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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

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.

Insiders’ Peru: An Exclusive Tour

April 12, 12 //
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by Stephan Post, General Manager Hotel Monasterio and Palacio Nazarenas

When you come to Palacio Nazarenas it’s likely to be as part of a round-Peru tour. Lima, the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu will also be high on your ‘to do’ list. So, since you’ll be staying in an exceptional hotel, we’ve put together a journey to match—one that shows you Peru in a way that no-one else can.

Macchu Picchu
Our new Insiders’ Peru journey takes you to all the key places, but adds a special twist. There’ll be the chance to really get to know Cuzco, with extra time allowed and the chance to explore with an architecture expert who’ll take you inside buildings that few other visitors see. When you reach Machu Picchu an archaeologist will meet you and when you stop by the weaver’s village of Chinchero an expert will be at the ready to take you behind the scenes to explain the history of the country’s amazing textile traditions.

Visit orient-express.com/insidersperu to find out more.

Magic meets science in our first spa products

February 3, 12 //
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By Michael Simonato, Spa Creator for Palacio Nazarenas

We are delighted to have found the first of two product lines for our Hypnôze Spa. Aïny, meaning “spirit of living beings” and “reciprocity” in the local Quechua language, harnesses the properties of sacred plants from the Amazon and the Andes, which have been found to counteract signs of ageing and improve the skin’s radiance.

The formulas are created by five indigenous shaman (Curanderas) communities in Peru and Ecuador. They are then fine-tuned in a Parisian laboratory under the supervision of Aïny’s Scientific Director, Jean Claude Le Jolieff, the former R&D Director of Chanel.

The products have won several awards, including Best Sustainable Luxury Performance in Latin America 2011, and are based on a unique concept: that of unifying the magic of the shamans with the latest skincare science. The products are certified organic and not tested on animals. In addition, 4% of the turnover goes back to fund indigenous community projects.

Aïny will be exclusive to Orient-Express in Peru. We are now busy seeking our second product range, which will be an all-natural, international brand.

Designing the Day Uniforms

December 9, 11 //
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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 //
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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

Meet our Fashion Experts

November 2, 11 //
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by Stephan Post, General Manager Hotel Monasterio and Palacio Nazarenas

Our staff at Palacio Nazarenas can expect to be on Cuzco’s “best dressed” list, as we’ve just appointed two of Peru’s top fashion designers to create their uniforms. One designer will create daywear while the other will produce an evening range.

The daytime look will be by José Miguel Valdivia, who trained at Yves Saint Laurent in Paris before returning to his homeland to set up his own line—a mix of urban chic and Peruvian folklore.

For evening, the designs of award-winning Fátima Arrieta will take over. Fátima has presented her collections in Paris and has made a name for herself throughout Peru, where she is known for her vibrant colours and sophisticated, feminine styles. She works with Peruvian cotton and alpaca, patterned with colourful embroidery.

Both José and Fátima are busy in Cuzco working with local artisans, including embroiderers and other textile experts, to produce the first designs. We’ll share them with you as soon as they are ready.

Innovations at the spa

September 14, 11 //
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By Michael Simonato, Spa Creator for Palacio Nazarenas

There’s something new to report on the spa every day. It’s going to be a fabulous retreat, designed to reflect both Inca and colonial Cuzco as well as the ancient rituals of Andean mountain cultures.

The lounge area will be created around a stone fountain beneath a glass roof, to give the feel of a peaceful winter garden. Guests will be able to stretch out among beautiful plants to the sounds of birdsong and flowing water.

Palacio Nazarenas Spa

Two of the treatment rooms will have glass floors, with glimpses of an Inca wall and an underground stream, both visible through the face hole in the massage table. Underfloor projectors and mirrors will create meditative patterns of light and shade, based on chromotherapy. Music from the face rest’s inbuilt hifi system will reinforce the visual experience. None of these amazing design features have ever been
combined in a spa before.

Our aim is to offer a journey of discovery through all five senses, plus the sixth—the spiritual presence. But if this sounds too nebulous I should say straight away that everything about this spa will be genuine and will actually work. I’ll explain more about how we’ll tailor treatment programmes to each guest’s needs in my next blog post.

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