Cusco & Machu Picchu - 4Days

An agent met us at the airport despite our early arrival (7am). They took us to the San Agustin hotel. The room here was the most disappointing part of the trip. It was very small, headboards not attached to bed, and essentially nowhere to recharge phones, watches etc. Except for the day manager who worked very hard and was very nice, the rest of the staff such as bar tender and waiter were inattentive and disappeared for long periods. The Cusco tour was superb - a 10. It was difficult walking on the cobblestones, but the guide's knowledge was splendid. The Sacred Valley was okay, but again difficult walking most of the time. The guide (Edith) was knowledgeable but a bit slow in alerting us to sights along the way and the bus driver did not even try to slow down while Edith was trying to point something out. The lunch was excellent -- a buffet in Urubamba I think. I give this tour a 7 overall. We paid to stay in the Sacred Valley. We ended up back in Urubamba at a San Agustin. This time, the hotel room was very nice. Also the bar tender was very nice and attentive. However, there is NOTHING to do in Urubamba for tourists. Another couple on the tour got to stay in Ollentaytambo. I don't know how their hotel was, but it looked like the town was interesting and the train to Machu Picchu leaves from there so it is very convenient. We had a 45 minute drive from Urubamba to Ollentaytambo. Our guide to Machu Picchu (Rebekka) could not have been better. We are older and have some physical issues so we could not climb like many of the young people. Rebekka adapted to this and was extremely helpful all the way. We give her a 10 for knowledge and a 10 for compassion and skill. It was a bit confusing transferring from the train to the busses with no clear directions but we figured it out. Then when we arrived in Cusco, our agent was late. All the other passengers had gotten taxis and left. Since our trip agenda clearly said they would take us to our hotel, we waited and the agent showed up after a bit. Overall experience is a 10 simply because we got to Machu Picchu and survived. Taking everything into account, it is probably a 9.