Patagonia Accommodations | Patagonia Adventures

Patagonia Camp

Location
Torres del Paine National Park, Chile

Set within native beech forest in rolling mountain foothills overlooking Lago el Toro, Patagonia Camp is an exclusive private outpost on the edge of Torres del Paine National Park. It manifests the vision of a group of Chilean nature enthusiasts and outdoor adventurers who liked the idea of providing a comfortable, luxurious retreat after bracing expeditions in the mountains, lakes and fjords. Guests today can choose from an array of varied outings in the national park or utilizing the camp's own trail network to explore our entrancing surroundings.

Built with a light environmental footprint in mind, this unique ecolodge is comprised of 20 spacious yurts tucked within the forest, with views of the lake and mountains from private decks. The deluxe yurts are large, heavy-duty circular canvas frame tents, inspired by the design used by Mongolian nomads. Comfortably spaced apart for seclusion, the yurts feature the appointments of a distinctive hotel. With wood floors, wooden windows, light-colored cloth walls and a radiator for heat, they are solidly built, warm, and sufficiently light. A clear circular skylight overhead offers a view of the stars on a clear night. Listen to the birdsong in the trees outside from your king-size bed (or two twins), appointed with heavy, high-quality bedding and woven blankets in neutral tones. Sit at the handcrafted wooden writing desk in your director’s chair. And enjoy the artistic touches of locally woven textiles and wall hangings. Large en suite bathrooms have a rain shower, bath tub and hair dryer.

The yurts are connected by a network of raised boardwalks and wooden steps that weave through native Patagonian forest vegetation, including coigue, lenga and notre trees. The buildings likewise are elevated on wooden platforms, to minimize impact on the local flora. The camp’s eco-conscious construction evokes a sense of being one with nature. Common spaces include a large shared lounge yurt, a dining room built of warm native wood with woven wool textiles, and expansive windows and wooden terraces overlooking the lake and peaks beyond. Meals are a highlight at Patagonia Camp, featuring artfully presented gourmet Chilean fare reflecting pride in the country’s gastronomic culture. Local specialties include fresh-caught salmon, hake, king crab and Magellanic lamb. Organic wines from Matetic Vineyard are the ideal complement. Or try a Calafate Sour, the local favorite cocktail featuring the namesake berry endemic to Patagonia.

Patagonia Camp is committed to sustainable operations. Highlights include the installation of an innovative water treatment plant using organic peat vegetation and bacteria that transform wastewater back to its original purity, and the use of vermiculture—composting food waste and organic residue with earthworms—to create top-quality fertilizer for local farmers who grow herbs and vegetables for use in the camp’s kitchen, thus nourishing the soil and completing the circle.

Estancia Cerro Guido

Location
Torres del Paine National Park, Chile

Offering an immersive encounter with Patagonian nature and culture, Estancia Cerro Guido provides luxury lodge accommodations on a historic sheep ranch in view of the famous Paine massif. Still a vital working ranch, the estancia was founded by European pioneers at the turn of the 20th century as part of the Sociedad Explotadora Tierra del Fuego, the largest livestock network in the history of Chilean Patagonia. The well-preserved houses and facilities from its origin still stand as a testament to the cultural heritage of Patagonia. At almost a quarter-million acres, the ranch today is the largest in the region.

Surrounded by open steppe, guests stay in an authentic setting of restored worker houses that feature every modern comfort. Twelve guest rooms are light and airy yet cozy, with traditional English décor featuring wood wainscoting, botanical prints, sparkling chandeliers and brocade draperies. Beds are dressed in opulent linens including a lofty featherbed. Bathrooms feature organic toiletries. Three living rooms, furnished with locally crafted contemporary furniture in wood, leather and sheepskin, invite settling in with a cup of tea, a game of cards, or a book—you’ll find interesting titles in the estancia’s collection about Patagonian history and nature.

Dining is a highlight, in a setting defined by warm wood and walls of glass that showcase the Towers of Paine and sprawling pampas. Using organic products from the garden, orchard, greenhouse and countryside, the kitchen staff prepares gourmet dishes inspired by traditional recipes, fusing ingredients from English pioneers with local ones, with the wood fire an important element in preparations, especially for roast lamb. Even in this harsh climate, careful stewarding produces fresh greens, tomatoes, zucchini, rhubarb, blackcurrants and more, along with eggs from the ranch chickens.

Beyond the inspiring aesthetics of Cerro Guido’s guest quarters, a stay on the estancia provides a firsthand experience of impressive achievements in conservation, including grassland rehabilitation that has restored native wildlife such as guanacos, rheas and caiquenes, and with them, a growing puma population. And because it shares a biological corridor with Torres del Paine National Park, the ranch territory has an exceptional variety of native flora and fauna. A main objective of its owners is to achieve coexistence between livestock and wildlife. Gauchos travel the countryside on horseback with dogs trained to surround and protect the livestock, and we’ll witness them in action during our stay. We head out on conservation-focused safaris during our stay, learning in depth about Cerro Guido’s leadership in this arena, with high expectations for puma sightings, which are becoming ever more frequent. Among other species we may see are gray fox, Andean deer (huemul), Patagonian hog-nosed skunk and Patagonian hairy armadillo.

Estancia Cristina

Location
Los Glaciares National Park, Argentina

Across the vast expanse of Lago Argentino, tucked at the head of one of its fjord-like arms, lies Estancia Cristina, one of the most exclusive places to stay in Patagonia. Surrounded by pristine nature and reachable only by boat, the setting offers a rare opportunity to experience the Patagonia wilderness in a truly remote location. An estancia is a working ranch in Patagonia, and this one was established as a sheep farm in 1914. Now located with the bounds of Los Glaciares National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the property offers unparalleled access to the park’s wild backcountry via hiking trails and 4x4 excursions. Set in a glacial valley protected from the wind, it is also the only accommodation on the shoreline of Lago Argentino with a lookout point over Upsala Glacier.

Twenty well-appointed rooms are located in five individual casas that surround the main lodge. The casas are named to reflect the essence of the estancia: Mountain, Steppe, Forest, River and Family. Each houses four private suites with large bay windows that connect you with the dramatic wild view beyond, including the imposing peak of Cerro Norte. Warm interiors feature wood floors, serene earth tones, a cozy living room, deluxe bed with fine linens, and en suite bathroom with a deep soaking tub. The octagon-shaped main lodge is where the restaurant, bar and lounge are located, with a 360° view on the Rio Caterina Valley. Warm up by the fire in the large woodburning fireplace, then head into dinner to enjoy contemporary Patgonian cuisine prepared by the lodge chef, including traditional barbecued meats over an open fire.

Hotel Kosten Aike

Location
El Calafate, Argentina

Located in the center of charming El Calafate, Hotel Kosten Aike takes its name from the words kosten (wind) and aike (place), a nod to the frequent fresh winds of Patagonia. But its name is not the hotel's only tribute to indigenous Tehuelche culture: it is filled with the work of Argentine artists who have incorporated ancestral Tehuelche designs into every element of the property, including bedspreads, curtains, covers, ironwork and paintings, all of which exhibit the Tehuelches' exacting geometry and visual symbology. Rooms have extra-long beds, a small table and chairs, work desk, cable TV, mini bar, safe deposit box and Wi-Fi. An upper-level gym and spa under the eaves offers views of Lago Argentino as you walk on the treadmill or soak in the Jacuzzi. A sauna and massage services are also available. A buffet breakfast is served in the Ariskaiken restaurant, while the cozy Aura bar offers coffee and cocktails. The lobby lounge, warmed with heavy timbers, hardwood floors and a stone fireplace, offers comfortable seating plus tables and chairs for socializing.

Mirador del Lago

Location
El Calafate, Argentina

Optimally located in El Calafate, just outside the busy city center and across the road from sparkling blue Lago Argentino, Mirador del Lago exudes warmth, color and local character. Its interiors feature classic Patagonia design and decor, incorporating stone, heavy timbers, rich carpets and textiles, and large windows to showcase the view of the lake. Room amenities include elegantly crafted furniture made of local wood, choice of pillow, free Wi-Fi, cable TV, electronic safe, fridge and individually controlled heating. La Bahia restaurant serves gourmet regional cuisine with an artful flair, plus an outstanding breakfast buffet. A coffee shop and bar are also on site.

EcoCamp Patagonia

Location
Torres del Paine National Park, Chile

Named by Time magazine as one of 100 of the World's Greatest Places and lauded by Travel + Leisure as one of the Best Hotels in the World, EcoCamp Patagonia enjoys global renown. The lodge opened in 2001, and from the outset, it has been a model for "green" lodging, providing industry leadership and innovation in sustainable practices and inspiring the opening of numerous similar properties worldwide. With energy powered by solar and hydro sources and composed of eco-friendly building materials, the camp's distinctive geodesic domes offer travelers warm, spacious accommodations in the heart of Chile's Torres del Paine National Park. The individual domed suites are inspired by the "leave no trace" huts of Chilean Patagonia's nomadic Kawesqar indigenous people. Tightly insulated for warmth and wind-resistance with skylight panels to add light, they offer broad territorial views of the surrounding peaks and an unparalleled immersion in nature. Interiors provide a cozy respite from the elements, with a low-emission wood stove to take the chill off. One double or two twin beds have polar fleece sheets and feather duvets to keep guests warm at night. An en suite bathroom has a basin, hot shower and state-of-the-art composting toilet. This unique accommodation is frequently cited by our travelers as one of the highlights of their Patagonian adventure.

La Yegua Loca

Location
Punta Arenas, Chile

Arguably Punta Arenas' most distinctive lodging, this boutique hotel is the realization of the creative vision of its founders, Paola Milosevic and Sergio Solar, whose grandparents were Croatian pioneers in Chilean Patagonia. Rehabilitating an old house built for the English court in 1929, they have created a sophisticated boutique hotel that pays homage to the multicultural traditions shaping the southern tip of Chile since the mid-1800s, when immigrants from Croatia, Russia, Ireland, Britain, Spain and elsewhere arrived to meld their cultures with the indigenous people living in the region.

Each of the inn's eight rooms is named and themed around a different trade that was important in Chilean Patagonia's early history: The Coachman, The Stable, The Leather Braider, The Orchard, The Milkman, The Blacksmith, The Carpenter and The Shearing Shed. Rooms are furnished with period antiques relevant to those pursuits, offering guests a taste of history along with a supremely comfortable stay. Located on the second and third floors of the house, rooms have panoramic views over the Strait of Magellan and colorful rooftops of Punta Arenas. Each is harmoniously decorated in a neutral palette of white and browns and has central heating, en suite bathroom with hair dryer and custom toiletries, super king-size or two double superior beds, Wi-Fi, telephone, desk, luggage storage and safe.

The restaurant on site, La Cocina de la Nonna, features Patagonian specialties with a Croatian flair, including roast lamb, gnocchi and grilled octopus. The Bar is a faithful reflection of traditional Patagonian pulperias: these were old warehouses used during the early colonial days as drinking establishments and purveyors of groceries and other products. That heritage is replicated at La Yegua Loca with local specialty cocktails such as the Pisco Sour and Ruibarbito, and artisan handicrafts, books and regional gourmet items for sale in the small shop on site. Or relax in the glass-enclosed Terraza, which offers inviting lounge space with territorial views in all directions.