Inkaterra La Casona

It was raised in the sixteenth century upon the foundations of an Inca palace, and became Cusco's earliest manor house. Today, Inkaterra La Casona keeps only eleven suites — not one more, not one fewer — on the Plaza de las Nazarenas, one of the quietest squares in the historic centre. Inside, wood-burning fireplaces never falter, the stone floors gleam with wax, and the colonial and republican art has been selected piece by piece over more than a decade. Relais & Châteaux.

For a first visit to Cusco, the Plaza Suite — two colonial windows opening onto the square; for longer stays, the Casona Suite, with its private study. The restaurant, intimate and reserved for guests, serves Andean-contemporary cooking drawn from the property's own garden in the Sacred Valley. Breakfasts beside the fire are, on their own, reason to return.