OHMYGAWD!!! I never thought I'd every hear myself say that a room costing more than $800 per night was worth every single dime of it. The location, people, food, service --- All A +++. We celebrated my wife's 60th birthday with a huge splurge with high expectations -- all of which were exceeded. I told them in advance of the occasion and, without any specific request from me, they brought a wonderful Birthday cake to the table and the waiters sang "Happy Birthday." Upon arrival around 1 pm we asked if they could line up an English speaking guide for after lunch and, within 45 minutes they hooked us up with a great guide to tour the ruins after most of the tourists had already left. A truly magical experience. The rooms are not particularly remarkable but they're clean & very comfortable; but, who cares, the patio just outside our room had a spectacular view of Macchu Picchu. The only downside of this place is the 9 am checkout; but this was not strictly enforced; and they held our bags while we spent much of Day 2 touring the ruins and then even took us to an extremely comfortable & beautiful day room with full bath facilities to hang out for a few hours til it was time to catch the bus back down the hill. We unhesitatingly recommend this hotel, regardless of price. It's a once in a lifetime experience not to be missed.

Due to a transport strike we were unable to take the train to Machu Picchu so used a helicopter which got us to the hotel around 09.00. We were taken to the buffet bar to fill in the reservation forms etc, which seemed to take forever. It was our wedding anniversary that day and we were told that we were being upgraded (this was lovely and unexpected) BUT the room 28 did not become available until 14.00. We sat in the main restaurant reading our books and at no time where we told that there was a day room we could use or even the garden which we found after check out the next day. So we sat on a gloriously hot day in the bar/restaurant for 5 hours waiting for our room!

Our room was large compared with others at the hotel but the bathroom was very tiny with only a shower similar to a P&O ferry and the water temperature fluctuated. Under the sink were separate boxes for recycling, paper, plastic glass etc. Our bed was the most comfortable we had during our whole time in Peru, super kingsize with wonderful fine white cotton monogrammed sheeting and I was most reluctant to get out of it the next morning, especially as normal check-out is at 09.00! There was a nice patio where we thought we would have breakfast the following morning but unfortunately we awoke to mist and rain which remained for most of the whole day so we were unable to use these facilities but the room service breakfast was wonderful with a plentiful supply of croissants and omlette.

A small cabinet in reception housed some souvenir cotton tee and polo shirts with a discreet sanctuary lodge logo but sizes were extremely limited with only very small and very large sizes which was disappointing. There was also a small selection of silver jewellery. The Huna shop to the left of the hotel had a very good selection of alpaca in beautiful stylish designs, (not the traditional tourist tat)

The cleanliness and serenity of the whole of machu picchu impressed me greatly. Although the walking/climbing were very strenuous and at times I found it hard to breathe I felt a wonderful sense of inner calm that I have never experienced on holiday before.

I wouldn't return but it is an experience I will always treasure

I' afraid our stay here was a total disaster !
1 - Arrived off the Inca Trail at 8am, just to leave off our back packs : We were soaked and had been up at 3am for our final hike . The doorman took one look at us, and refused to let us in. He made us stand on the doorstep while he rushed off to get the manager .

2 . As we needed to contact the Uk and our mobile was playing up , We asked reception for a quote for a land line . They said 11$ a minute , so we were somewhat suprised to get a bill for $ 102 for 2 90second calls. ( the hotel voluntarily cut this by 50% , as by this stage our faces said everthing they needed to know about what we thought of the hotel !)

3. When we got up next day , there was no water to our rooms . We could not flush the loo, have a shower, and i washed my teeth with a bottle of water !
Most galling was the lack of apology , or even the offer of a basin of water to wash in - We were better cared for on the Inca trail by the wonderful porters .
I left this 5 star hotel without a shower !!
4 - Why do they have 9 am check outs ?
Having had long international flights, followed by several days of getting up at 6am, 5 am, 4 am and 3 am etc , we had been looking forward to a leisurely morning .

This hotel was the only low point in a wonderful holiday !
We would not recommend it to a Llama in trouble !!

Like the other Orient express Properties we stayed at in Peru, this is hotel is a class act, but its location right next to the Machu Picchu entrance is both its biggest blessing and biggest curse. As mentioned in pretty much every other review, the old rooms are unbelievably small, sort of simple, and, for several rooms, viewless. I’m repeating it here because, like you, I had read all the other reviews, and was STILL surprised by how small the room was.

We stayed here as part of a package tour (with Lindblad, which is also a class act), so the eye-popping room rate was well buried in the package price. Would we stay here again? Unquestionably, absolutely, yes. It’s a great hotel, and it was more than worth it to be able to see last light at Machu Picchu one evening and then get head of the line at the entrance gate for sunup the following morning, well before the first bus roars up. Note that being head of the line at the entrance gate is something that the hotel’s location can set you up with. Still being at the head of the line at the END of the trail up the hill? Well, that’s entirely up to you! We settled for finishing with the peloton…

As for food, the busy lunch buffet was actually quite nice. The fancier dining room alternated, seemingly randomly, between really good food & service and being completely overwhelmed by the load. The adjacent bar is generally a peaceful refuge from the Machu Picchu hoards. The other thing worth noting is that they have a seldom-used but very well-appointed day room that’s a wonderful place to freshen up before heading back down the hill and back to Cuzco or wherever. It sure beats trying to splash some water on your face in the sink of the lobby bathroom. Ask for it.