trebol42

sbrower

Just returned home today and stayed one night at Palacio before taking train to Machu Picchu. This is an amazing property in terms of the level of service and the efforts to maintain the facility. My wife tried to find a mark in the paint and was unable to do so. We had a long-standing points reservation (upgraded to Suite) and then, the night before arrival, we made a second reservation for our adult kids using Cash & Points (also upgraded to a Suite). FYI, we went now because we wanted it to be winter. Cusco was beautiful and a little chilly. Machu Picchu was wonderful and not so wonderful. We arrived in the afternoon with sun. At 3pm it started to rain and it didn't stop and we didn't have umbrellas or ponchos. But my family and I stood under rocks and walls and we saw something unique - we saw Machu Picchu without other people and without the [numerous] guys with whistles. Kids went back the next day to climb Montana it was sunny and warm.

CommentatusMaximus

I see there's a "mandatory" destination fee of $30/night. I'm a Marriott Platinum Premier (P75). Any chance of reducing or getting out of this fee? I have a flex rate booked so I shouldn't be charged until I check-in. Thanks in advance.

Ksw299

I stayed at this hotel from Aug 11 - 13 as a marriott platinum on a C+P stay. Prior to the stay I had emailed the property about waving it off for Platinum members and they had agreed. Of course they do not charge it on C+P or award stays.

Was upgraded to a deluxe suite with a view of the Coricancha temple and the surrounding hills. The suite had 2 balconies and was massive. The pisco lesson is a must but be prepared as the Pisco sour is not for the light hearted,

This is an excellent hotel and I would highly recommend it. Take a tour of the hotel at 5 30 PM given by the concierge team and you will be given a quick history of how the hotel came to be.

Right outside is the Coricancha temple which is also a must visit. Drink lots of coco tea as you need to get adjusted to the altitude.

Just down the road is the Artisanal Centre on Sol ave where you can buy sweaters, shwals and all kinds of stuff. Dont buy at the property as its way overpriced.

You will find a sweet street vendor by the name of Valentino right outside who is a very good artist. We bought a painting from him to support him.

Do the Laguna Humantay tour - it might be arranged by the hotel as well - ask them. We used Wilka travel to book a private tour and highly recommend it.

lost_perspicacity

Stayed here for two one night stays in November 2018 before and after a night at Macchu Picchu. First stay was the standard room I booked, second was upgraded to a huge suite with 2 balconies.

When we checked out they held our large luggage and it was waiting in the suite when we returned the next day. We spoke to the concierge before arriving and arranged airport and train pickups and dropoffs without issue.

Service was impeccable, the breakfast was outstanding, and the on-site restaurant served a great dinner. Also highly recommend the pisco lesson.

lamphs

Good afternoon. Any recent updates on this property? Thanks!

FlyingHoustonian

I stayed here a couple of days late last week with family and it was excellent. There is construction at the front so cars/taxis/vans pick up down a side walkway but staff have big luggage wheelbarrow like dollys they are using for bags and such. The evening hotel historical tour is very nice also. Restaurant was great and staff were wonderful. Beyond the history of the building it is a great location as well.

lamphs

This property is about $100 less per night than the JW Marriott. Both properties now have 'destination fees'; I don't recall seeing those when I originally booked for a trip in 2020 (but I could be misremembering). Is the JW $100/night better? Grateful for any input.

lamphs

I'll post information re: the JW on that thread. The bottom line is that the Lurkers (thank you) provided me the e-mail addresses to both properties. I wrote to both today asking what the destination fee covered and mentioned that all room rates include breakfast for two and as a Platinum, traveling solo, breakfast is supposed to be a benefit anyway.

This property got back to me immediately and advised that being a Platinum or above, the destination fee would be waived. Not the same story with the JW. I guess I'll be staying here in April.

FYI...

margarita girl

Would you mind sharing those email addresses, and I'll post them both in their respective wikis (or you can feel free to do it yourself).

They may come in handy for the next person wanting to contact the property.

lamphs

Already in the wiki.

bj27

A recent stay experience: we booked 2 rooms, for 1 night each before and after our group did the Inca Trail. Overall the hotel facilities are nice (and our SNAs cleared). Breakfast is wonderful and includes both a buffet and a la carte options (e.g., eggs benedict, omelets, french toast). Our rate include the breakfast but I don't think the destination fee by itself does.

A few (warning) points to consider:
- Oddly enough the hotel bath amenities are a hodge podge of BeeKind, Aromatherapy Associates, Guild + Pepper, amongst others
- The front desk is the most disastrous operation I have ever witnessed. It took us around 30-45 minutes each time to check-in. There is a lot more detail that's irrelevant for the group, but we had pretty simple reservations (2 rooms with 5 people total) that was very difficult for the front desk to handle. Once particularly hilarious incident is I had to remind the front desk I had yet to pay for my room...
- We were not offered the Platinum / Ambassador gift of F&B amenity / breakfast or points. I knew I had to request compensation at the hotel but was far too tired to continue after the 45 minute check-in process. A later complaint to the Ambassador Service has not yielded results.
- I don't think any hotel I've ever stayed in has properly keyed a room (maybe it's just not possible) for a late check-out. However, a traveling group member had a suspected nut-ingestion and as someone who was highly allergic, time was of the essence so needing to get the rooms re-keyed (it took 12 minutes...) was definitely a big issue for us.
- Rollaway bed is $80 / night which also apparently includes breakfast but this was pretty steep on top of an already expensive hotel for Peru
- Did not argue the $30 / night destination fee which includes 2 pisco sours at the bar and $25 off the spa
- They lost one of our party's bags between the stays... which was ultimately found but still added insult to injury
- Tons of pushback on asking for an extra bottle of water. Understand brand standard is 2x / room per day but traditionally in countries where the tap isn't drinkable hotels have been more than happy to provide this

Some highlights:
- Concierge is helpful in ordering taxis - don't pay more than 15 soles to go to / from the airport in a normal sedan
- Front desk has foreign currency exchange service. The rate was 4% below market (3.6 PEN / USD vs. 3.75 PEN / USD at market rate), but the ultimate fee was $5 and we felt like the convenience of just doing it in the lobby was worth it
- Hotel also has an ATM in the lobby which was helpful
- Breakfast is a highlight, you can sit in the courtyard on a nice day; they bring in a lovely harp player, as well as the "alpaca girls" and some vendors to sit (no pressure at all but nice to have the option readily available)
- AMEX FHR rate came with a $100 spa credit (which unfortunately we did not use)
- Filtered water station in the lobby

The property itself is beautiful and culturally interesting. However, the front desk service was a complete failure and solely based on that I might recommend someone try the nearby JW Marriott instead until they can get their act together.

metaphoreus

I have an upcoming 3-night stay. It was cheaper than JW Marriott for my dates. I have couple of questions.

Which suite did your SNA clear into?
Does the destination cover $25 per day for the spa and 2 pisco sours? My rate already includes breakfast, pisco class and the art route tour.

lamphs

I mentioned upthread re: destination fee. I have a paid stay mid-April, Platinum. I e-mailed with the property re: destination fee; destination fee is waived for Platinums. Not only is JW more expensive, it would not waive the destination fee. FWIW...

Undecided re: SNAs. I'll likely take my chances as this is a solo trip, so if no upgrade, not a big deal.

bj27

Out of our 4 rooms across 2 nights (2 rooms each night), 3 cleared into a Palace Suite and 1 cleared into an Imperial Suite.

While the Imperial Suites are proper, named suites with much higher ceilings and more space, we actually liked the Palace Suites more given they have an extra half bath and our Palace Suites faced the courtyard (quieter) as opposed to the Imperial Suites which faced the busy back road (and uninteresting view).

Destination fee includes the 2 pisco sours and $25 off spa.