Introduction - The Best of Peru with Belmond
Okay, I’m like 5 years behind on visiting Peru. Remember back in the days, like before the days of TikTok, people used to say Peru was the new Iceland. Well, I’d not been to either, but I finally put Peru on the agenda this Thanksgiving. Better late than never, AMIRITE?
On a personal note, Peru is my 50th country, and I’m so glad it worked out this way. Peru has rich and complicated culture and history, a stellar culinary scene and some of the most hospitable and prideful people. I couldn’t help but draw comparison to Thailand during our trip. This trip wasn’t like our usual vacation, as we were hosted by some Peruvian friends of my partner’s. They did most of the planning and made sure we got to see the absolute best of what Peru had to offer.
For our flights, American was charging exorbitant prices on its direct link between Miami and Lima, since we were traveling during Thanksgiving. I decided to mix things up and give Copa Airlines a try. Copa Airlines has a unique business model where it connects various points in North and South America via its centrally located hub in Panama City. The airline is not here to win any awards, but it does offer an unbeatable network. It didn’t hurt that it was also the cheapest option.
On our return, we flew on Avianca from Lima to Bogotá, to connect to the recently launched fifth freedom Emirates flight from Bogotá to Miami. While I usually fight tooth and nail to inform people that Emirates business class isn’t what it’s made out to be, it was such a treat to enjoy a (angled) lie-flat bed on a 3-hour hop across the Caribbean. It happened to be the cheapest option as well, where Avianca and American were asking more for much inferior products and service.
In Peru, we flew LATAM Airlines between Lima and Cusco.
The hotels we stayed at on this trip were exclusively Belmond properties, which has a huge presence in Peru. For those not familiar, Belmond is a lesser known brand in the luxury sector. Think of it as comparable to Rosewood, and leaps and bounds better than your generic Ritz-Carlton or St. Regis. Belmond is the only hospitality group that I know of to not only offer hotels and resorts, but also luxury train experiences. Indeed, Belmond was formerly known as the Orient-Express Hotels. I have heard great things of Belmond prior to this trip but never stayed at any of them - there is currently only one Belmond property in the US. However, Belmond owns many iconic hotels/trains around the globe that you might know of, but didn’t realize they were affiliated with Belmond, such as the Hotel Cipriani in Venice, the Royal Scotsman through the Scottish Highlands, the Copacabana Palace in Rio, the Cap Juluca in Anguilla and the Eastern Oriental Express in the Malaysian jungles. I was over the moon when I found out we’d be staying at multiple Belmond hotels on this trip, including the Hiram Bingham train. I had been wanting to take the Hiram Bingham train before it was cool to drink espresso martinis.
For easy reference, our itinerary was as follows:
Review - Copa Airlines Business Class B737-800 Ft. Lauderdale to Panama City
Review - Copa Airlines Business Class B737-800 Panama City to Lima
Review - Miraflores Park, A Belmond Hotel, Lima
Review - El Salon by Newrest Lima
Review - LATAM Airlines Premium Economy Class A319 Lima to Cusco
Review - Palacio Nazarenas, A Belmond Hotel, Cusco
Review - Hiram Bingham, A Belmond Train
Review - Sanctuary Lodge, A Belmond Hotel, Machu Picchu
Review - Avianca Business Class A320 Lima to Bogotá
Review - El Dorado Lounge Bogotá
Review - Emirates Business Class B777-300ER Bogotá to Miami
This was truly one of the most epic vacation I’ve taken in my life, and I can’t wait to share everything with y’all. Follow along to explore beautiful Peru in utmost luxury and comfort.