Archives for posts with tag: Cuzco
« Older Entries

It’s official! Palacio Nazarenas is launched

September 27, 12 //
0

By Stephan Post, Launch General Manager, Palacio Nazarenas

Last week saw the culmination of years of hard work: a spectacular party launched Palacio Nazarenas onto the Cuzco scene. The evening was filled with fireworks, fabulous food and fashions, and lots of fun. Our team welcomed over 150 guests to the hotel, including politicians, diplomats, film stars and international media.

The evening kicked off with the official cutting of the ribbon beside Cuzco’s first outdoor swimming pool, and finished with the Afro-Peruvian sounds of one of South America’s top musicians, Micky Gonzales.

The celebrations marked the conclusion of four years dedicated to restoring this beautiful building while taking it forward as a contemporary hotel. Now we turn our attention to our guests, and to ensuring that they discover all that Cuzco has to offer in an exceptional way.

So now that the hotel is fully fledged it’s time to say “goodbye” to this blog. This is the final post, as we focus all our energies on ensuring that our guests have a fantastic stay.

We’ll be leaving the blog in place for a while so that anyone who wants to discover our “back story’ can find out more. Please, come and visit us and let us turn these words and pictures into an experience to remember.

Candles illuminate the area surrounding Cuzco's first outdoor pool

Candles illuminate the area surrounding Cuzco's first outdoor pool

Vanessa Saba

Vanessa Saba

Anna Laevski, Dominika Paleta and Lorena Pérez Moya

Anna Laevski, Dominika Paleta and Lorena Pérez Moya

Eduardo Ferrero and his wife Verónica, María Rosa Arrarte

Eduardo Ferrero and his wife Verónica, María Rosa Arrarte

Mauricio Bustamante and his wife Claudia Abuid. Pedro Diez Canseco and his wife Jessika Gómez

Mauricio Bustamante and his wife Claudia Abuid. Pedro Diez Canseco and his wife Jessika Gómez

Gina Gabbard and her husband Chris, Kimberly Wilson Wetty

Gina Gabbard and her husband Chris, Kimberly Wilson Wetty

Mr. Manuel Zúñiga

Mr. Manuel Zúñiga

Fátima Arrieta and her husband Alfredo Arosemena

Fátima Arrieta and her husband Alfredo Arosemena

Vania Masías and her husband Erick Hanschke

Vania Masías and her husband Erick Hanschke

Local farmers come to visit

August 24, 12 //
0

By Stephan Post, Launch General Manager, Palacio Nazarenas

Last Monday, three representatives from Peru’s Agrarian Investigation Institute came to visit us at the hotel. They then joined our chef, Virgilio Martinez, on a tour of the Sacred Valley, meeting some of the farmers and their communities in what are often remote and inaccessible areas.

Chef Virgilio Martinez toured the Sacred Valley to meet farmers and source new ingredients for his kitchen.

Chef Virgilio Martinez toured the Sacred Valley to meet farmers and source new ingredients for his kitchen.

The trip resulted in a real harvest of ideas. So much so that we’ve invited the farmers to visit us here at Palacio Nazarenas, to demonstrate their products and skills. Starting next week we’ll be welcoming around 12 growers of native plants known for aromatic oils. Four more gatherings based around other crops are planned for the following weeks.

Any guests who are interested in unusual local produce are welcome to drop by. We’re all expecting to make exciting new discoveries that will find their way onto our Senzo restaurant menu and into treatments at Hypnoze spa.

Memories of Cuzco to take home

August 18, 12 //
0

By Stephan Post, Launch General Manager, Palacio Nazarenas

When we set up Palacio Nazarenas we asked master ceramicist Tater Camilo Vera to create a collection of vases in traditional Cuzco style. These are filled with flowers and placed in our suites. We invite guests to take one home with them when they leave.

Hand-crafted vases by Cuzco ceramicist Tater Camilo Vera are placed in guests' suites.

Hand-crafted vases by Cuzco ceramicist Tater Camilo Vera
are placed in guests' suites.

It turns out that these vases are not the only popular hand-crafted artifacts around the hotel. Guests have been delighted by other locally-made items, too. And so we’ve created Boutique Nazarenas, for anyone who’d like to buy another piece of Cuzco to take home. Selected objects available in the boutique include small ceramic containers, salt from Maras, cookery books and an alpaca-shaped bottle carrier. Plus we offer two special varieties of pisco, the Peruvian liqueur.

Mario Testino visits Palacio Nazarenas

July 24, 12 //
0

By Stephan Post, Launch General Manager, Palacio Nazarenas

It’s now a month since opening and it’s been a real pleasure having our first guests to stay. Among them was Mario Testino who was travelling with a team on a photography shoot. Mario was born and grew up in Lima, and it was great to be able to show him a new side to his home country. He is currently shooting portraits of Peruvian people wearing festive costumes, and couldn’t have picked a better time to visit—during the Inti Raymi celebrations here in Cuzco.

His visit to Cuzco followed the launch of his Asociacion Mario Testino (MATE), based in a beautiful old house in Lima, which supports Peruvian artists and culture. www.mariotestino.com/philanthropy

Travelling with him was Hamish Bowles, International Editor at Large for Vogue, who has blogged about his visit at www.vogue.com

Photographer Mario Testino with General Manager Stephan Post

Photographer Mario Testino with General Manager Stephan Post at Palacio Nazarenas.

Our neighbours come to visit

July 5, 12 //
0

By Laurent Carrasset, Managing Director, Peru

One of the high points of reopening Palacio Nazarenas has been welcoming in local people to a building that has been closed for seven years. We’ve had so many heartfelt comments from visitors who’ve said how proud and how grateful they are to Orient-Express for bringing ‘their’ convent back to life. It was very important to them that an historic building in such a key location, close by a national museum, should be properly cared for and open to the public.

Mass is held in the nun's cell with the painting of Senor de Huanca.

Many of these visitors headed straight to the former nun’s cell where the miraculous image of Senor de Huanca covers one wall. At last they were able to pay their respects to this depiction of a vision of Christ once again. Seeing them venerate this sacred painting—now beautifully restored—made all our work worthwhile.

Researching new recipes and ingredients

February 22, 12 //
0

By Virgilio Martinez, Chef Director of Palacio Nazarenas

I’ve spent a lot of the last three years travelling around Peru to track down its best ingredients and the experts who can help me to use them in new and exciting ways. For instance, one expert specialises in infusions based on herbs from the Sacred Valley. Others know everything there is to know about Andean potatoes and river fish.

All our produce featured at Palacio Nazarenas will be organic: the only “chemistry” is the scientific work that we do in the kitchen to push the boundaries of what can be achieved with nature at its best. I’ve a huge library of books and do a lot of research into recipes and new cooking styles. One of my team is working full time, meeting farmers and communities around Cuzco to discover new ingredients and ways of cooking them.

I’m not interested in repeating classic Peruvian dishes. For Senzo, our signature restaurant, I want to unearth unusual ingredients around Cuzco and to take them to new levels, to release their full potential.

The balcony is complete!

January 27, 12 //
0

By Enrique Palacio, Principal Architect

This Cuzco-style balcony in local wood marks a key step forward in the completion of Palacio Nazarenas.

It forms part of a suite and that has fabulous views out over the city rooftops and the Andes beyond. The carving and joinery was done by local craftsmen working under the direction of heritage consultant architect, Roberto Samanez. If you stroll around Plaza de Armas, the central square close by the hotel, you’ll see many similar balconies.

Countdown to 8am, 15 June 2012

January 6, 12 //
0

By Stephan Post, General Manager – Palacio Nazarenas

January is here, and many of you will be planning your holidays. If you want to be ahead of the pack and do something completely new and different, why not come and see us. We’ll be opening Palacio Nazarenas at 8am on 15 June. Spend a week or so with us and discover Cuzco in a way that no one else can.

Our experts introduce art in Cuzco, from 16th century works to cutting edge painting today.

We can introduce you to a local artist who’ll show you all the highlights of the Cuzco art scene, from the 16th century Cuzquenian school to cutting edge work today. Or spend time with an architect who’ll take you exploring extraordinary buildings that most tourists never access. If you’re a foodie, let our chef take you to meet his suppliers and friends at local markets and out into the countryside to visit Andean farms and harvest wild herbs.

Then, when you’re really in the spirit of local life, it’s the Inti Raymi festival of the sun god—the high point of the Cuzco calendar. The key date for major celebrations is 24 June. It’s something you’ll never forget. To find out more, view Inti Raymi on http://www.vimeo.com and YouTube.

Designing the Day Uniforms

December 9, 11 //
0

By Jose Miguel Valdivia, Fashion Designer

I’m delighted to have been asked to design the day uniforms for Palacio Nazarenas. I’ve just been walking around the hotel and have come away with a very strong impression of the ancient stonework. If you look carefully at all the old Inca walls you’ll see wonderful shades of grey, pink and beige. These colours are what I plan to bring out in the uniforms.

A design from one of Jose Miguel Valdivia's recent collections.

I don’t want the staff’s clothes to fight with the building. Nor do I want them to reference local costumes. I’m looking to design uniforms that are clean, elegant and even futuristic, in subtle shades but with rich textures. Onto this soft background I’ll add a trim to catch the eye. I’m currently working with weavers and other Cuzco artisans to decide exactly what form this will take.

A new magazine features Palacio Nazarenas

November 14, 11 //
0

by Stephan Post, General Manager Hotel Monasterio and Palacio Nazarenas

We’ve just launched an exciting new magazine—Highlights: An Invitation to Peru—with a major feature on Palacio Nazarenas.  It also contains articles on other unique experiences available through Orient-Express, including food and dining, wildlife and festivals. Plus you can discover how to plan your trip with Orient-Express, and add extensions in Brazil, the Galapagos Islands and elsewhere in Peru.

Click here to read Highlights online.  Or, if you’d prefer to sit back with a print copy, just let us know and we’ll put one in the post (while stocks last).

Highlights of Peru

« Older Entries