and who can put a price on that? (Maybe Tim. But he loves me.)