In a franchise agreement with Libertador Hotels Resorts & Spas, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide has opened Tambo del Inka, a Luxury Collection resort in Peru's Sacred Valley of the Incas near the town of Urubamba.

The 128-room resort is the first of its kind in the Sacred Valley and has its own private station on the railway line from Cusco to the iconic hilltop city of Machu Picchu.

Tambo del Inka's 5,905sq ft (548sq m) spa, The Spa at Valle Sagrado, provides 12 treatment rooms and - in addition to more classic beauty and wellness treatments - offers unique indigenous treatments such as Andean Chocolate, Gold from the Gods and Misti Mud Therapy. These will feature ancestral Inca ingredients such as coca leaves, volcanic mud, gold, quinoa and other fresh regional fruits and produce.

Other facilities at the resort include the Hawa Restaurant, a lobby bar, two heated swimming pools, a sauna, steam bath and fully-equipped gym.

The Luxury Collection's third Peruvian hotel - the Paracas Hotel opened recently on the country's southern coast - will debut in 2011 with the opening of the Palacio del Inka in Cusco.

Libertador Hotels - Peru's largest hotel owner and operator - and Starwood will also be collaborating in the first Westin-branded hotel in South America with the opening of the Libertador Westin Lima by the end of 2010.