We were so lucky to stay at the JW Marriott Cusco on our last two days of eight day trip to Peru. I had spend the days before arriving in Cusco at Ollantaytambo and hiking Machu Picchu. I had been fine up until then but once I arrived at the super high altitude of Cusco, it was game over. I was so overjoyed to hear that The JW Marriott Cusco had their own paramedic on call to give oxygen to those suffering from altitude sickness, 24 hours a day. Hallelujah! I called that doctor three times during my two day stay at the JW Marriott Cusco and I don't know how I would have survived at any other hotel.
By the front desk is also a selection of teas, including dried coca leaves to help to alleviate any altitude sickness issues.
Besides being a 5-star hotel, featuring delicious food, housing historical artifacts, the JW Marriott Cusco had a super fun schedule of activities scheduled for it's guests. There was a ceviche cooking class, tour of the convent, a pisco-sour making class and shaman reading. So much to do!
Our Hotel Room
We were booked with two beds in the Classic Inca Room which retails at around $400 a night. Another amazing feature is that for $50 USD per day, you can get extra oxygen vented into the room
Upon entering we were treated to two amazing welcome treats. I especially enjoyed what looked like little mini pears but were delicious bites of cake!
The hotel left no detail unnoticed, also included were two extra adaptors for our stay.
The Bathroom
The bathroom amenities were top notch and the rainforest showers were powerful and made showers so pleasurable!
The Bedroom
The Breakfast Buffet
The JW Marriott Cusco had a truly epic breakfast buffet which was included with the room. It had all the traditional fixings at a breakfast buffet but all the food was incredibly high quality.
There was a chef preparing eggs however you liked them. I really loved that the eggs featured Peruvian touches such as local greens that I had never tasted before and Peruvian sausage.
Individually portioned smoothies, already poured and ready to go!
A mouthwatering display of cold cuts, including salame, smoked tour (trucha ahumada), turkey ham (jamon de pavo), and ham (jamon)
I never seen freshly baked chocolate chip cookies at a breakfast buffet but they were delicious and I'll miss them every time I visit any other breakfast buffet now!
Every single pastry that I tried at this breakfast buffet was top notch
Loving the individually portioned fruit!
A morning detox juice
A gorgeous display of the flavored water
The Qespi Restaurant and Bar
Before dinner at The Qespi, we stopped by the bar from some of their signature drinks. There is a separate bar menu at the restaurant, which you can also order from for dinner.
Since neither of us drink alcohol, the bartender suggested that we try to Qespi Punch, which he could make as a virgin cocktail.
Not only was the Qespi Punch totally Instagrammable, it was delicious! Just the right amount of sour, featuring my favorite passion fruit flavor. It also came with a paper straw and two chocolate dipped strawberries. Also the juices featured in the mixed drinks at Qespi are from local crops and are squeezed fresh at the bar.
I really loved the bread presentation at the restaurant. There are three breads featured in the box and as you can see, we were treated to generous amounts of bread also! The first bread is coca bread, featuring dried coca leaves mixed into the dough. Next up is a brioche bread, with parmesan cheese mixed into its dough. Last up is a yellow potato bread, featuring salt from the maras salt mines of Peru.
Yummy, super soft butter for the bread!
One of my top recommended dishes from the meal is the warm ceviche. The dish is brought out with the hot stone in the middle and the sauce is poured onto the dish at the table by the server.
This octopus appetizer was perfectly cooked, fork tender, and deeply rich in flavor.
Our third appetizer was a garlic shrimp from the Qespi Bar menu.
Don't leave Peru without trying Pachamacha! Qespi's pachamanca features tender cuts of beef, chicken breast, llama, sweet potato, paria cheese, boiled potatos, and pachamanca sauce.
We also shared the seafood pasta which was gorgeous.
Of course we saved room for dessert!
First up is the Chrimoya, featuring a orange merengue, passion fruit sorbet, and almond crumble, all locally sourced.
We also ordered a creme brûlée from the bar menu, which was gorgeous. The brûlée featured full sized grains of rice inside.
We were completely stuffed afterwards, but couldn't be more satisfied!
The Hotel Grounds
The pool inside the spa at the JW Marriott is absolutely gorgeous and is heated. The hotel features a huge 3000 square-ft spa which features all the amenities: a sauna, Jacuzzi, and steam room. Make sure to check out their many Incan inspired treatments.
Located right next to the spa are two exhibition areas with Peruvian artifacts.
Our stay at the JW Marriott was complimentary but as always all opinions are my own
