Inkaterra Machu Picchu Pueblo Hotel (Agua Calientes, Peru)

Location

The town of Agua Calientes literally only exists to cater to tourists traveling to Machu Picchu. The town can only be accessed via train or trail; the Inkaterra Pueblo Hotel property is steps from the train tracks and therefore about as conveniently located as you can get in this small town.

The resort is located within a private 12 acre nature reserve. Thus, despite the easy access to train and town, the 81 room resort feels perfectly secluded among the surrounding cloud forest.

Service

Service was top notch from the second you arrive. Rather than wait at a traditional check-in counter, you are met after leaving the train and escorted to a lounge where you are served traditional tea while your registration information is completed.

Once you are settled in your room, the personalized service does not stop. After settling in for the night staff were happy to build a fire for us in the seating area of our suite. Did I mention that a complimentary bottle of Pisco was also filled nightly? Makes for a nice fireside treat.

Once the fire goes out, your bed will still be toasty thanks to turndown service that went above and beyond simply providing chocolates by placing a hot water bottle in each side of the bed to keep things cozy!

My only complaint in terms of service was that I couldn’t find any sort of do not disturb sign and staff interrupted my afternoon nap on two occasions attempting to start turndown service.

Room

We stayed in one of the Inkaterra suites and couldn’t be happier with the beautiful, secluded casita. The triangle windows above the bed let in an abundance of natural light and all of the features of the room, down to the hand woven blanket, felt authentically Andean.

As shown earlier, the room featured a seating area with wood burning fireplace. My favorite part of the suite, by far, was the outdoor daybed overlooking our own personal (very) hot spring pond.

The hot spring pond connected to the bathroom via an outdoor rain shower. This outdoor shower, followed by a hot spring soak provided the perfect post-Machu Picchu hike rejuvenation routine.

You can feel even better about pampering yourself knowing that all the beauty supplies are natural and eco friendly. Do not ignore the bug repellant…there is a big bottle provided for a reason! Machu Picchu has some of the nastiest little mosquitos I have ever encountered.

My only complaint with regards to the products was that no lotion was provided. When I asked staff for lotion I was told they didn’t have any they could provide with the room. I assumed it was an eco issue but then saw that they sell their own line of lotion in the gift shop.

Amenities

When you stay at the Inkaterra Pueblo Hotel your room will come with “half board” which means that dinner, breakfast and tea time are included daily. If you stay in one of the suites you will also have a complimentary mini bar stocked with non-alcoholic beverages and snacks.

Having a three course dinner included nightly helps to justify the price slightly and also allows you to avoid entering the super touristy town of Agua Calientes any more than absolutely necessary. The dinner menu has a surprising number of choices for each course. Our favorites included the salad (all from their own garden), fresh salmon, corn and quinoa souffle, steak, and the chocolate cake. In general we found the appetizers to be better than the entrees.

Tea time is every day by the hot spring pools and includes cookies, brownies and a variety of teas from Inkaterra’s own tea plantation.

The breakfast buffet was also high quality and featured ample selection. You can also get eggs or pancakes made to order.

Aside from the included meals, the resort has a full bar with a snack menu. I was particularly impressed by the variety of house infused Piscos.

In case you were wondering, there are other things to do at the resort other than eat 🙂 The resort has three hot spring pools (if you are not lucky enough to have a private pool), a spa and offers a variety of complimentary guided experience tours. Among others, these tours include an orchid walk, a bird walk, and a hands-on tour of the resorts tea plantation and production facility (see photo below).

If you opt for a spa treatment, several services include a stint in the traditional Andean steam room seen below.

All in all, there are plenty of ways to do nothing or everything at this beautiful eco resort.

Value

The resort is expensive, for sure, however, a trip to Machu Picchu truley is a once in a lifetime experience, why not live it up? Given the amenities and service provided with the resort, the rate feels mostly justifiable. I would highly highly recommend this resort to anyone looking for a luxurious trip to Machu Picchu. For full details on how to plan a trip to Machu Picchu, check out my post, So you wanna go to Machu Picchu?

What has been your favorite once in a lifetime vacation?