Tambo del Inka, a Luxury Collection Resort & Spa, Valle Sagrado — Hotel in Urubamba

We had an absolutely incredible stay at the Tambo Del Inka towards the end of March. To sum up our experience, this is a beautiful property located in an incredibly beautiful setting, and has hands down the most wonderful staff we have ever had the chance to interact with at any hotel in our stays worldwide.

Background: We had been planning a trip to the Sacred Valley for a while and with the Tambo Del Inka coming up, decided to use it as our base for exploring the Sacred Valley. We travelled to Peru in the end of March, which was towards the end of the rainy season. The weather was gorgeous during our entire time there, and we also benefited from the absence of many tourists who usually come in over the Summer (in North America). There was plenty of C&P availability for our entire stay there - we divided our visit into two separate stays, the first (3 nights) on C&P, and the second (2 nights) under a special package rate, that included breakfast, round-trip airport transfers from Cusco as well as a complimentary Coca Leaf treatment at the Spa. In between the two stays, we spent 4 days hiking the Inca Trail to Machu Pichu. While there was C&P availability for the second set of days as well, I decided to book the package given that we were planning to make use of all these amenities in any case and the overall package seemed to be a reasonable value (in comparison to using C&P for the room and paying for the rest of the services). Note that the prices listed on the website usually include the 19% tax that only Peruvian natives need to pay.

Location/Transport: The hotel is located in Urubamba which is in the Sacred Valley and about an hour or so from Cusco airport. The hotel provides round-trip transportation to Cusco for US $80 each way in the hotel car. Alternatively, the hotel arranges for one of the local cab drivers to transport you to Cusco for US $35 each way (95 soles). The drive from Cusco to Urubamba is beautiful and takes about an hour to get to (slightly longer if there is lots of traffic in Cusco). It is a good base for exploring much of the sacred valley - we engaged a car+driver (arranged through the hotel) for one day for a Sacred Valley tour (Chinchero, Moray and Maras) and paid around 80 USD for the same - the tour was great but the driver unfortunately turned out to speak very little english. Ollantaytambo is a short drive away (30 min) and the main bus/van station in Urubamba is about a 10 min walk from the hotel. Vans depart at short intervals to Ollantaytambo and are quite inexpensive (around 6 Soles each way, IIRC). The location was also perfect for starting the Inca Trail trek to Machu Pichu, as all trekkers start the trek from Km 82 of the Highway, and you shave an hour or more off your commute to Km 82 by starting from Urubamba, as opposed to starting from Cusco (which is where all trek groups start). If you are interested in taking the train to Machu Pichu, the hotel does have its own train station from which you can take a direct train to Aguas Calientes (Machu Pichu is a ~25 min bus ride from there). I believe this train service runs once a day in each direction. Ollantaytambo has trains leaving for Aguas Calientes frequently though. The town of Urubamba itself doesnt have much to offer in terms of sights.

Room: The check-in process was very smooth and we were seated and given cups of Coca tea from the Coca tea station in the lobby (this is available throughout the day and is a good way to get used to the altitude). The lobby area is beautiful and has plenty of comfortable seating. It looks especially spectacular at night once the fireplace is turned on (pictures below). We arrived around 11a and the hotel had arranged a nice suite for us (Room 241, I think) which was ready to be occupied. The suite had a large living room with a DVD player/TV, a couch, a dining table and a loveseat by the window. The french doors open out to the yard, which had great views and also very comfortable recliners for seating. We enjoyed a leisurely cup of coffee in the morning here every day. The decor in the room (as with the rest of the hotel) was luxurious but understated, and blended well with the surroundings, with touches of local flavor. The bedroom has a small dressing room, and a very comfortable bed.

Room Service/Dining: We ordered lunch using room service the first day as we were too tired to venture out, and opted for a couple of sandwiches (pics below). Twhich were around US $13 each (all prices inclusive of VAT and other charges). The sandwiches were good but not spectacular. We didnt eat in the hotel restaurant except for the last couple of days when we had the buffet breakfast (which was included in the rate, and is otherwise US $22 or 1650 starpoints. Continental breakfast runs $14) which was excellent, both in variety and quality (some of the items like hot dogs seemed unusual as a breakfast choice). The made-to-order omelettes and quinoa pancakes were especially good. We also ate and had cocktails in the hotel bar on our last night, and it was a great setting to unwind. On the concierge's recommendation, we ate dinner at Tros Keros (a short walk from the hotel; turn left once you exit and you will see it on your right eventually) and the food was outstanding (highly recommend the Avocado salad). We also ate a few times at one of the cafes near the main square (its name escapes me at the moment) and the food there was really good as well, with plenty of good vegetarian options (veggie burgers were ~$6).

Spa: Our package included a spa treatment for two: coca exfoliation followed by a 45 minute massage. The entire treatment lasted for about 90 minutes and was incredibly relaxing. The spa has a very serene setting and the masseuses did a terrific job of working on resuscitating our sore muscles (we had just returned from the Inca Trail hike the day before). After our treatment, we relaxed on the heated recliners for over an hour sipping pisco sours - it doesnt get much better!

Staff: I cannot complete this review without mentioning the absolutely wonderful staff that work in this resort - each and every request that we had was met with a smile, and we were very favorably impressed with each and every interaction we had. Before our visit, I corresponded extensively with the Concierge desk (mainly Erika), especially given that we had a somewhat complex itinerary with our stays broken into two parts and had to coordinate for airport pickup etc. Every email was responded to very promptly. A couple of examples of the ways in which the staff excelled: when we were picked up from the airport, we requested a small detour in order to pick up some hiking gear from Cusco. The hotel graciously arranged it with the driver and we ended up making a one-hour stop on the way, at no extra charge. We stayed at the resort on my birthday and my wife called the front desk to see if they could arrange for a cake to be sent up - Alan, one of the room service staff members, came up around 1130 and did a fantastic job of setting up cake and champagne. After the first part of our stay, we left our bags behind with the bellman and left on the Inca Trail trek. When we got back 4 days later and checked in, the hotel had already assigned us to the same suite we had before, and had thoughtfully placed our bags in the room already. We didnt even have to check in! In fact, all the staff members we met when we got back greeted us with "Welcome Home" and it really did feel like we were back home (after 4 days of sleeping in the wilderness). Everyone is very proud to be working for the hotel and for Starwood - of course, we did go in the lean season so there werent as many guests around and we got a lot of personalized attention...but I am sure service would be great in the peak season as well.

In all, this was a fantastic start to our vacation and we cant wait to get back already! This is a true gem and a great addition to the portfolio of properties that SPG has - having access to properties like these is what keeps us...

We arrived at the hotel and it appeared very lovely. The check-in process was quite seamless however my mother had booked the hotel for us with her points and since she was platinum, I asked if we would get the platinum benefits (just like we had with the exact same situation in the other hotels on the trip. The lady was pleasant about it and explained that that was not the case and that the previous hotel i stayed a must have granted an exception, something they would not do. Not a huge deal, but nonetheless I checked with SPG and they informed us that it was up to the discretion of the hotel. I went back to the reception and talked to another lady and explained the situation. She wasn’t very friendly in the first place and as I was explaining the situation, the original lady began talking to her as if I wasn’t understanding what she was saying, but in fact, I was. She said effectively behind my back that she had already explained it to me and that I am not entitled to that so she shouldn’t have to explain it again. I figured given that I was a gold member and my mum who booked it was lifetime platinum, plus the fact that the hotel was pretty empty, that they would do the decent thing and just honour the benefits but they did not, and did so with attitude. Again, not a major deal but The Luxury Collection competitors would have stepped up.

• The only real benefit would have been breakfast. Moreover, the rest of our stay the receptionists treated us very coldly, as if we were too cheap to be at the hotel.* Our room was quite nice with a great view. The facilities were also quite nice although it was very surprising that nowhere on the property did that have aloe vera for sunburns. Also found it a tad tacky for a luxury hotel to not have sun block available for 1 time use at the pool, but rather they could have charged us for use of sunblock. Again, not a huge deal, but surprising given the quality of the hotel. The breakfast staff were great, particularly Eloy. However, it took 20 minutes to bring out French toast and subsequently I was not able to eat it on time before having to run to catch a train. The dinner service was good but the food really wasn’t spectacular and was fairly pricey given Peruvian standards and the small size of the portion, but that is expected at a Luxury Collection hotel. The next night we ate at the bar and the food was more reasonably priced and actually better tasting. Amelia was very sweet and helpful. However, the chicken in my girlfriend’s club sandwich was pink to which the kitchen staff agreed was pink and therefore they re-made the club sandwich. It was good of them to redo the meal, but at the same time, a pretty thin chicken breast in a club sandwich at a luxury hotel should not be serving pink chicken. Moreover, my girlfriend had already eaten some of the sandwich before she realized it was pink. This is highly unacceptable for any restaurant, let alone one at a luxury hotel. The maids were friendly however the quality of cleaning was not exceptional. The toilet was not cleaned during the room cleaning or the turn down. Moreover, they moved our toothbrush out of a glass and put it on a hand towel which isn’t exactly ideal. The next day, we thought we’d take advantage of the video games available. They were locked so I asked the front desk they could unlock it. They said they’d call. After 15 minutes of waiting, my girlfriend went back to the front desk and asked if there was any update, and the response was “your boyfriend already asked and we already called. Nothing else we can do”. That too is unacceptable as 15 minutes waiting for somebody just to unlock a drawer is a tad ridiculous, but the reception saying they couldn’t do anything else is even more ridiculous as they could have easily just called again since they were clearly not busy. We ended up waiting 30 minutes and nobody showed up so we didn’t want to waste any more time at the hotel and instead just left to go to Cusco rather than be poorly treated by some at this hotel. Gonzalo, Amelia and Eloy were great. The concierge was also very helpful. However, the service simply wasn’t satisfactory, especially since the hotel was so empty. Property was great and there was some great staff, but simply not good enough for a Luxury Collection property. Simply put: will not go back or recommend. Even this review was not approved the first time because I mentioned that other hotels were better, which is a questionable practice for a review as it basically ensures...

I posted this on Trip Advisor and received a response from management. I think future guests need to see what they will get.

Trip Advisor: We reserved five rooms at Tambo del Inka Hotel & Spa for three nights — 1 Senior Suite King, 3 Deluxe Kings, and 1 Twin. At check-in we received 1 Senior Suite King, 1 Deluxe King and 3 twins. We were told the hotel had no additional king rooms available. We had prepaid the reservations. No refund, no apology, no explanation. That’s not five-star service — minus half a star. The Senior Suite was dimly lit, and when we asked for more lamps, extension cords were given and were left stretched dangerously across the floor. The manager finally agreed with my husband about safety and offered to return with a better solution. The manager never followed up as promised, we waited for over an hour and when we inquired we were told he wouldn't be returning. Service felt indifferent and unresponsive — and they didn't care about safety. Another half-star lost. Then came the deal-breaker: my brother’s room was infested with drain flies emerging from the bathroom sinks. He spent nearly an hour killing them in the middle of the night. Staff admitted others had similar issues but offered only to spray or move him to another room — which had the same problem. To make matters worse, the hotel offered only 10,000 Marriott Bonvoy points as compensation — barely enough for a night at a lower-category hotel (like a Fairfield Inn or Courtyard), not a five-star Luxury Collection property where our issues occurred. A true five-star property provides spotless rooms, proactive management, and impeccable service. Unfortunately, Tambo del Inka failed on all counts. Our experience was, at best, 3½ stars.

I did receive the following from hotel management. They fail to understand that true service happens when the guest requests help, not after a negative review is posted. During our stay management NEVER checked in to see how we were, or to apologize for all that happened during our stay. And to add insult to injury they think we will return... thank you for the most insincere response.

Response is again not of a 5 stars hotel. Management's response: Dear kritzi340, Thank you for taking the time to share your impressions of your recent stay at Tambo del Inka. We truly value your detailed feedback and the opportunity it provides for us to review our operations and service standards. Please rest assured that we are taking your comments very seriously. Our management team is carefully reviewing the details of your experience to ensure that all aspects of our service continue to meet the high expectations associated with The Luxury Collection brand. We appreciate your loyalty and the trust you placed in us when selecting Tambo del Inka for your visit. Your observations are instrumental in helping us refine the guest experience, and we hope to have the opportunity to welcome you back in the future for a stay that fully reflects our commitment to excellence. Warm regards, Joaquín Escudero General Manager Tambo del Inka, a Luxury Collection...