Most people pass through Chinchero via a quick tour of the Sacred Valley. I did this five years ago and knew I had to return. This trip I spent two days in Chinchero, staying one night here at this lovely little place. Beautiful hotel with vibrant colors, lots of sunlight, flowers and cheerfully-decorated rooms.
The friendly staff were quick to greet you with a smile and eager to please. The food was fantastic! Some of the best I had during my fifteen days in Peru. The hotel is located on a dirt road at the edge of town, a quick and easy stroll to the church and back...if you are used to the altitude and don't mind all the stepped streets.
Chinchero is an incredibly interesting town with lots of artisan textile workshops, be sure not to miss this place should you choose to explore Chinchero further than just a tiny glimpse of it from your tour bus.

We stayed just one night but would have loved to stay a little bit longer. Out of the crowd but in the middle of the Sacred Valley, close to all atractions. Lovely staff, delicious food, colourfull and comfortable rooms. Definately a place not to be missed. A home away from home!

This is the second year we have stayed at La Casa de Barro in Chinchero. As with the first visit, the service was excellent. The staff is very friendly and worked hard to make our stay enjoyable. We also took a day tour of the Sacred Valley as we traveled to Machu Picchu. Our guide was Jose who helped us plan the tour to fit the time we had available. He was very knowlable about the sites we visited and very patient with our party. If you stay at La Casa de Barro and need a guide, ask for Jose.

This lovely lodge is an oasis located in the Urubamba Valley in the historical town of Chinchero. We (a group of 9 family members) were picked up at the airport by our guide Jose who works with Antonio Zevallos (owner of La Casa de Barro). Even though Chinchero is slightly higher than Cusco, we decided to stay there instead of Cusco for the first night and we do not regret it. We arranged for Jose to give us a tour of the main sites in our way to the lodge for a separate fee and it was all worth it! Since we were all slightly affected by the altitude since we landed in Cusco and had two people with colds in our group, Jose showed us the right amount of sites from strategic sightsee points in the city to allow us to appreciate their beauty without having to exert ourselves more. The tour included Sacsayhuaman ruins. Additionally, he helped us with the purchase of tickets to Machu Picchu, boleto turistico, water and other misc items. In all, he picked us up at around 1:00 p.m. and got us to La Casa de Barro in Chinchero at around 6 p.m. Keep in mind that the direct route from Cusco to Chinchero is about 1 to 1.5 hours (~40 Km) depending on traffic. At our arrival, we were warmly welcomed by Antonio. He provided some instructions on how to deal with the altitude and showed us the different lodge areas. Our rooms were very clean, colorful and tastefully decorated in a rustic style. The bathrooms were new with lots of hot water and excellent water pressure! Additionally, the rooms were equipped with wall heaters which is a must in this area after sun down. The restaurant has a bar area with great ambiance and soft music. We order some food to the room and we must say that it was exquisite (modern/ecclectic cuisine with great presentation) at a fair price. La Casa de Barro has an area to watch TV and access to a computer. Antonio invited us to view a film about the stone work done by the Incas and other pre-Inca cultures. It worked as a great introduction to our trip to Machu Picchu and Ollantaytambo. The sleeping quality at this hotel was great. It was very quiet and we felt very safe. The room price includes a Continental breakfast. This was just perfect as we knew we should not eat a lot (once again) due to the altitude. It included local bread (delicious), juices, hot beverages. Some of us had scrambled eggs and lots of mate de coca. La Casa de Barro is surronded by well kept gardens and mountains and it is entirely fenced. The morning after we continued our way to Ollantaytambo and asked Jose for another tour of the area. Once again, we were not dissapointed :). This tour included: Chinchero town with a wonderful demonstration of the weaving techniques, market, church, streets, shops, Maras town , Moray town, Salineras de Maras (amazing!) and Ollantaytambo town, ruins and market from 9:30 to 6 p.m.
Feel free to ask for the confidential price affectionately named as the "Cossette price" (my sister's name) for the hotel/tour package. We think is a great value due to the quality of the service both at the lodge and from our guide. Don't be fooled by the street in which it is located (unpaved, rather rustic) because once you enter its garden, you will feel in an oasis in the heart of Urubamba valley.
We had a great time in this portion of our trip. Thanks to Antonio and Jose!