Hotel Explora Salto Chico
NileGuide Expert Says:
For extreme elegance in a natural setting, the Explora Salto Chico wins the award, along with many other accolades it has picked up along the way.Address:
Phone:
866/750-6699 in the USNileGuide Expert tip:
Splashiest, classiest most honeymoon-friendly hotel in the park, and an experience unto itself, with some of the best guides anywhere.Description:
The Explora Hotel in Patagonia is one of three Exploras in Chile, with the other two in San Pedro de Atacama and Rapa Nui (Easter Island). It's the best-known of the three, and one of the best-known in all of Chile. It overlooks both Lake Pehoé and the Paine massif, with sweeping views of both from many spots throughout the hotel, including from a set of picture windows that face both.
This hotel is not for the faint of budget, as four-day packages (visitors always stay four nights or more) run into the thousands of dollars, but the mainly American (60%) clientele finds it worth it, as do most who come to stay. It's not so much of a hotel, but an experience in elegance and care, set into the native beech-paneled hotel furnished with items made of local wood. The rooms are well-appointed with the high thread count sheets you'd expect from a luxury hotel, but with unexpected touches, like a drying rack to get the chill out of your wet gear from the unpredictable Patagonian weather.
Food is fresh (no small feat considering the remoteness of the place), though meal choices are limited to two (meat and vegetarian) on a daily basis.
If you buy the all-inclusive package, from the moment you set down in the airport until the moment you are dropped off, all is taken care of, and you're unlikely to run into anyone else other than guests and staff of the hotel. Guided tours start from the half-day walk, and can be tailored to your taste, including tours to make the most of the light for photo enthusiasts.
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