Casa Cartagena Boutique Hotel & Spa

Located just up from the pretty Plaza Nazarenas and a five-minute walk from the Plaza de Armas, Casa Cartagena is centrally located and well positioned for exploring colonial Cusco. The hotel is also steps from the Museum of Pre-Colombian Art, with its collection of pottery and artefacts dating across 3000 years.

Like many hotels in Cusco, the owners of Casa Cartagena had to preserve many of the original features of the house and therefore the structure and layout of the building remains largely unchanged. The common areas of the hotel; reception, lounge, restaurant and spa are grouped together in the main building at the entrance to the hotel.

The hotel’s 16 suites are in a separate part of the house and surround the hotel’s immaculate central gardens. All are light and spacious and have a balcony or terrace overlooking the colonial patio. If we had to choose, we’d recommend opting for one of the Master Suites, which feature original frescoes discovered during the restoration process.

What we liked most about this hotel are the extras, which show close attention to detail. For example, a two-way oxygen enrichment system is installed in every room, guests are served complimentary drinks and canopés in the evening and have the services of a butler at their disposal.

Facilities include a three-level spa with heated hydro massage pool and sauna, fitness centre and yoga classes. The hotel’s restaurant “Bodega de la Chola” was even a favourite for the Chilean poet Pablo Neruda and Che Guevara in the twentieth century and deserves a visit for that fact alone.