Tambo Del Inka Resort and Spa

When you’re taking a bucket list trip, no standard-issue business hotel will do. Tambo Del Inka is so thoroughly of its place, you couldn’t mistake it for anywhere else—and that’s worth the trip alone. Here, even the “beginning” room category is like a scene from Robert Redford-Goes-To-Peru, with woven wallcoverings and striped rugs and fabrics galore, plus blonde wood and rattan soaring ceilings. Bonus: each starts at 441 square feet and includes traditional hotel perks like marble-lined bathrooms, zippy free WiFi, a VCR (and library of rental flicks), plus all the pampering service luxuries, like 24-hour room service and bottomless bottled water. To live like emperor Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui would have liked, book the Senior Suite—it has a separate dining area, living room and patio, plus an expansive 882 square foot floor plan.

A modern yet earthy 128-room respite with a lauded spa, indoor outdoor pool, and—notably—its own private train station to zip guests to Machu Picchu.

Hangry. The resort’s two locavore restaurants—where ingredients are pulled from an on-site organic garden—are a delicious experience. Be sure to book a table by the soaring stone fireplace at Hawa Restaurant...or sip pisco on the terrace overlooking the Andes.

After hours of hiking, you’re not ashamed to admit you need a bit of indoorsy pampering, and this place delivers. The spa has spring-fed thermal pools; Vichy showers; relaxation rooms with stars twinkling on the ceiling; and treatments inspired by ancient Incans.

You thought you knew everything there was to know about pisco, but you were wrong. The resort’s foodie classes are can’t miss, and tonight—sipping your way through the best piscos in the land, paired with only-in-Peru appetizers—you’re practically getting your master’s degree.

Hawa Restaurant - Gourmet & Novandine cuisine with products farm to table Kiri Bar El Huacatay Bar