This was the best property we stayed at in Peru. The bird watching is fantastic! The grounds are surrounded with adobe fencing and the splendors hidden inside are hidden from view. The hotel is very clean, the amenities are mostly new and modern and well cared for. No TV. The gardens are well maintained and a pleasure. There is a collection of animals on the property that provided much entertainment. The restaurant was clean, but the meals uninspired but way better than most in Peru. We enjoyed the walk to the aquafers just outside the property. English by the staff was weak, this is Spanish and Italian property. The grounds are outside of town which was an advantage and disadvantage. We loved it!

We stayed in this hotel only one night as we were part of a tour with 4 or 5 star hotels.
This hotel is a farm and the owner is an Italian family.
Location: The hotel is located outside Nazca, about 15 minutes driving in a quite area.
The hotel is completed by a big green area where you can have peasant walk finding animals, vegetable growing and a big central swimming pool. There's also a loop around the property where you can just walk or run.
The overall atmosphere is really pleasant if you are looking for a peaceful and relaxing experience.
Products served in the restaurant are grown in the farm so everything is natural.
Room: room are spacious and really high. Furniture and floor are in line with a farm style so I will define them country and simple. Also the bathroom is ok, nothing special. As it is a farm and all the rooms entrance is under open arcades, rooms are quite dusty. Bathrobe and slippers were not provided. Two complimentary bottles of water were included.
Breakfast: genuine but with a limited selection.
Staff: kind and collaborative.

I would suggest this hotel to person who loves nature, animals and quite areas.

We stayed in Cantayo for 2 nights in early May 2010.
Let me explain. Cantayo is a beautiful place. The rooms are wonderful. There is no TV, but there is internet, so you don't feel cut off from the world. The gardens are huge with a tropical fruits growing everywhere and cows, horses, ducks, geese, turkeys. And also ostriches and llamas. There is a very large pool in the shade of a beautiful and very large tree, to protect you for the desert sun. The breakfast is lovely. We had lunch and dinner there as well and the food has always been good.
BUT. When we were there, we were the ONLY guests in a hotel that has 40 rooms. It was completely empty and you felt like you were imposing when asking for things to be done. The staff called us to make sure the restaurant is open for dinner. And even though the setting was paradise-like, it actually felt a little like a golden cage.
A previous review stated that the place only really caters for large groups and this is probably true as the owner (who was there the whole time we stayed and did not even acknowledge us) did not seem to care for us at all.
All in all, it felt more like a visit to your wealthy uncle who didn't really care for you and lived on a massive estate, rather than a relaxing time in a beautiful hotel.
Would I recommend this place - yes, but bargain hard on the price and make sure it is complete peace and solitude you're after. Otherwise do not stay at Cantayo.

While in Peru recently I was offered the opportunity of spending a weekend away from Lima down south in the Hacienda Cantayo. I’d heard great stories about this enchanting hotel located on the outskirts of Nazca, and so naturally I jumped on the invitation. Owing to the famous and mysterious Geogylphic Lines located on the plains outside the town, Nazca has grown to be rather popular with tourists and hotels have been sprouting up around the area ever since I started working in Peru. Of all the hotels in the area however, the Hacienda Cantayo is easily the finest. Besides being exceptionally comfortable, it has a number of subtle charms that give it a distinctive and noteworthy character.
Surrounded by the ubiquity of the Nazca plains, the Hacienda’s lackluster surrounding only adds to its charm. Now, I wouldn’t go so far as to claim the hotel is perfect because it’s not. Like most places it does have its flaws. Where the Cantayo however excels is in its seemingly inane ability to put all its guests at complete ease. I don’t know whether this is due in some part to its old world charisma, lavish comforts, or because of its oasis-like setting; but upon walking through the Hacienda’s heavy hardwood gates a sense of tranquility melts you over. Something about the white washed walls and the fresh scent of bougainvillea put one at complete ease; it’s an oddly comforting experience and feels strangely like déjà vu or maybe a dream.

Whatever the reasons it became immediately apparent to me that the hotel was a little more special than I’d been told. Arriving at dusk I ambled through the outer corridors as I was shown to my room. I don’t know if this is just me – but a hotel room without a television is something I’ve come to greatly admire. Traveling half way around the world to sit and watch your favorite television shows just seems crass and unimaginative to me. There is no room for that kind of behavior at the Cantayo; the rooms, while very comfortable, are sparsely decorated and functional. The idea I imagine is that – unless bathing, relaxing, or romanticizing – the Hacienda’s rooms essentially cater for sleeping purposes. All other activities can be done elsewhere.

Following a look around my room I ventured out briefly onto the grounds. I couldn’t see very much of the gardens as the sun had already set by this time. It seemed peaceful enough though and as I walked out further passing over a few fences I could quite literally feel my stress levels decreasing – that was until I tripped over an ostrich. It was quite possibly the last thing I’d been expecting to find in Peru, let alone trip over. The Hacienda Cantayo actually has a whole flock of Ostriches (kept behind a fence ofcourse), and after the poor bird and I had finished screaming at each other in dumb founded shock, I noticed that Giant African birds were not the only animals the Hacienda includes within its sanctuary. Llamas, alpacas, horses, monkeys and an array or other animals live in a sectored off corner of the grounds. By day they’re a fantastic diversion for the kids, and at night a bit of a hazard for those silly enough to walk into their living area.

I returned to the Hacienda and bee-lined for the bar needing a little something to dull both the shock of just having met the world’s largest bird, and the pain from having tripped over it. The barmen cooked up a magnificent pisco sour and by the time my food had arrived I’d settled down substantially and was falling back into the tranquil hacienda groove. The food was much better than I’d expected – a prime cut of Argentinean beef cooked to perfection in the Peruvian desert. The restaurant itself has a great hacienda-like vibe to it, and with saddles on the wall and a welcoming fireplace with some comfortable looking sofas I felt very much at home.

Being close to the Nazca Lines, tours run straight from the hotel directly to the airport – where passengers board a light aircraft for their flight over the lines. I’ve flown over the lines enough times in the past to know them fairly well. They still however hold a lot of attraction and I never get bored seeing them again. Following the flight I returned to lodge and spent the rest of the day lounging by the hotel’s phenomenal swimming pool. I believe this swimming pool has actually featured on the cover of guidebooks. However, it’s not the sprawling pool waters as much as the giant ficus tree that towers above it that serves as the main attraction. I spent the better part of an afternoon lounging about beneath this amazing tree while enjoying both the clear blue water and the hotel’s excellent pool side service.

The Hacienda Cantayo really is the perfect getaway for anyone traveling to Nazca. A world within a world, the Cantayo serves as a sanctuary and provides the type of comfort and service you’d expect from a hotel in a 19th century novel. I was sad to leave on a Sunday after breakfast and as I made my way back to Lima it began to dawn on me how the Cantayo could just be one of the best hotel finds in the country. I think I may be heading back there soon and strongly encourage anyone traveling to Nazca to consider staying in this fine establishment.