Iconic hotels of South America 2025

09-10-25

The latest edition of Condé Nast Traveller’s Readers’ Choice Awards 2025 has once again placed South America on the global hospitality map — but with an undisputed star: Peru, whose hotels stand out prominently among the best on the continent. The Andean nation thus reaffirms its international reputation as a destination that blends culture, sustainability, and luxury, thanks to brands that have skillfully translated local identity into unique experiences. Among them, once again, Inkaterra shines — a familiar name in the world’s leading travel awards for its leadership in sustainable tourism and its commitment to authenticity.

At the top of the list, Copacabana Palace, a Belmond Hotel in Rio de Janeiro, retains its reign with an almost perfect score of 99.98, a testament to its elegance and tradition on the legendary Copacabana beach. However, second place went to Inkaterra La Casona in Cusco (98.75 points), reaffirming Peru’s role as the epicenter of high-end tourism in South America. Set in a 16th-century colonial manor, this hotel is an emblem of heritage restoration and boutique hospitality: with just eleven suites, it combines colonial design, contemporary comfort, and personalized service, making it a symbol of Andean sophistication.

Inkaterra’s presence extends well beyond Cusco. It also appears with the Inkaterra Machu Picchu Pueblo Hotel, which offers an immersive experience amid subtropical gardens, orchids, and exotic birds at the foot of the Inca citadel, and with the Inkaterra Hacienda Urubamba, located in the heart of the Sacred Valley — a model of bioclimatic architecture and respect for Andean cosmology. These establishments, awarded in various international categories — from Travel + Leisure to National Geographic Unique Lodges — reflect the brand’s pioneering vision: transforming luxury into a tool for environmental conservation and the appreciation of Peru’s cultural heritage.

The Condé Nast Traveller list also includes other outstanding Peruvian hotels such as Titilaka, on the shores of Lake Titicaca (97.25 points), where the concept of a natural retreat becomes a spiritual dialogue with the highland landscape; Palacio Nazarenas, a Belmond Hotel (94.72), which gleams in Cusco’s historic heart with its blend of sacred art and contemporary sophistication; and Rio Sagrado, a Belmond Hotel (91.25), a luxury sanctuary nestled in the Sacred Valley’s lush fields. Together, these names place Peru as the country with the largest number of top-ranked hotels in South America in the 2025 edition, surpassing even Brazil, Argentina, and Chile.

Denise and José Koechlin (founder and president of Inkaterra) at the new Inkaterra Cabo Blanco - Peru

The leadership of Inkaterra and Peruvian hospitality is no coincidence. For decades, the country has nurtured a tourism vision grounded in the balance between conservation and development. Each property in the chain embodies a narrative of connection with the natural environment, empowerment of local communities, and recovery of traditional construction and culinary techniques. Its philosophy — centered on genuine sustainability and cultural interpretation — has inspired other projects in the region seeking to transcend the conventional idea of luxury by offering experiences with purpose.

While other destinations rely on architectural grandeur or lavish excess, Peru has managed to stand out for its authenticity: the experience of sleeping under the Andean sky, sharing with Quechua communities, listening to the silence of the lake, or walking along paths where the past still pulses. That balance between sophistication and roots is precisely what Condé Nast Traveller readers have valued — choosing Peruvian hotels not only for their comfort but also for their ability to move, inspire, and teach another way of traveling.

The 2025 edition of the Readers’ Choice Awards thus consolidates a trend that transcends figures and rankings: the pursuit of conscious luxury, of a hospitality that cares as much for the guest as for the land that hosts them. And in that movement, Peru stands as a global benchmark. Inkaterra’s properties — recognized year after year for their environmental integrity and cultural contribution — are living proof that tourism can also be an expression of respect, beauty, and transformation.

This list does more than celebrate the best hotels in South America: it celebrates a country that has turned travel into a sensory and spiritual experience. In every Inkaterra suite, in every corner of Cusco, Urubamba, or Lake Titicaca, the visitor finds not just luxury, but a story that beats between stones, mountains, and the hands that still preserve the essence of eternal Peru.

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