Orient-Express Hotels has announced that Palacio Nazarenas - a 55-suite hotel housed in a former palace and convent in Cuzco, Peru - is to open its doors in early summer 2012.

It will be the group's sixth location in Peru and follows a three-year restoration of the venue guided by archaeologists and Peru's National Institute of Culture (INC). Facilities at Palacio Nazarenas will comprise a full-service spa boasting four single treatment rooms and a double treatment room with private hot tub.

Treatments inspired by Inca and Andean cultures and using indigenous Peruvian ingredients will be on offer at the spa, which will also feature a 7m x 11m (23ft x 36ft) infinity edge pool. Located 11,000ft (3,353m) above sea level, Palacio Nazarenas will include oxygenated suites and a restaurant under a conservatory roof offering organic Andean cuisine.

Due to the property's heritage, no heavy machinery was used in the construction process and 9,000m3 (317,832ft3) of earth was excavated by hand. Orient-Express president and chief executive officer Paul White said: "The creation of Palacio Nazarenas has been a close collaboration between the Company and the archaeologists of the INC."

Image: Adrian Houston