When I think about a luxury travel to the Andes, La Casona Inkaterra in Cuzco is the most luxurious Hotel coming to my mind...
Location: A block from the historic Plaza de Armas, the latest carbon-neutral property from Peruvian hotel group Inkaterra is secreted behind a massive green door on tiny Plazuela Las Nazarenas, which it shares with the famous Hotel Monasterio and the Museo de Arte Precolombino.
Details: It may be a sprout to Monasterio's beanstalk, but this discreet hotel's intimacy and dazzling restoration will make smaller-scale luxury the new Cuzco standard. The 11 rooms of the former conquistador's mansion have views of the plaza or open onto a charming courtyard. Crisp yet cozy, the suites nod to both Incan and colonial influences with antiques, handwoven blankets and traditional thickly plastered beams crossing the high ceilings.
Coca-leaf tea awaits guests to ward off soroche (altitude sickness), but if it does kick in, the friendly cuzqueño staff has oxygen tanks on hand. Coming soon: a gift shop (just look around the hotel to whet your appetite) and grotto-like restaurant, skylit to let in both sun and the Southern Cross.
