Belmond Sanctuary Lodge – Machu Picchu, Peru
When I started doing the research about where to stay for our time in Machu Picchu, all I knew was that we wanted at least one night there to be able to enter Machu Picchu multiple times. You can also do a day trip from Cusco but we wanted to stay up in the area to have access to the site at different times of the day. At first, I only looked at Aguas Calientes, the small town at the base of the mountain that Machu Picchu sits atop. With this option you have to either hike up or take the bus up and back every day. I found a couple hotels I liked but they were still pretty pricey, so I looked at another option, staying actually outside the gates of Machu Picchu at the Belmond Sanctuary Lodge, the only hotel right at Machu Picchu. It’s not cheap, at all, but all in all, I’m glad with our choice of staying here and here’s why.
LOVE
The Location – By far, this is the very best thing about the hotel. The Belmond Sanctuary Lodge is the only hotel actually up at Machu Picchu, everything else is at the bottom of the mountain. The hotel is literally about 50 feet from the entrance to Machu Picchu which allows you access unlike any other. This also means no bus up and down the windy hilly mountain road twice a day and that you can just literally walk out of the hotel and be at Machu Picchu in 5 minutes.
Grounds – The hotel has a lovely orchid garden, views of the surrounding mountains and a day room for guests to use as part of their grounds.
Service – For the large price tag, you are getting great service as well. The staff were super helpful with me before our trip arranging our Machu Picchu tickets and answering questions as well as during our stay.
The Food – We had some of the best food of our trip here at the hotel. They have an amazing restaurant and chef and one of the perks of the large price tag here is that it’s all inclusive, meaning that all your food and drink during your stay is free. We had 5 star meals here for breakfast, lunch and dinner and the food was incredible!
DIDN’T LOVE
Room Design – I knew ahead of time that this hotel has fairly modest accommodations even for the prices they charge. Just know if you are planning on staying here, you’re paying for the location, not the rooms. They were fine and simple, but for the price and star quality of the hotel, I thought they could have been a lot better.
Price – Depending on the time of year, this hotel ranges in price but it’s always expensive. To be honest with you, it’s the most we’ve EVER spent on a hotel, but for us and our situation, it was well worth it. If you can afford it, it’s worth it. But also keep in mind with the price, if you stay in Aguas Calientes at the bottom of the mountain, hotels there are pricey as well. Then you’re adding food to that cost, as well as $25 per person every day for the bus as well as any other amenities that you might need that the Belmond doesn’t charge for. So figure out for your budget if it’s worth the price tag or not, for us, it definitely was.
TIPS
If you want to go into Machu Picchu multiple times, stay here. Particularly if you want to be the first ones in at 6am when the open the gates, it was amazing to just roll out of bed and be at the gates without having to do the bus super early.
Luggage Service on Train Arrivals – If you’re staying at the Belmond Sanctuary Lodge, someone will meet you at the train station in Aguas Calientes and arrange for your luggage to get up to the hotel so you don’t have to lug it onto the bus with you. This was really convenient and easy.
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Jenn says
Out of curiosity, I went on the hotel website and holy cow, you weren’t kidding! The prices are super high! But how often do you get to stay right at the base of Machu Picchu?!
Casey says
Yea it’s a little insane – and for what you get, it’s still A LOT! We took a chunk out of the money we made selling our condo earlier in the year and put it aside just for that because we really wanted to stay there. So if you can swing it, it is totally worth it because it’s like a once in a lifetime thing!!!! But yea… way more than I’ll probably ever spend again on a hotel.
Courtney @ Adelante says
I can see why it would be worth it to have that kind of access to the park. I bet you guys got some pretty stunning photographs being able to have that kind of freedom! Also, I thought I was going to DIE on that bus ride up the mountain. I was literally praying the entire way up, haha. The ride down wasn’t as stressful just because I was like, “Okay, I experienced Machu Picchu, I can die happy now.” LOL!
We paid a fortune for a really crummy hotel in Aguas Calientes, and all of the nearby restaurants were grossly overpriced. Splurging on an all-inclusive place like this honestly sounds like a better deal!
Casey says
Oh my gosh yes! On the bus ride up, I was sitting on the inside (not the window) and it was packed so I didn’t get to see much, but going down, ahhh terrifying! And you’re so right on the hotel and that’s why we decided to splurge and go for it, because the hotels in Aguas Calientes are NOT cheap! And then you’re paying for all this other stuff too… honestly I think it probably didn’t end up being that much more expensive when all is said and done.