The Garden House Hotel in Cusco is a family owned hotel run by sisters Ceci and Doris Sanchez. I stayed there for 3 days and 2 nights when I had my trip to Machu Picchu.

It was #2 on Trip Advisor’s list of best hotels in Cusco when I was there and is now #1. It used to be a big family house before it was converted into a hotel, complete with a garden. The rooms are spacious with an undivided patio running along the front of every room of the house forming a big circle.

It is very different from the commercial hotels I had stayed in. It is a warm and cozy house not a cold concrete building. It is not “touristy “nor “businessy”. The whole staff would make you feel at home. The proprietor would take care of you with a personal touch and always making sure you’ve got all you need. Aside from that, the hotel is very clean… clean like a home and not too expensive.

Doris was in London at the time I stayed in their hotel but I had the pleasure of meeting Ceci, a very kind person who took very good care of me during my stay.

I availed of the hotel’s complimentary Cusco city tour an hour after I arrived at Garden House. Being 30 minutes away from the city, the hotel makes it a point to facilitate the transport of their guests anywhere in Cusco. I was also provided with a local cellular phone free of charge, so I could call them in case I needed something while away from the hotel or I got lost in the city.

After a quick freshening up, I was taken by taxi service arranged by Ceci to a meeting point in downtown Cusco where I joined other tourists going around the city on and off a small tourist bus, where ever our efficient English speaking tour guide led us.

Unfortunately, I did not have time to acclimatize and I got the dreaded altitude sickness while on the second half of the tour.

The terrible headache that I’ve got was getting worse every minute and I felt like vomiting. With just one more spot to see, I opted to stay on the bus while waiting for the group to finish.

While there, the bus driver was kind enough to give me two paracetamol tablets with a cup of warm coca tea. I felt a little bit better and tried to keep my eyes closed hoping the touring party would soon be finished and I could go back to my hotel.

I survived the waiting without any vomiting incident. Since Garden House is not within the tourist bus’ circuit, our tour guide hailed a taxi and personally escorted me back to the hotel. He said it was his duty to make sure I got back safe and sound or Ms. Ceci would kill him. The rest of the group were one by one deposited by the tourist bus to their respective hotels within downtown Cusco.

I found Ceci waiting for me as the tour guide had called in earlier to tell her I am suffering from altitude sickness. She immediately asked how I was, and when I told her I was not feeling well, she told me to get myself to bed and she would get me oxygen.

A few minutes later she was back with an oxygen tank connected with a mask which she gently placed over my nose and mouth and guided my hand to keep it in place. She told me to keep breathing the oxygen for at least 20 minutes while she cooked me some warm soup.

She was back soon, with the soup. My headache had subsided and I was able to eat the wonderful concoction she made me. After another round of oxygen theraphy, I felt much better and was able to freshen up before retiring to bed.

She checked on me one last time and ask if I wanted some coca tea to help me sleep better. I did. She was back in a jiffy with the cup of tea and told me she leave the tank by my bedside just in case I needed it again. I took another 30 minutes of oxygen therapy and then I had a good night sleep after that.

The second day of my stay at Cusco was spent journeying to Machu Picchu aboard the Hiram Bingham Express train. The Garden House took care of my transport from the hotel to Poroy Station where the train journey begins and ends. I was also picked up from the station later that night after coming back from my Trip to Machu Picchu.

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