Awasi Patagonia Trip Review

This is a bit of a delayed review, Ms. Ridefar and I visited the property in January. We have been to Awasi Atacama previously, so we had high expectations for the hotel in every respect (Awasi Atacama was extremely impressive--certainly on part with many Amans in terms of quality of service).

Getting to Awasi Patagonia is no easy matter in some ways. Getting to Chile is actually pretty straight forward, and we enjoy the fact that from North America time zones are usually not an issue, and that by flying in business on a lie flat seat from Toronto, it is very easy and stress free to get to Santiago. But from Santiago it is another 4 hour flight south on LAN, followed by a 4.5 hour drive from Punta Arenas to Awasi. (Note that the airport at Puerto Natales is currently being upgraded to support B737 class aircraft--that would reduce the drive by more than half).

Check in was entirely seamless. Rodrigo, the activities manager, met our vehicle at the main lodge, and we were given a quick tour, and a snack, before being shown to our room. Pretty straightforward, and since everything is paid in advance, there is not a lot of paperwork.

All rooms are detached "villa" style cabins done in a very modern style but with rustic materials. The design is  very nice, the rooms are well laid out, materials and quality of construction is high. There are no TVs (a good thing), and no phones (a two way radio is provided for safety and emergency purposes). Linens are very high quality, as are bathroom amenities. As I recall, they are locally sourced, not the nearly ubiquitous Occitaine products. Towels were very high quality. Each room also comes with a wood fired hot tub just outside the bathroom door.

The highlight of the rooms however are clearly the windows all along the wall facing the valley, and the simply spectacular views. And when I say spectacular, I do think the main lodge and the rooms probably have the most impressive views of any hotel we have ever stayed at. The view down the valley to the park and to the Torres del Paine is simply unbelievable; the hotel is quite high up the side of the valley so there are unobstructed views for dozens of kilometres down the valley.

Service is completely inidividualized. Each room comes with a guide and a driver which are yours for the duration of your stay. Guiding was high quality and friendly. Housekeeping was completely invisible during our stay--not that hard given that you will be out of your room for extended periods of time doing excursions. Dinig staff and all other staff were exemplary and very friendly. The service may have been a tad slow one night when the dining room was busiest, but was otherwise excellent.

The food at Awasi Patagonia is exceptional. The chef is a bundle of energy, and clearly puts a lot of effort into his menus and is very creative. We stayed for 6 nights, and only faced the same menu once (first and last night). If the menu doesn't suit on a given night, salads and pastas are always available. But there is a great variety, with very high quality local ingredients where possible. There was lots of seafood on the menu, and lots of local meat (like Guanaco tartare). Everything was presented to a very high standard, the tastes were exceptional, and every course was well done. There wasn't a single meal we had in the dining room that we would have been disappointed with had we ordered it in a high end North American or European restaurant. Wines are included, and the selection of Chilean wine Awasi keeps is varied and interesting. Not all of it is 90+ stuff, but there isn't any that was less than 85 or so by WS standards, and there was lots that we hadn't encountered in North America, so that was a plus. Reserve wines are available.

The only let down in terms of dining were the lunches--a little greater variety would have been appreciated, typically the offering was soup and sandwiches. Also, some sort of sweet would have been appreciated too--we definitely burned the calories doing the hikes in the area.

Really the remoteness of the location is a blessing. Although the hiking trails will have more people on them, while at the Awasi property you feel like you have Patagonia to yourself. And if that isn't sufficiently isolated, a couple of the hikes can take you to areas where there are truly no other people and no signs of civilization at all.

A note on the activities: this is not a location for lazing around. There is no spa (although massages are available). No TV. No theatre. If you don't want to hike (or fish, or horseback ride, or river raft, or...) then you might be a little bored. Hikes vary from fairly easy distances to some pretty challenging routes on the "W" route in the park. Everywhere offers jawdropping scenery and every step is richly rewarded. I would say moderate fitness would be a plus--not that you have to be able to do a triathlon, but if you can hike 15-20 km a day, you will see some amazing scenery that isn't accessible if you aren't prepared to walk to it.

Overall our impressions were very positive, and we would definitely consider a return at some point in the future. The property, the location, and the service were all outstanding; and all exceeded our expectations and even exceeded those of the sister property in Atacama. For active people who enjoy the outdoors and luxury, I can't recommend the property highly enough.