There are many ways to experience this minimalist adventure-focused lodge on a former corn plantation in the mountain stronghold of the Incas. I was lucky enough to sample two of them on a recent visit: first as a solo traveler and then with a group of my oldest friends, who joined me after completing the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. Alone, I hiked with a chatty local guide: past old Inca retaining walls and agricultural terraces on a pleasant trail near the town of Ollantaytambo, and then on the more arduous Cinco Lagunas trek, up into the mist at 15,000 feet with no one around but a few distant Quechua shepherds and their sheep. When my friends arrived, we went single-track mountain biking from Moray, one of the Sacred Valley’s signature Inca sites, to Salar de Uyuni, the world’s largest salt flat, where it feels like walking on clouds. The hotel gave me everything I needed and nothing I didn’t: My room had no Wi-Fi, minibar, or screens of any kind, but did have a magnificent bed, a lovely hot tub, and hot water left for muña tea—made from a mintlike Andean herb, which is helpful for combating altitude sickness and imparts a wonderfully tranquil feeling at bedtime. The menu, by acclaimed Peruvian chef Virgilio Martínez, is exceptional, as are the addictive Urubamba corn-kernel snacks from the nearby fields, which I consumed by the fistful while drinking Pisco Sours. The building—low, simple, and unobtrusively modern—was designed by José Cruz Ovalle to exist in conversation with nature. At every turn, there is another view you could gaze at for days. But Explora ultimately isn’t about gazing: It’s about getting out there, into a land that’s still as pure and elemental as in the time of the Incas. Doubles from $750. —Jesse Ashlock

Cusco’s architectural heritage of Incan stone walls topped with colonial white stucco is echoed in this 16th-century building, on a square near the main plaza. With just 11 suites and a grassy courtyard, La Casona has the intimacy of a private home, though the building’s colonial charms come with smart modern touches such as iPods and iPod speakers. Owners Denise and Joe Koechlin have fussed over every antique- and craft-strewn square foot of the place, and exquisite pillars, retablos, and benches have been sourced from all over Peru, including Pre-Colombian textiles and murals. The excellent restaurant—don’t leave without trying the quinoa pancakes—delivers a generous helping of Andean hospitality.

Amid the ruins of the iconic Hotel Paracas that crumbled during an August 2007 earthquake, famed Peruvian architect Bernardo Fort-Brescia designed this new 120-room resort (part of Starwood’s Luxury Collection) in the coastal desert three hours south of Lima. Two-story white bungalows blend into the dune-filled horizon, contrasting the deep-blue waters of the Paracas National Reserve. While the bay is better for windsurfing, the daybeds at the glitzy pool scenes, where roving waiters fetch a steady supply of passion fruit sours and ceviche, have become the new it spot for Lima’s well-to-do. The hotel makes a restful base for a slew of nearby adventures—you can do scenic flights of the Nazca desert geoglyphs in its private jet, yacht rides to spot Humboldt penguins on the Islas Ballestas, and pisco tastings at the Viñas de Oro distillery right at the resort.

Faena is pricey but if you want to be right in Puerto Madero and are a fan of Starck's brand of design, this hotel is for you.

This temple of chic overlooking downtown Buenos Aires is bringing sexy back to the neighborhood.

Village recreations can seem a little hokey, but this Inkaterra outpost deftly carries off the conceit. Set amid waterfalls and gardens at the foot of Machu Picchu, whitewashed casitas with eucalyptus beams are strewn along stone paths. Rustic rooms, lined with tile floors, are furnished with colorful Peruvian blankets, local art, and views of the gardens of the Vilcanota River, and manage never to feel tacky. But nature, not performance, is the real draw of this hotel: Amid its 12-acre grounds are 214 identified bird species, including the golden-headed quetzal, and the world’s largest native orchid collection (372 species) have been registered.

A 40-room lodge one hour from Puerto Natales, set amid a big-sky landscape with uninterrupted views of the Torres del Paine massif. Banked with earth and clad in lenga beechwood, the low-slung hotel winds for 650 feet along the base of a bluff, its aerodynamic shape barely interrupting the gales that whip in from Patagonia’s Southern Ice Field. In the principal salon, a wall of glass draws the eye across Lake Sarmiento to the serried peaks beyond. Ample guest rooms are smartly outfitted in a soothing natural palette of wood, wool, and leather; all command views of pampa and peak.

The only hotel within Brazil’s 187-square-mile Iguaçú National Park , the 1958-built Das Cataratas is an elaborate Portuguese colonial–style building in delicate pink; lintels, porticos, and balustrades in brilliant white; a spacious pool, and a spa. The 193 rooms—stuffed with heavy wooden furniture, florid Portuguese tilework, and repeated subtropical motifs—feel a bit cramped, and the reception desk appears understaffed. What’s unbeatable, though, is the location: The hotel’s lawns slope down to a splendid lookout over Iguaçú Falls, its sound and fury overpowering. Activities include helicopter and boat tours, and a simple stroll down paths of the park during daytime hours is a privilege afforded only to hotel guests. It’s possible to observe tapirs, corzuela deer, and raccoon-like coatis bedding down for the night, before you return to the poolside open-air restaurant and a feast of grilled tilapia, partridge, and duck ravioli served amid verdant gardens of palm, mango, and tropical apricot.

At The Vines, legendary chef Francis Mallmann sources many of his ingredients locally—after all, locavorism has always been a part of life in rural Argentina. The hotel's restaurant, Siete Fuegos, or “Seven Fires,” alludes to his philosophy of open-flame cooking, rendering mouthwatering dishes like the asado steak slathered with mascarpone and rolled with layers of yam chips, tomato, and avocado. All 22 villas have modern kitchens featuring refrigerators packed with goodies, private patios, and spa-style bathrooms. You can even play winemaker by purchasing a plot of land on-site whose cultivation is overseen by the resort’s agronomist. What better excuse to keep coming back?