I'd be interested in hearing from those who have stayed at the Sanctuary Lodge in recent years. Were you able to get into the sanctuary/ruins and wander around before the first busses arrive and after the last busses leave? Considering staying there one night for my birthday, but if there is no after-hours access to the sanctuary/ruins, it makes no sense for me to do so.

You might want to read the reviews on trip advisor. I'm also in the planning stage for this trip so I have no personal knowledge but from what I read you can get there just as early by bus with perhaps a bit more hassle. You also don't have to worry about catching the last bus into town but I did not get the idea you would get exclusive access.

detraveler - I did post on TA and I'm reading through the reviews as well. No after-hours access makes sense (after all no lighting at MP from what I can gather, and it would be too dangerous to wander around the site in the dark), but I wanted to verify it with recent experience just in case I was missing something.

At one time, the Sanctuary Lodge guests got after-hours access to the ruins in the days right around the full moon, but they stopped allowing that years ago.

Staying anywhere down in town gives you almost the same amount of access as you would have staying right outside the ruins. The big advantage to spending the night at any of the hotels, at the ruins or in town, is that you have access before the day-trip crowds arrive from Cusco and after they leave in the afternoon.

Thanks Jeff_Costa_Rica ... we're planning on being in the area for a couple of days to do some non-Inca trail hiking, and will make the most of the time in the sanctuary/ruins before and after the crowds arrive.

Im in Ollanta right now, just got back from Aguas Calientes last night. The Sactuary Lodge is very nice, right there at the base of Machu Picchu. The earliest you can get in to the ruins is 6am. We stayed in Aguas Calientes. We did visit the Inkaterra property in Aguas Calientes. Its in town so if you wanted to wander around Aguas Calientes you could. If i do this trip again, i would stay at Inkaterra after my hiking excursions...i liked the fact that it was close to the train station and i could do some alternate day hikes to some nearby mountains and waterfalls. And as a side opinion, if i am staying at the Sactuary Lodge i would like to take advantage of the property AFTER my Machu Picchu hike, ie, have access to the spa, the sauna, the massage... a nice bed to relax after an exhausting hike... you know, an opportunity to really enjoy the room and the services. Tis all... enjoy your trip.

Thanks for the comment ... we've scrapped the idea of the Sanctuary since there are no special access privileges to the ruins. Will be staying at the Inkaterrra instead. Added bonus, now we won't have to switch hotels midway through our stay.

We stayed at the Hotel Monasterio in Cusco...which was fantastic. They even had a PeruRail rep there every day to specifically handle the guests train tickets. It was wonderful. Didnīt even have to go to the train station. They even handled all our tours. But then again, for $480 a night, what do you expect? Oh, and the oxygen in the rooms were awesome. Also, if you have the Amex Platinum card, call their travel number to get a quote for Inkaterra. When we booked the Monasterio, they saved us $200 off the internet price and were able to get us extra amenities for free. Cheers! -veronana