Hotel in Lima and Custco
 

My sister and I will be traveling from Manhattan to Peru in early June and are looking for any recomendations for hotels/lodging in Lima and Custco that are nice but have some character. We are looking to pay under $200 if possible!

Also, as we are starting to do research on the Sacred Valley portion of our trip, we are trying to decide what the optimal (time and cost perspective) way to travel through the Sacred Valley is... it seems that many people use private care service... does anyone have any thoughts or suggestions??

Lastly, we are trying to visit the amazon before flying into Custco to see MP -- does anyone have a preference between the different parks?

Thanks fellow fodorites, in advance for any thoughts you have!

My hotel in Cusco was not worth a recommendation, but I loved the Antigua Miraflores in Lima and would recommend it. It definitely had character!
I had Andrew Gilchrist of Lost World Adventures make all of the travel arrangements for three friends and me. It was a great trip. We had a private guide and a driver with us in Cusco for the Sacred Valley and in Machu Picchu. We did not go to the Amazon. I was very pleased with all of the arrangements which Andrew and his staff did. We stayed at the Pueblo Hotel in Aguas Calientes (loved it, had a great Thai massage there, too(.
Enjoy your trip. Peru is amazing.

scagly,

my girlfriend and I will be making the trip in late May. We will be staying at the Novotel in Cusco and the Casa Andina Private Collection in Sacred Valley. I'll let you know how they are but TripAdvisor.com is a good resource

Wallydog

We were in Cusco in January '06 and I had a look around the Novotel and it seemed very nice, especially for the price.

I would recommend Inka Grill on the Plaza for lunch or dinner - sort of nouvelle Inkan/Peruvian - delicious!

I have stayed at both Novotel in Cusco and Casa Andina Private colletion and they are both very good for the money. Wallydog you chose well. Also good in the Valley is the Sonesta Yucay and in Ollanta by Ollantaytambo the Pacaritambo Hotel.

In Lima I highly recommend the Hotel Park Plaza which is an Orient Express. In June is low season and you might find a room for around $200. I contacted them directly and got a room for $220 in December! Try contacting them directly and you'll be very pleased. Lima is not a pretty city and in June is very gray so make sure you stay warm and in the right place.
As far as restaurants in Lima, make sure you visit Astrid y Gaston for dinner ad "La Mar" for lunch. You must make reservations. Lima has a great variety of phenomenal restaurants and gourmet food.
In CUsco there is another good restaurant called La Cicciolina. Inka Grill has great food too! And for Pisco Sour have it at Cafe Bohemia or at the Bar in the Hotel Libertadores.

In Lima, we are going to stay at Second Home Peru http://www.secondhomeperu.com/ which is a B&B with terraces and gardens overlooking the ocean in Barranco. It gets rave reviews on TripAdvisor, and it's the one hotel I'm really looking forward to.

For the Amazon, we are flying to Iquitos and going to the Tahuayo lodge. Every party gets their own private guide, and they have a really great list of available activities (swimming with pink dolphins, zip line, even an outdoor survival course). There's a great review of it here http://www.simonandbaker.com/tahuayo_lodge.html

I'm going to check out some of this great info from you all!! thank you!!! Does anyone have any advice about staying in Aguas Calientes? We are looking at the inkaterra but the prices are a little higher than we wanted to spend. On the other hand, we've been reading mixed reviews about some of the more inexpensive options in the area. Does anyone have any firstahand knowledge of the lodging in Aguas Calients or in the area? We appreciate fine hotels, but are also willing to 'rough it' if we have too! We are hoping to stay one or two nights. Does anyone have any thoughts? suggestions?

There's no reason to stay in Aguas Calientes. You're better off spending more time in the Sacred Valley, and then taking the train back to Cusco in the late afternoon after spending the day in MP. Hotel Sol y Luna is wonderful (cute individual villas) and $120 per night.

I agree with Hills 27, you do not need to stay in Aguas Calientes if you cannot stay in Inkaterra. Inkaterra is an experience of its own but it is more expensive and there is not much to do in AGuas Calientes. Stay at Sol y Luna in the Sacred Valley or in Ollanta at Hotel Pacaritambo. It is conveniently located next to the train stop and is beautiful and inexpensive and Ollanta is a charming town.

If you wish to visit MP without the crowds you have to spend at least one night in Aguas Calientes. A decent cheap place is

Gringo Bill's Hostal
Colla Raymi 104

We just returned from Peru. We stayed at the Antigua Miraflores and thought it was ok.
We also stayed at Hotel Pakaritampu http://tinyurl.com/yvtm8h
in Ollantaytambo and paid about $95. Loved the town and it has some great ruins. Hotel is newer and nice and about 5 minute walk to the train Station. U can take a train from Ollantaytambo to Aguas Calientes that leaves around 7 am and arrives at 8:15. The return was at 4:45 pm arriving in Ollantaytambo 6ish. From A/C you take the bus which is about a 20 minute trip to Machu Picchu. We were in MP by 9 am and stayed until after 3 pm. We went on a Sunday and only had any crowds for about 1 hour, 11-12 and even then it was not crowded. We practically had the place to ourselves in the afternoon. Our preference was to stay at the Inkaterra Hotel in Aguas Calientes but it was booked. As it was staying in Ollantaytambo worked out just fine. We used a private guide, David Choque, for parts of our trip and he drove us from various places. He was fantastic. Certainly don't need to use a guide. We talked to lots of people who took taxis or even buses.
In Cusco we stayed at Casa San Blas http://www.casasanblas.com/ which was very nice. We had a suite apt that had fantastic views over Cusco. We paid about $130. The hotel is about a 5-10 minute walk to the Plaza, but its uphill on the return.
Timewise we spent 1 night in Pisac and 3 in Ollantaytambo. We were in Cusco for 4 nights. Even with that amount of time I feel there was much that we did not see. Didn't need to stay in Pisac, but visiting the ruins there is worthwhile. didnt go to the Amazon so cant help you there. Have a great trip!