Spanglish Accent: Palacio Nazarenas

Day three and I could finally sleep. We had nothing on the schedule except a late breakfast, a tour of the city square/churches and a late flight into Lima. I was so tired when we got back from Machu Picchu that I even skipped dinner. I just went straight to sleep. I even exiled B to the restaurant since he wanted to order rooms service and eat it in our room. While watching t.v. Not while I was in search of a dark and quiet room - so off he went. And I SLEPT. Hard. Well, at least until the kids got up at 7 am (which for my kids can be sleeping in).

After a hearty brunch at the hotel (highly recommended) I had a few minutes to explore while everyone else was finishing their packing or brushing their teeth. Finally, I was going to get a good look at this wonderful place I had heard so much about.

Palacio Nazarenas is a newly opened hotel. But that doesn't make anything about it new. It was originally built in the 16th century as a Palace, then became a Carmelite convent and has been kept away from public view for the past 7 years as they turned it into a hotel. It was never planned to be such an extensive project but when they started excavations for the renovations they found so many relics and historic artifacts that they had to bring in a team of archaeologists to catalog it all before beginning in earnest on the conversion. The best part is that they have kept most of their finds on site and kept as much of the original building as they could. There are Inca sandals on display, an 18th century archangel Gabriel in the lobby and some of the original murals were restored using flour dough to keep their original colors.

But the hotel is not simply an old building. It is modern and new in a lot of ways: They built balcony's on the suites that surround the pool. Using all Peruvian artisans and wood indigenous to Cuzco. The balconies were carved to mirror the ones you see in most homes in the city. They have the very first outdoor pool in all of Cuzco. The restaurant is state of the art and with top notch cooking, and an herb garden on site that is used daily. And they only use their home (or hotel) grown herbs. The uniforms the staff wear were designed by two of Peru's most famous designers - with emphasis on comfort, style and their WOW factor. The spa is five star and was designed with glass floors in each of the five treatment rooms so guests can see the actual underground level of the convent as it was 500 years ago. Their soap is handmade by local artisans, as are most of the decorations in their rooms. There is oxygen pumped into each and every suite (it is an all suite hotel) to combat the effects of the altitude. And my kids encountered Misky - a hand crocheted snake that was to be their friend for their stay, and then for them to keep as a reminder of their journey. Misky (the local languages word for sweet...How fitting since our pet is named Dulce) was inspired by the snakes that were carved into the facade of the original building.

This is a place where old meets new. Where clever meets common. Where antique meets modern. Where complex meets simple.

It is a place where my senses were alive and I wish I could have spent more time exploring...but alas, we had a few more things to see in town. So I snapped some quick pictures and headed to town.

Tomorrow I will tell you about our trip to town.