Tambo del Inka, Urubamba, Peru [Master Thread]
Last edited by FlyingHoustonian; Nov 30, 2021 at 4:10 pm
i got free breakfast, suite upgrade, 500 spg points and something else that i cant remember.
These are the brands that don't offer breakfast.
Design Hotels
Edition
Fairfield Asia Pacific hotels
Gaylord Hotels
Marriott Executive Apartments / ExecuStay
Marriott Vacation Club / MVC Pulse / Grand Residences by Marriott
The Ritz-Carlton / Ritz-Carlton Reserve / Ritz-Carlton Residence Club
Vistana / Sheraton Vacation Club / Westin Vacation Club
Feel free to look at the wiki here for further confirmation.
Marriott's new "breakfast offering" explained - Page 61 - FlyerTalk Forums
Tambo del Inka Luxury Collection Valle Sagrado
Tambo del Inka Luxury Collection Valle Sagrado
Avenida Ferrocarril S/N Sacred Valley Urubamba, PE 08661
Tambo del Inka Luxury Collection = Base Hotel to Visit Machu Picchu (40 Photos)
Tambo del Inka Luxury Collection Valle Sagrado
We intended to visit Machu Picchu so I decided to book a few nights at Tambo del Inka because it’s roughly half way between Cusco airport and MP. Since we have a 1.5-year-old daughter I was considering the potential for altitude sickness, the need to avoid a day trip which would be too long (from Cusco) and avoiding a long ride from Cusco airport to a hotel near MP on the same day of flying. With all those considerations Tambo del Inka seemed to be a good compromise. In addition, this hotel is one of the very few where points required to book a free night went down at the latest “devaluation” by Marriott. It now ranges from 40-50k pts per night which is not bad especially if booking exactly 5 nights.
Common Areas
Some of the newer Luxury Collection hotels are not always to my liking, but I found Tambo del Inka to be vintage legacy SPG Luxury Collection. The common areas were superb and fitting for a destination of this kind.
Room
I have never been an efficient user of Suite Night Awards, I knew we would spend a lot of time in the hotel relaxing in the days before and after MP so I cared about a suite upgrade and I burned SNAs which would have expired soon anyway. As it turns out, suites were available at the time we checked in so I suspect we would have had a suite nonetheless, which means once again I did not extract much value from SNAs, if at all.
The room was nice and worthy of the LC brand and since we were on the ground floor we had a small outdoor terrace as well.
Dining
The breakfast buffet was a standout. Food in Peru in general tends to be quite good quality, but the buffet at Tambo del Inka had several dishes perfect for people who want to focus on healthy eating which is suitable for such a mountainous resort. There was even live music in traditional Peruvian outfit in the lovely restaurant setting.
Service
The travel agency which has staff at the hotel itself arranged our tour before we arrived at the hotel and the entire MP day trip went smoothly: taxi from the hotel to Ollantaytambo train station, train to MP station, lunch upon arrival, bus to MP, entry ticket, and private tour guide. Then everything else in reverse direction. It was not the most straightforward with the little one in tow especially climbing steps in high altitude but we made it and had a great memorable time; our daughter enjoyed the long day but once arrived back at the hotel in the evening she could not wait for the lights to go out before sleeping in the comfy bed!
Wifi
Wifi worked well with download speed of 20 Mbps but upload was only 5 Mbps.
Overall
Overall I found Tambo del Inka to be a solid hotel which I can recommend. The main advantage was the location relative to Machu Picchu and the easier acclimatization to high altitude, that said Urubamba is clearly not a destination as attractive as Cusco itself so I would consider Tambo del Inka a hotel to rest, visit MP, and then moving on to higher grounds.
I concur with the last review posted with two exceptions. On a points stay, I was upgraded to the Senior Suite as a Platinum without a SNA. And while many of the pics imply a ground level patio, that is only for a limited number of rooms. I think all rooms had the ground level patio or a balcony. If you'd like a ground level patio, you'd need to ask for it specifically prior to check-in. I believe that I did have to pay the per night destination fee, however. This was a case where I actually received value from the fee (and it was a small price to pay for such a great property on points). (And I should note that I would've been just as happy had I not been upgraded.)
The only transportation I used was arranged by the hotel - from Ollantaytambo and to CUZ. After 4N/4D on the trail, I was not interested in searching for other options, although I recall the pricing to be reasonable by US standards. I am sure there are other options to/from the sites. I should note that while I did not take a taxi from CUZ to the hotel as I was coming off the trail, I did attempt to use a taxi to get from CUZ to my hotel in Cusco - 10 minutes trip and the tourist price was ridiculous. I ended up using Uber (or whatever Cusco uses for ridesharing - I forgot). All the more reason to have a ride with a set price prior to arriving at CUZ.
If you plan to do a day trip to MP, just be sure to plan well in advance, maybe with the help of the hotel. It is my understanding that after COVID, the number of allowed entries daily has been reduced. And it is an hour to Ollantaytambo. And then an hour long train ride to Aguas Calientes. And then a 30 minute bus ride to the MP entrance. And by the way, if you are reading this and thinking Aguas Calientes is a good place to stay - don't. My group had to hang out there for 3 hours after coming off the trail and waiting for the reserved train. Aguas Calientes is a total tourist trap.
I think it was about an hour from the hotel to CUZ, which is roughly in the city. Cusco is definitely worth a day trip.
In addition, I went across the street to explore and have lunch each day in Urubamba. Walk straight about 5 blocks and one is in the town's center. It is a nice town to explore. And plenty of places to eat. I had a really good wood fired pizza one day and traditional Peruvian food the second day. If you don't speak Spanish, just be sure to have Google Translate or like on your phone. I could have had dinner in town also, but I was just too tired and lazy, and had good dinners in the hotel restaurant (a very rare deviation for me).
If you are one of those who want to scrutinize your bill at checkout, get a copy the night before or something. The bill is very complicated. Every charge is broken into not only the good or service, but also the individual taxes, and it is all in Spanish. My bill was two pages for two nights, again on points, and breakfast included. My bill was error free, but one never knows.
To answer your question more directly, I think it would be a good property for day trips. The points value is excellent.