Peru Trip: JW Marriott Cusco

This might seem really odd, but this entire post is all about our hotel in Cusco, Peru. Let me assure you, it's completely worth it. My job might have it's challenges, but it sure has its perks too. As a Marriott associate I received discounted room rates when available. Meaning, the discount isn't always available to book online, but you just have to check and keep checking. The fact that the discount was available in April was one of the reasons we actually chose the week we did for this trip.

We stayed at the JW Marriott in Cusco. It is one of the two Marriott properties in the entire country (the other one is in Lima, the capital city. Plus Marriott just announced the construction of a Courtyard in Lima, to open in 2014). Neither Joe or I had ever stayed in a JW Marriott before, this was going to be a treat. For a little history, Bill Marriott Jr. created this brand in remembrance for his father (who started the Marriott company). It is a luxury brand and something we're not accustomed to.

The entrance was pretty neat. What am I saying, this entire hotel was pretty neat. This large archway was never closed while we were here. I was wondering if the doors could actually close, they're huge! Because the weather was so great the entire week and we never seemed to notice many bugs, the hotel was just open air.

Oh and at night the lobby was so cool. We took a tour of the property since it was built on top of some very old Inca ruins. Actually it was converted from a convent to a bakery. Anyways, there was lots of history in this place. The lobby area with the very tall brick ceilings was where the old bakery was located.

Oh and the courtyard. Gorgeous! It was perfect for the few days we had free time. We would sit out in the sun until we got too warm, and then we retreated to the couches in the shade. We saw a few people eating lunch out here too, it was just so calm and relaxing.

The hotel had a pool and spa in the basement. We ventured down there on the first night in the city and returned a few nights later to actually jump in the water. This was also very calm and relaxing.

Like I already mentioned, we took a tour of the hotel one evening. The hotel staff offered the tour each evening at 6:00 PM. Luckily we saw a sign that said this so we could join in because we were curious to know more about the land. Our tour guide was Paulo... go ahead and say it out loud. It's a fun name to say!

The original plan gave a three year timeline to complete the construction of this hotel. After groundbreaking took place the construction crew realized there was historic Inca walls and streets they were careful. Construction ended up taking about six years in total. In the basement there was this little historic area behind plexiglas.

We spent a good amount of time in the hotel lobby/bar area. We could get free wifi here so it was great to be able to connect to Facebook or our Photostream. Speaking of which, we were really happy the Photostream worked during our trip. We weren't sure if it would, but we set up a Photostream with our families on our iPhones. Then all we needed to do was use the internet to upload a few pictures each day. That gave us the opportunity to not only show them that we made it to Peru safely, but to send a few updates about our adventure. I know my mom was happy we were able to do this!

Another very cool area of the hotel was the restaurant. The entire decor was very tastefully done. I wish the designer would just stop by my house and spruce it up a bit.

We had a nice dinner in this restaurant one evening.

This was my attempt to remember the restaurant name... it was written on the menu but you can't read it at all in the picture. Bummer.

We both enjoyed a glass of wine with dinner. We had the restaurant to ourselves that night.

We asked our server to take a picture of us... and we ended up asking again for more. This was the best we came up with even though it's grainy and not the best picture.

Joe had the trout pasta with capers. It was delicious, nothing was left on the plate. I might have helped him a bit too...

And I had the sweet potato ravioli with shrimp. I'm sure there was some fancy sauce or something too. both dishes were truly delicious!!

We were actually asked by our server, Edwin, to take a picture. It seemed a bit odd but he was such a nice guy. He was surprised when I said I was also a Marriott associate (and presented my card to get a discount on dinner). We sent this picture to him over email also.

And because this hotel was just so cool I snapped pictures of our room. Very classy and cozy.

The bathroom was great too. The shower (not shown) was a rain shower where the water came from the ceiling.

We had to take advantage of the hotel amenities... bath robes. Yes please!

Plus we enjoyed turned down service. One night we had little tea bags and another we had tiny lavender bath perfumes. The directions say to use after a bath or shower. The housekeeper would place a little card on the bed with the gift and the TV would be turned on to a music station.

We were also spoiled by the hotel staff with this. This amenity with a half bottle of red wine, cheese and crackers were so amazing. Thank you JW Marriott staff!!

I already shared these pictures, but I had to show the coca tea once more. The coca tea was available in the lobby and we helped ourselves a couple times. Oh and they had this large dispenser with M&Ms, I helped myself to that a couple times too.

You can probably tell how amazing our hotel stay was. It was a treat for us to stay in a luxury hotel like this one, but I would definitely recommend it for anyone looking for a great getaway.