Review: Peru Tour, Aguas Calientes, Cusco, Machu Picchu

Overall, the trip went really well.  I liked that I was able to customize the trip in order to meet the specific interests of my group.  Our agent was extremely flexible and patient with all of our last-minute changes and had everything planned out perfectly for us!  In general, everything was very organized (except for a minor mishap where the driver forgot to pick up our bags) and our transfers were on time or early to pick us up.  The guides were extremely knowledgeable and very familiar with the area.  

One downside, however, is that one of the guides was extremely difficult to understand, so we didn't get as much from that tour as possible.  There were also a few points where I felt a bit of pressure to buy from certain vendors, but not so much that I wasn't able to say no.  

We were generally very pleased with the flow of the trip and amount of time spent in each location.  The domestic portion of the Lima airport was a pain.  Our flight to Cusco was several hours delayed and it was difficult to get any information.  

Our hotel is Cusco was in a great location and had great service and great breakfast!  It was, however, extremely noisy and it was not possible to regulate the temperature of the room (and we didn't have a window to open and let the heat out), so it was really hot. 

We LOVED Aguas Caliente and would have preferred to spend a little more time there (instead of Cusco).  The hot springs were definitely downplayed.  Our accommodation was a great little modern hotel!  We had dinner included at our hotel at a specified time along with many others.  This dinner was probably one of the worst parts of the trip.  While the food was fantastic, it took over 20 mins just to get water.  When we did finally get drinks and food, a few of the orders were wrong.  Service at dinner was TERRIBLE and there was nothing done to remedy the poor service.