A FORMER palace and convent in the ancient Inca city of Cuzco opened its doors as a 55-room luxury hotel this week, becoming Orient-Express’s sixth property in Peru and the second on bustling Nazarenas Square, where the group opened Hotel Monasterio in 1999. Following a painstaking, three-year restoration and rebuild guided by a large team of archaeologists, the Palacio Nazarenas has emerged as a sophisticated all-suite hotel where whitewashed adobe walls and timber balconies are complemented by cosy but bright interiors featuring restored frescoes and authentic decorative features supplied by local weavers and carvers. The hotel sits at 11,000 feet above sea level so all suites can be oxygenated on request (and delicately scented with mountain flowers and herbs). The large, travertine marble bathrooms have underfloor heating; there’s an in-room bar, espresso machine, Bose sound system and around-the-clock butler service. The most influential people in Sport Many suites have views towards Cuzco’s cathedral or the hillside Inca site of Sacsayhuaman. Stand-out features are the hotel’s resolutely locavore restaurant, a fair trade boutique and Cuzco’s first outdoor swimming pool, which of course is heated, and sequestered within the largest of the hotel’s cloistered terraces. Palacio Nazarenas is ideally located, on a plaza behind Cuzco’s main square, nearby to the groovy San Blas and within easy walking distance of the cathedral and most museums. Cuzco is a one-hour flight from Lima, the capital of Peru. Where to Eat Under young Peruvian chef Virgilio Martinez, the hotel’s signature Senzo will be the first restaurant in the city to focus entirely on Andean cuisine. Martinez has assembled an impressive team including one chef who is expert in the region’s more than 2000 varieties of potatoes; and another in the herbs of the nearby Sacred Valley. The kitchen will adhere to a strict food-miles policy sourcing ingredients from within a small radius around the hotel (as well as propagating its own vegetables and herbs). Out and about, check MAP café in the Museum of Pre-Columbian Art. Don’t Miss A pampered session in the intimate Hypnoze spa where there are only six treatment rooms (including a double with hot tub) and the treatments are inspired by local flowers and herbs, even coffee and corn. Some therapy rooms have glass floors, providing a peek of the Inca stonework unearthed by the hotel’s archaeologists. Stand Out Feature Natty room features extend beyond the perfumed, oxygenated atmosphere to include an iPad loaded with a Cuzco city travel guide, games and restaurant and pillow menus. Concierge's Tip Machu Picchu is a comfortable three hours away via the lovely Sacred Valley courtesy of Orient-Express’s own luxury Hiram Bingham train.