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My Review

I really enjoyed my 6-night stay at the JW Marriott El Convento Cusco. The hotel is located in a really interesting historic site in a former Augustinian convent, featuring two archaeological digs of pre-Colombian artifacts. The location is perfect for staying in the center of Cusco. And the hotel itself delivers on modern luxury, with plush, comfortable rooms and high-quality service. 

I do have a few criticisms (particularly the lack of a gym, which I find odd for a 5-star hotel), but overall, I really enjoyed this hotel and would stay here again. 

Watch My YouTube Video Review of My Stay at JW Marriott El Convento Cusco:

Above, I did a 30-minute YouTube video reviewing my stay at the JW Marriott El Convento. Click play for a detailed video review, or keep scrolling for my written review. 

Our Room – I got an incredible upgrade to one of the JW’s Imperial Suites, which are absolutely massive. Our suite had a huge living area featuring a desk, a table with four chairs, and a large living room area with a huge comfy couch and a giant television. It also featured a half bathroom by the entrance, plus a really nice terrace with a table (where I filmed the second half of the video above, plus several more of my Peru YouTube videos). 

We also had a massive separate bedroom, featuring a large comfy bed, a stone wall (that I think was an original Spanish colonial wall), a couple of comfortable lounger chairs, and a dresser with a television. 

Our main bathroom was massive. I appreciated that there were separate shower and bath areas. The water pressure was the best we experienced on our entire Peru trip, and it was quite hot, too. Taking a bath during the cold Cusco evenings after a day of exploring was lovely, and something I did most nights. 

Overall, the room was just stellar. It was modern, clean, and luxurious. I feel so lucky that we got such a huge upgrade over the busy Christmas week. Even though I have Bonvoy Ambassador status, I can’t recall ever getting this big of an upgrade! 

I did get a few peaks inside some of the “standard” rooms of other guests. They were substantially smaller in size, but maintained the same luxurious furnishings and design as my room. I think we would have been perfectly comfortable in the “normal” rooms had we not been upgraded. 

Food & Beverage – The hotel has a single restaurant and bar called “Qespi,” which occupies about half of the main floor. I did not love the layout of the restaurant area. Some of the seating areas felt a little less than luxurious and looked almost like the kind of folding tables and chairs you might pull out of storage for a large family gathering at home. That said, other areas featured better furnishings more appropriate for a 5-star hotel.

We enjoyed the breakfast buffet in Qespi each morning, but I did find it to be very chaotic. Perhaps that was just because we were staying during the week of Christmas, but the layout made it feel like we were constantly fighting other guests (and screaming children) to get access to the food. Not the luxurious experience you’d want for a hotel at this price point.

I also did not like that you had to stand in line to get your eggs cooked to order. There was often quite the line. It would be better to have à la carte dishes brought to the table, as all the other luxury hotels did during our stay in Peru.

I really liked the wide selection of fruit and pastries. And the coffee was pretty solid. But, overall, I would say this was the weakest of the many luxury hotel breakfasts we enjoyed during our Peru itinerary. 

We also tried the Qespi bar a couple of times in the evening to take advantage of the two Pisco Sour tickets you get as part of the “Destination Fee.” The drinks were definitely strong and enjoyable, so at least the hotel delivered there.

We never did eat dinner at the Qespi restaurant, though. They had a Christmas Eve buffet we considered, but we opted instead to return to the restaurant at our prior hotel, Palacio del Inka, and eat there instead. I’m glad we did because it was a significantly more couple-oriented experience versus the rather family-oriented groups we saw at the JW Marriott. 

I also ordered desserts for room service at the JW a few times, and it always came quickly and was high-quality. I saw a lot of other guests ordering room service, so it seems to be a popular amenity. 

NO Fitness Center (Ummm … What?) – My biggest complaint about this hotel is that it does not have a gym. We asked at the reception and I got the impression it may be a liability concern with the elevation. Though I would note that Palacio del Inka (another Cusco Marriott property that I reviewed here) does indeed have a gym. 

During our stay, I heard multiple other guests asking about the gym at the front desk, so there is obviously demand for it. I think it’s really weird for a 5-star hotel to not have a gym (in fact, technically speaking, how can they even claim 5 stars without one? But I digress). 

Anyway, we ended up going to a local gym called “HUBERGYM” that was a few blocks away and offers a day pass for just 20 Peruvian soles (about $6 USD). There wasn’t any sign-up (they didn’t even take our ID). We just had to pay the fee in cash and go in. So it’s a convenient option if you find yourself staying at the JW Cusco and in need of a fitness center. 

Spa & Pools – The JW Marriott El Convento Cusco has an underground spa with a small pool, a jacuzzi, and a sauna area. This area was really popular with guests in the evening. I went down three or four times trying to photograph it until I finally managed to get it empty enough to shoot. 

Experiences and “Destination” Fee – The hotel charges a $40/day “Destination Fee.” I always find these fees annoying, though they seem common among luxury hotels in Peru. The question is always if the benefits justify the fee and, in this case, I did not feel like they did.

The best benefit was a voucher for two Pisco Sours per day. We didn’t even use it most days, but we did enjoy the drinks the two times that we did. They also have a Pisco Sour class you could take, which we skipped because that was also an amenity at both of our prior hotels and we were a little tired of learning about Pisco by that point in our trip. 

The Destination Fee also is supposed to cover several “experiences” the hotel advertised. Our favorite of course was Panchita, a cute alpaca that hung out in the courtyard most days.

The hotel also offers a daily historical tour of the property, led by a staff member dressed up as an Augustinian monk. I will say that the tour was a really cool way to learn about the property’s unique history and to visit the two underground archaeological sites. 

Lastly, the fee includes a $25/day discount for the spa (though it is not stackable, you have to use it every day). We never did use that benefit.

So, overall, I felt the destination fee did not offer as much value as some of the other resorts we stayed at in the Sacred Valley, like Tambo del Inka or Palacio del Inka. 

Service & Staff – The staff at the JW Marriott were very accommodating overall. Housekeeping in particular did a great job, and came twice a day (including for an evening turndown service). 

The staff at the breakfast buffet did seem a little overwhelmed by the high guestload during our Christmas stay, and sometimes it took a bit to flag over table service. But otherwise, the staff did a great job at being responsive to our needs. 

The host at breakfast, for example, helped by seating us in the quieter area along the courtyard after we complained about the noise from the children in the main seating area one morning. 

I definitely felt the hotel recognized my Marriott elite status. I got a huge upgrade from the lowest room category to the highest category (don’t think I’ve ever seen that before). They left me a welcome gift of several delicious treats, gave us the breakfast buffet as a benefit, and in general just treated us quite special.

***

Overall, I enjoyed our stay at the JW Marriott Cusco El Convento and would definitely stay again. The rooms were the best part of the hotel. The lack of a gym was a little annoying, but not the end of the world for most travelers. I think this hotel really caters to families and groups. I think for couples, I would instead suggest staying at Palacio del Inka (see my review), which offers a more tranquil and refined atmosphere.

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Pros & Cons

About the Location

The JW Marriott El Convento Cusco has a perfect location in Cusco’s Centro Historico, just a couple blocks away from the central Plaza de Armas. This is the best, and really only, area of Cusco for tourists. Within walking distance you’ll find loads of restaurants, bars, shops, and many of Cusco’s attractions. Overall, it is a very walkable location. 

The hotel is set along two streets that are fairly busy, but because of the way the colonial building has a setback from the street, I did not notice significant traffic noise in the room (I am a light sleeper).