Explora Valle Sagrado
Explora Valle Sagrado is the Chilean company’s only property in Peru, named after the Sacred Valley.
Read my full Explora review in Luxury Latin America!
You’ll find high ceilings paneled with blond wood throughout the hotel, bar, and restaurant. Floor to ceiling windows look out on fields of corn, with the Casa de Pumahuanca spa and Andean mountains in the background.
There are 44 standard rooms and 6 suites. The suites are of course, larger than the standard rooms but otherwise not very different. All rooms have king or twin beds, a bathtub with jets, table and chairs, and a separate room for the toilet and bidet. The suite has a couch and the shower is separate from the bathtub. Every evening the turndown service includes a hot thermos of water for tea, chocolates and a card with a saying about travel in both English and Spanish.
The spa is a short walk from the hotel, along an original Inca wall. There is an outdoor swimming pool and two jacuzzis set among gardens. Inside the 18th century house, there are two massage rooms, plus both wet and dry saunas.
The hotel is very proud of its Virgilio Martinez menu, as the famous chef uses only local products in his dishes. Almost every dish is adorned with edible flowers grown in the hotel’s organic garden. Explora’s resident chef, Manuel Vela, told me that he loves working with Martinez’s menu because every dish highlights locally grown food in a creative, gourmet version of farm-to-table cuisine. Most hotels offer international cuisine designed to make guests feel at home, but Explora’s menu is designed to make guests feel that they’re not only in but also part of the Sacred Valley. Chef Vela said that working with a rotating menu means that the kitchen staff don’t get bored with cooking the same thing every day.
Besides the beautiful hotel and delicious food, travelers choose Explora for its daily excursions, which the hotel calls “explorations.” Every evening guides are available to help guests choose the next day’s exploration from a list of 48 options, organized by physical exertion and elevation. Most guests are coming from sea level and guides are careful to not take them to high elevations too soon. Options include well-known Machu Picchu, Pisac and Ollantaytambo, plus dozens of options where you won’t see any other tourists.
My three explorations were a hike in Lamay, a hike to Kinsacocha Lake and the village of Chahuaytire, and an activity called Ayni in the village of Huama. (Blogs for each exploration coming soon).
Every evening guides help guests choose activities, called explorations, for the next day.
My favorite aspect of Explora was their staff, who were exceptionally friendly and helpful. Guides are experts in all the explorations and always attentive to their guests. Restaurant staff knew not to try any conversations with me before coffee in the morning but during dinner were all interested in the exploration I’d done that day. They knew me by name even on the first day and were extremely knowledgeable about the menu, wine and suggested other options if the sensed I was unsure about the dishes on the menu. Housekeeping did such a fantastic job that I tipped them twice what I usually do.
If you want to get away from mass tourism, pamper yourself and fully experience the Sacred Valley, spend a minimum of three nights at Explora Valle Sagrado. Add on two more nights if you want to visit Machu Picchu as part of your experience.
I loved the flowering Pisonay trees full of parakeets all around the hotel.
