Hotel Indigo Atlanta Airport
A reasonable hotel for an overnight layover with pickup from the airport approximately every 30 mins. That same shuttle can also take you within a 2-mile trip in the area around the hotel, and they are within walking distance to a MARTA station.
Staff were very pleasant and personable, from the shuttle drivers to the front desk staffers.
Our room was huge, with lots of space, but it felt under decorated. The worst part was noise — the windows are thin, and you can hear each plane taking off in morning (starting at 6a) so you’ll definitely want ear plugs or a white noise generator here. Thankfully, the bed was medium firm and comfortable and the bathroom was fine with a huge shower with good water pressure.
Four Points by Sheraton Santiago
Our hotel room ready on arrival! Nicely located in the leafy Providencia neighborhood with lots of restaurants and shops nearby. We used points for a free night in a standard room which had a good amount of space for us. The closet was massive, and bed was comfortable. Importantly, the room was relatively quiet, and we were able to take a short afternoon nap to recharge on our first day in country.
At check-in we received free welcome drink coupons which we used to enjoy our first Pisco sours of the trip. As expected they were quite nice!
Pire Mapu Cottage
Booking a room near Torres del Paine isn’t cheap – even basic hostel rooms can be $100 a night, and there are lots of $1000 luxury options – so we eventually decided to stay in Puerto Natales (~1.5 hours away) which had some affordable alternatives.
Our stay at the Pire Mapu was originally scheduled for 4 nights, but a week before we left I found a good deal on the Rio Serrano Hotel which was much closer to the park. This turned out to be great for us, as we didn’t like the Pire Mapu much, but loved the Rio Serrano (below).
Why didn’t we like the Pire Mapu? Well:
- Wifi was poor – connection was in and out.
- White drapes let in light, so the room was bright by 5 am.
- Neighboring room was very noisy.
- Needs more hangers, only two on door.
Note that we had a room at the back of the property (#5), not in the main house. there did seem to be a room right off the breakfast area… that would not appeal to us.
It wasn’t all bad. The room has a small refrigerator, and the shower was nice, with good water pressure and temperature. Breakfast was OK with bread, meat and cheese, yogurt, etc.
The Pire Mapu location is toward the edge of town, a half a mile or so to the ‘downtown’ restaurant section. A bit of walk given the brisk winds in the area, but not too bad. Given that, the neighborhood was quiet, and street parking was easy.
Rio Serrano Hotel
The first views from the lobby are quite impressive, with big picture windows framing the river valley to the mountains, and occasionally some horses. Check-in was smooth, with descriptions of the hotel amenities (including the pool and sauna), and we were given a free drink voucher each.
Our room was comfortable, with a massive bed, though it was a little firm. Next to the bed were multiple euro/us-style outlets which made recharging easier. Having a small fridge was also nice. The big closet was great for unpacking some thing, though coat hooks would be nice given the climate. The drapes were white so did let light in fairly early – an eye mask is needed given the early sunrise. The bathroom was spacious with good amenities but there was a weird request to not flush toilet paper.
Breakfast buffet was quite good – a few hot options (eggs, bacon), lots of cold meats and cheeses, some pastries, a granola station, honeycomb, etc. And the best orange juice of the trip! We also had dinner one night at the restaurant.
On our second day we tried the gym, swimming pool and sauna. The pool area has a great wall of windows looking out on the mountains, so a great view plus nice and warm too. After drying off we went for our free drinks at the bar – a Calafate Pisco for Eric (tasted raisiny, like a mixed berry that had dried) and Leandra went for the standard Pisco sour. Both were tasty.
We definitely enjoyed our time at Rio Serrano and would recommend it for comfort and location.
Hostal Ventisqueros
Located a few blocks from the bus stop in Punta Arenas, we walked to this accommodation after our trip from Puerto Natales. Check-in was a little slow, for some reason the receptionist needed to see our confirmation numbers, but it was eventually sorted out. We were assigned a room upstairs at the back.
Our room was small but OK for one night. When you enter there was a storage shelf and closet on the right and a bathroom to the left, then oddly another lockable door to the bedroom proper. The bed was fairly squishy/ springy, and as with several other rooms in Chile, the room was quite bright in the morning. The bathroom was mediocre, with small towels and no body soap for shower.
We left before breakfast due to an early flight, but they’d prepped a few breakfast items the night before so we could have grabbed something before leaving, which was nice.
Patagonia Route B&B
Located an 8 min walk from the center of Puerto Varas, this small B&B was a great spot for us. Located in a quiet neighborhood, the house itself is cute, with nice wood finishes throughout. As a bonus, there is off-street parking in the driveway too.
Our room wasn’t huge, but the bed was quite comfortable and there was enough space to store our bags and hang clothes. The bathroom was quite nicely finished. It could get humid after showering, so we did need to open the window occasionally to let it air out.
Breakfast was quite good and filling, with eggs made to order, plus bread for toast, fruit, and a kuchen for dessert each morning.
Most memorably, our host was very gracious and friendly, and really made us feel welcome. Overall, we greatly enjoyed our stay here and would certainly return if we are in the area again.
