Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, in a franchise agreement with Libertador Hotels, Resorts & Spas, has opened Hotel Paracas, the first of three Luxury Collection hotels opening in Peru over the next two years.

Located on Peru's southern Pacific coast and surrounded by the Paracas National Reserve and the Ballestas Islands, Hotel Paracas features 120 guest rooms with private terraces, a 5,000sq ft spa, two outdoor pools, more than 5,000sq ft of event space and two signature restaurants and lounges. The Luxury Collection and Libertador are also to unveil Tambo del Inka, a Luxury Collection Resort & Spa in the sacred valley of Urubamba, in March 2010, followed a year later in March 2011 by the opening of Palacio del Inka, a Luxury Collection Hotel in Cusco, capital of the ancient Incan empire.

The three hotels will be joining a brand featuring some of the world's most iconic properties, including The Grande Bretagne, Athens; Hotel Marqués de Riscal, Elciego, Spain; Mystique, Santorini, Greece; Hotel Danieli, Venice, Italy; The U.S. Grant and The Palace Hotel, both in California, US; and The Phoenician, Arizona, US. Libertador Hotels, Resorts & Spas is Peru's largest hotel owner and operator and, also in collaboration with Starwood, will launch the first Westin in South America with the opening of Libertador Westin Lima by the end of 2010.

Pic: Cusco's Plaza de Armas