Archives for posts with tag: Palacio Nazarenas

It’s official! Palacio Nazarenas is launched

September 27, 12 //
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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

Planning the grand opening

September 5, 12 //
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By Stephan Post, Launch General Manager, Palacio Nazarenas

This is the moment we’ve been building up to: our grand opening party takes place this weekend.

Orient-Express has spent years restoring Palacio Nazarenas and turning it into Cuzco’s finest boutique hotel. Last June we opened our doors to our first guests. Now that we’ve settled into our rhythm we’re excited to be holding our official launch event.

Planning the grand opening...

Planning the grand opening...

We’re busy putting the final touches to the party. On our guest list are leading travel agents and press from around the world. We’ve lined up some amazing local food, drinks and entertainment. We want our guests to experience exactly what makes Palacio Nazarenas so special—we’ll be celebrating its amazing story from pre-Inca times up until today.

So stay in touch, and see you next week when we’ll share the party highlights.

Local farmers come to visit

August 24, 12 //
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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 //
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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 //
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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 //
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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.

History is coming to life

March 2, 12 //
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By Janna Rapaport, Interior designer

Restoration work is proceeding at Palacio Nazarenas and we are beginning to see many major features of the building emerge from their protective wraps. This picture shows me with our restoration coordinator Ximena Vasquez de Velasco, standing in front of a beautiful antique frame covered in gold leaf. It dates from colonial times and is a superb example of the local craftsman’s art.

Standing with restoration coordinator Ximena at Palacio Nazarenas.

Other historic features are found in certain deluxe guest suites, which we are calling our Z Collection. Book one of these special suites and you may find yourself sleeping beneath a colonial ceiling or beside an Inca wall. It’s a very special opportunity to live and breathe Cuzco’s great heritage.

Creating innovative Cuzco cuisine

February 15, 12 //
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By Virgilio Martinez, Chef Director of Palacio Nazarenas

Chef Virgilio Martinez and his colleague Pia Leon who are sourcing local organic produce for Senzo restaurant.

Kilometre 0. (Or maximum 100!) That’s my concept for Senzo, the main restaurant at Palacio Nazarenas. Don’t expect truffles, Parmesan cheese or even fish from just off the Lima coast. My focus is on local Cuzco producers: a gastronomic feast from the Andes, its land, lakes and rivers. This unique environment, 3,000 metres above sea level, is rich with extraordinary produce including 2000 types of potato and countless herbs, including at least 100 that don’t even have a name. I’ll be presenting these in an exciting, avant-garde way.

In addition to this local produce, Palacio Nazarenas will have its own garden. Guests will be able to see vegetables growing, immediately before they arrive on their plates.

Senzo at Palacio Nazarenas will be all about exciting new discoveries. For instance have you heard about Cuzco’s airampo fruit? It’s a type of purple prickly pear. Check out my Facebook page for a recipe here.

I hope you’ll join me on this adventure: is there any ingredient from the Cuzco region that you are keen to try?