Introduction
El Chalten is a small Patagonian village nestled at the foot of mount Fitzroy. It is also inside the Glaciares National Park and grows each year as a trekking destination.
We view hotel selection as being critical to the contribution of the overall experience and enjoyment of your holiday. Some hotels can have nice pictures and maybe very positive reviews – often fake and, of course, they never publish the negative ones!. Often, the realities of if they happen to be close to a noisy road, or night club or sports facility are often not mentioned. Likewise, maybe the rooms are very small, not that clean and so on. There are also some hotels that are literally “a bed for the night” and others that offer an incredible experience in their own right.
We work with all hotels in El Chalten from mid-level upwards. Therefore, should you want a particular hotel included in your itinerary just mention this in the enquiry process.
El Chalten hotels
El Chalten offers various options for hotel accommodation ranging from lodges to high-end hotels.
Premium Hotels
What is a Premium Hotel or Lodge?
The reason we have included the properties below in our premium category is quite simply because they excel in all that they offer. These hotels enjoy a unique location, offer spectacular views from many parts of the hotels’ interior and bedrooms.
The level of accommodation is extremely high in terms of comfort, furnishings and interior decoration.
All El Chalten Premium Hotels
Top Level Hotels
The hotels that are the best at the destination in terms of comfort, decoration, service and the overall package we have put into the "top level" category. This does not mean that a hotel in this category is at the same level as another hotel in another destination in our "top level" category. It just means that these hotels are the "better hotels" at this destination out of all options.
All El Chalten Top Level Hotels
Featured Hotels
These are hotels that we feel offer something special such as a great view; a great location; a special feeling and / or are just unique and different to the norm.
Mid Level Hotels
The hotels we have put into the "mid level" category are those hotels that do not merit being in the "top level", but are not at the lowest level either, hence "mid level". Usually, these hotels are perfectly good for a couple of nights and offer "practical" accommodation and facilities. If you are looking for only a "place to stay" and nothing more then a mid-level hotel will suffice.
All El Chalten Mid Level Hotels
Boutique Hotels
Our definition of a "boutique hotel" is one that offers a particular, "personal charm". These hotels are usually small in terms of the number of rooms and also "cosy", even "homely". However, there are also more modern "design" hotels that also come into the category of "boutique". These hotels also small regarding room numbers, but rather than offer the "cosy" feeling they offer the "clean, minimalist" feeling.
All El Chalten Boutique Hotels
Good Level Private Home
In some places in South America people with large private homes have started to offer them as small hotels.
We have come up with the category "Good Level Private Homes" purely as a way to group these properties together. In our view such private homes are usually at a good level. They offer decent room accommodation, nice living room areas, often with good views along with a personal environment. Because each private home is different there is no standard measure.
Some are so outrageously "top end" that they can resemble something out of a James Bond film, whilst others are more modest, perhaps rustic.
All El Chalten Good Level Private Homes
Rustic Lodges
In our view a lodge is a building constructed from natural wood, or at least has natural wood on its exterior as well as natural wood in the interior. Often, both the exterior and interior will have some sections of natural stone to accompany the overall organic appearance of the building.
As with hotels and private homes the types and levels of lodges can vary considerably. Some are at the luxurious level and others are very simple and rustic end of the spectrum.
When we say "rustic" we refer to the overall impression as being a simple place, with no particular high-end interior decoration and / or furnishings. Such places can be nice places to stay at, especially if you are looking to save on cost as well as enjoy a "no frills" environment. Often such places are very homely.
All El Chalten Rustic Lodges
Self Catering Apartments
In some of the destinations we offer there are accommodation options that come with a small kitchen.
Such facilities are for those travellers who prefer to cook their own meals, either because they like to, or to keep costs down. Therefore, a self-catering apartment is just that, it is an accommodation option that comes with a small kitchen for self catering purposes.
Of course, if you stay in such a place you are not obliged to use the kitchen, but you may enjoy the extra space that comes with such places.
All El Chalten Self Catering Apartments
Approved Hotels
During our inspections we ask the hotel owners if we can stay overnight at the hotel. We ask this because staying overnight is vastly different to just popping in with a quick visit. We like to know what the noise pollution is, what the breakfasts are like, how comfy the beds are, what the staff are like.
Therefore, if you see “inspected & approved” we are saying that we feel the hotel is perfectly good. If it does not have “approved” it means we have not stayed overnight or we feel it is not up to the level that our clients will require.
Inspected Hotels
The reason we have a selected number of hotels that we choose to work with is because we regularly visit the hotels in Puerto Natales in order to know what they are really like. We cannot rely on the hundreds of often “suspect” reviews published in the internet. Therefore, we try to promote the better hotels that we know will make your trip more enjoyable. However, if you see that we have “inspected” a particular hotel, this does NOT mean that we recommend it necessarily. The ones we recommend are “approved”.
Other Hotels
We also include in the accommodation section information on hotels that are not, perhaps, that great, and in some cases maybe they are a little “tired”, but clients will often ask for such hotels because the cost is lower or because they are under the mistaken belief that they are better than they are. We have not said derogatory things about these hotels, but if you see a lack of enthusiasm in the description you can derive that that particular hotel is “average”.