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My Review

Overall, Palacio del Inka is one of the most memorable hotels I’ve ever stayed at. Throughout our stay, I just kept learning more incredible history about the hotel. I knew it was in a former Spanish colonial mansion, but I didn’t even realize when we checked in that we were staying in what used to be the main temple in the former heart of the entire Inca empire. The hotel is literally located in the remains of the Incas’ Temple of the Sun! 

History aside, the hotel itself does a fantastic job of delivering high quality luxury. Our room was spacious and comfortable. Every corner of the hotel was decorated with stunning art. And the staff and services were top notch. We loved having breakfast with Inti the alpaca, meeting other guests at the included Pisco Sour class, and enjoying the hotel’s incredible artwork.

Overall, we adored our stay at Palacio del Inka. Of the several places I’ve stayed in Cusco, it’s easily my favorite. If you can afford to stay here, just book it and don’t look back. 

Watch My YouTube Video Review of My Stay at Palacio del Inka:

Watch my full video for a lot more about my stay at Palacio del Inka, but keep scrolling for a written rundown of my opinion about the hotel’s key features.

Unique History – The hotel itself was originally a part of Coricancha, the single most important temple in the entire Inca empire. There are still some original Inca walls in the hotel! 

When the Spanish conquered Cusco, they converted what is now the hotel into a mansion for the Spanish rulers. A lot of the artwork and decor in the hotel borrows from that Spanish period.

The hotel runs a nightly free tour that tells you about the history of the hotel, and then ends with a performance by an Inca dancer (followed by a Pisco sour class). I highly recommend going on this tour so you can fully appreciate the history of this incredible site. 

Experiences – Palacio del Inka charges a destination fee that works out to around $40/night. I’m usually not a big fan of destination fees, but at least Palacio del Inka actually provides something in return. When we checked in, the hotel gave us an experience calendar. There are experiences offered every day, in addition to the free tour and Pisco sour class.

Our favorite “experience” had to be Inti the alpaca. Women from the local community would sit in the courtyard all morning selling various alpaca textiles. And one of them brought in Inti, a young and playful alpaca. We had so much fun feeding Inti carrots and watching Inti frolic around the courtyard while we ate our breakfast.

We participated in two of the formal experiences during our stay: an art tour of the hotel’s art gallery, and a cocktail class. I found the art tour interesting, though my partner Clara did seem a little bored. They take you through the art gallery and also around the hotel lobby to talk about some of the more special art pieces on display.

The cocktail class, meanwhile, was great. We were the only ones in attendance and, after a short demonstration with the jovial bartender, we basically got two full drinks each to ourselves. 

Oxygen Service – Cusco sits at over 11,000 feet above sea level, so altitude sickness is quite common for guests. We had just come from staying in Lima at sea level, and on our first full day I got quite the headache. The hotel sent a staffer to our room to deliver 15 minutes worth of oxygen to me. It really did help! We saw lots of other guests taking advantage of this service during our stay, so I thought it was a really nice touch of luxury. 

The Room – I stayed in a “One Bedroom Suite, King” room at Palacio del Inka. We got put in room 467, which was nice as it had two little terraces/balconies. As I show in the video, because of the build of the hotel, you could only really use these while you were standing up. But it still offered a really cool and unique view of Cusco and the Church of Santo Domingo.

Overall, our room was massive. There was so much space. The decoration felt very traditional. Overall, I thought it was a gorgeous room and felt thematically appropriate for Cusco. 

The furniture was all very well cared for and clean. The bed was super comfortable and I loved the gorgeous regal headboard. The couch, chair, and desk all felt very high-end and comfortable. There was ample space and surfaces to set and store things. 

Everything was very clean (even the carpet, and I say that as someone who normally hates carpeted hotel floors). Housekeeping came in twice a day. The turndown service was pretty thorough. It really felt like they did a solid cleaning service the second time through (versus other hotels we’ve stayed at where the turndown service felt like an afterthought). 

I will say, the room was a little dim. We got some natural light from the terraces, but I felt like more lighting would have been useful. 

The bathroom was probably the weakest part of the room. The shower pressure was weak and it took a couple of minutes to heat up. I also personally don’t like that the shower and tub are combined. And I wish there was a hand shower thingy, but I guess that’s me being a little picky. They did however, give us lots of huge plush towels, plus bathrobes and lots of amenities.

Breakfast & Dining – Palacio del Inka has one restaurant, named Inti Raymi, located in the back courtyard. 

We ate breakfast at Inti Raymi every morning. They put out a massive buffet spread that had everything we could ask. They even had several luxurious touches like cold brew coffee, green juice, and fancy desserts. In addition to the buffet, there were several a la carte options (including, importantly for us, egg dishes!). 

I just loved listening to the harpist who played during breakfast! This was a really luxurious touch and something we later experienced again at their sister hotel in the Sacred Valley, Tambo del Inka (see my review of that hotel here).

We also ate dinner at Inti Raymi one night during our stay, and found the service to be top notch. In fact, we enjoyed the service quality so much that we decided to come back a week later – while we were staying at the JW Marriott Cusco el Convento – and enjoy the Christmas Eve dinner at Inti Raymi. While I loved the JW Marriott as well (see my full review of that hotel here), I’m glad we came back to Palacio del Inka. Because honestly, there is no comparison when it comes to the quality of the dining experiences. 

Gym & Spa – Palacio del Inka has a small but capable gym. Because of my altitude sickness, I never did attempt to use it myself, but it was nice that they have one (the JW Marriott, notably, did not have a gym!).

Palacio del Inka’s spa is also considered one of the best in Cusco, but unfortunately we never got to try it out. The destination fee includes a $25 discount off spa services, but we were so focused on making content during our stay that I never found the time.

I do know that their “Thermal Circuit” is a highly-rated hydrotherapy pool. I’ve seen some guest reviews complaining that it isn’t free to guests, so just know it does come at an upcharge of $50 per use (though you can use that $25 discount towards it). 

Staff & Service – I can’t say enough good things about the service at Palacio del Inka. The hotel does a great job at anticipating needs, and anything else we asked for was resolved immediately.

Overall, it’s a stellar hotel and I would happily come back! 

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Pros & Cons

About the Location

This hotel is perfectly located for visitors. Palacio del Inka is located in the heart of Cusco’s Centro Histórico, which is the main (and, really, only) area I recommend staying in Cusco. 

Cusco’s Historic Center is pretty small, so no hotel is poorly located. But Palacio del Inka has a particularly spectacular location right next to Coricancha and the Church of Santo Domingo. It’s also just a few blocks walk to the central Plaza de Armas. 

Right outside the hotel you’ll find several restaurants, as well as laundry services (which is convenient if you are doing a larger load and don’t want to pay high hotel laundry prices). Overall, just about anything we needed was within walking distance of the hotel.