Hotel Monasterio

This sprawling 16th Century monastery, built on the foundations of an Inca palace, now serves as one of Cusco’s most resplendent hotels.

Four cloisters (now housing guest rooms) surround picturesque arched courtyards, one of which contains a 400-year-old cedar.

Rooms are furnished with heavy dark-wood, colonial-era beds and wardrobes, and the whole hotel is adorned with priceless art – gilt rococo finials rescued from Spanish-colonial churches and exquisite Spanish-indigenous paintings from the Cusco school. 

The hotel’s restaurant – sitting under a colonnade of arches – is one of the city’s best; white-tie waiters pour Pisco sours in the low-lit bar hung with huge mirrors, and there are dreamy views out over the terracotta roofs and bell towers of Cucsco at every turn. 

The hotel is located in Cusco’s historic centre, close to the cathedral, Qorikancha and the key sights. Although the entire complex lies just a few blocks away from Cusco’s busy main square, it feels remarkably meditative and restful.