Review of Rio Serrano Hotel & Spa in Patagonia, Chile
When we were invited by Panache Cruises on an Aurora Antarctica cruise on the MV Greg Mortimer, leaving and returning to Punta Arenas in south Chile, we knew that we couldn’t travel all of that way without visiting Patagonia and the gorgeous Torres del Paine National Park. So when we were invited to stay at the Rio Serrano Hotel and Spa for four nights we grabbed the chance with both hands. After a week in Antarctica we left the MV Greg Mortimer early one Tuesday morning in March and headed off with most of the other passengers to Punta Arenas airport. Whilst most of the other passengers checked in for their fight back to Santiago we boarded a Bus Sur coach for a three hour drive to Puerto Natales.
Three very comfortable hours later driving through the gorgeous south Chilean countryside in rather luxurious and spacious seats (UK bus companies could learn a thing or two) we approached Puerto Natales with the scenery getting more dramatic and our excitement levels rising. After a short wait at the bus station Caesar arrived from the hotel to collect us for the hour and half ride to Rio Serrano. The drive was mostly on gravel roads making progress slow and occasionally very bumpy but when we arrived we were immediately blown away by the hotel, set in a little valley with the nearby Torres del Paine mountain range in the background and the river winding around the hotel.
Caesar showed us into the hotel where we checked in at the reception desk to the left of the lobby. The lobby is large and welcoming with gorgeous stone flooring and two large sofas for relaxing on whilst waiting to meet friends or go out on a tour. At the back of the lobby is more seating with a fire pit in front of the full length panoramic windows looking out over the hotel grounds and beyond to the National Park. To the right of the lobby, opposite the reception desk, is the ‘outdoor shop’ which is the place for booking any tours or excursions or just getting advice on what to do in the National Park. The shop is open most of the day and into the evening and is manned by the friendly and knowledgable excursion team who can advise guests on which tours are running during their stay and which would suit their needs, as well as helping to buy National Park tickets. A 3 day park pass costs around £25 each and needs to be purchased prior to entering to save time on arrival at the Park.
We headed straight up to our room, 324, on the third floor. As soon as we entered the room we were blown away by the stunning view from the massive picture window. The room was large and contemporary with a massive bed, a dressing table and a small table and chair positioned in front of the window. The bathroom was equally as large with a bath, shower, large vanity sink and marble tiling throughout. We loved that there was no TV in the room (who needs one with a view like that) but we did wish that there were two armchairs in the spacious area in front of the window, so that we could both sit and enjoy the view .
Since we had been travelling all day and were hungry and thirsty we decided to pop to Bar De Agostini, the bar and lounge situated behind the main reception area, for a nice cold local beer and a shared plates of fries. The bar was quick to become one of our favourite places to relax in the hotel. The area is divided into sections with an area for eating, some cosy sofas to relax in front of a real fire and a lovely double height glass walled lounge area with comfy seating, another real fire and wonderful views over the Gran Massive. The picture windows run the length of the bar and lounge with a large decking area for warmer days to enjoy a drink outside whilst the horses graze in the garden and the clouds glide over the mountain range.
We were staying on an all inclusive basis which proved to be incredibly good value for money, including most drinks (apart from the top shelf drinks), any food from the De Agostini bar (serves meals and snacks from 3-11pm), a buffet breakfast, an al a carte three course lunch and dinner each served with a generous glass of wine in the main restaurant, Qawasqar. Our first meal in the Qawasqar restaurant that evening set the bar high and although there were only three options for each course at lunch and dinner, we never struggled to chose something tasty to eat and I found the vegetarian choices very good indeed. Add to the delicious food the stunning view from the second floor restaurant and it really does make for a perfect way to spend an evening.
After a very comfortable nights sleep our alarm woke us just after 6am so we could get down to breakfast when it opened ready for the first tour of our stay. We met our tour guide, Pablo, in the main reception area just before 8am and luckily the weather looked like it was going to bless us, with clear blue skies and fluffy white clouds floating over the mountains. This driving tour was designed to give us a feel of the entire Park area, taking us firstly into the middle section of the mountain range and then round to the side to give us a view of the twin peaks from the other side. We boarded one of the hotel’s minibuses and headed out to the nearby entrance to the National park which was just a few minutes drive from the hotel. Pablo made it his goal to show as much of the Park as he could in the few hours we had, including a stop at a glacial lake where we dipped our toes in the water and admired the view; a wonderful close up view of the mountains peaks; herds of timid guanaco grazing on the planes and the waters edge; Chilean condors circling over potential pray; and a beautiful green water waterfall where Pablo set up a picnic table for a mid morning snack and a cup of tea. Despite his concerted efforts the only thing Pablo didn’t manage to find for us was a puma, but we didn’t mind, we had had a fabulous morning and returned back to the hotel for lunch with our hearts full of the wonder and beauty of the magnificent Torres del Paine National Park.
After another delicious lunch we visited the super friendly team in the Outdoor shop and decided that the weather really wasn’t looking all that good so we would have an afternoon at the hotel enjoying the spa. The spa at the hotel is very inviting with the gorgeous pool looking out to the mountain range being surrounded by comfortable loungers, making it the perfect place to laze around for an hour or two enjoying the view and the warmth of the pool complete with various jacuzzi and spa features. For more cold blooded or restless guests the spa also features two saunas and a small gym. After a wonderfully relaxing afternoon in the spa we headed to the lounge for pre-dinner cocktails followed by another delicious dinner and an early night in preparation for another early start the next day.
Another 6am alarm and we were the first guests in the restaurant for breakfast ready to fuel up and head out for our 8am tour with the lovely Claudia who was taking us on a 13km hike starting out on a gentle path along the river with plenty of flora and fauna to learn about along the way. A short way along and the pathway opened out to a flat plain under the shadows of a rock face complete with a rangers hut which was the first of its kind on the park. After a quick look around the abandoned three room hut we set off again this time through a more rocky, hilly path following the meandering river all the way to our destination, a woodland waterfall. We lingered there for a little while taking in the noise and spray from the water cascading down the large boulders as we enjoyed the snacks the hotel had packed up for us to refuel us for our long hike back.
We had booked to go horse riding in the afternoon but unfortunately rain set in just as we were about to head out, so we abandoned the horse riding, hoping to be able to fit it in the next morning. As we were all dressed up in our rain wear we decided to head out for a walk anyway and strolled down to the Serrano river that runs along the edge of the hotels garden. But the weather got worse and worse with the rain coming down heavier and heavier so much so that by the time we returned we were soaked to the skin. After a quick change and with no improvement in the weather looking imminent, we headed to the games lounge to have a game of pool and a mosey around the nearby shop.
Rather than eating in the restaurant, we decided to have a more relaxed evening in the lounge, sitting by the fire and eating pizza from the delicious bar menu. We ended up having a wonderful evening drinking wine and chatting to other guests knowing that we had a later start the next morning and didn’t need to rush off to bed that night.
Thankfully when we woke the next day the weather was much improved so we prepared ourselves for our horse riding session. We met Enrique, the man in charge of the hotel’s horses, and the 4 other guests that would be joining us, just before 10am and wandered over to the stable for our mini lesson from Enrique. After donning our riding hats and chaps he helped us all up onto our horses, mine was a beautiful all white horse called Palermo and Rich had a majestic tan horse with a golden mane called Tintino. Having never ridden before I was feeling a little anxious so Enrique kindly said he would lead me for a little while, until I felt a little more confident. It wasn’t long until I started to trust Palermo and he let me off the reins to guide Palermo on my own. We headed inland over some quite hilly terrain and through some woodland with the horses trekking in single file along the narrow paths. Thankfully we didn’t really need to do much to steer the horses, they just followed each other along without making too much fuss. After a while we headed down to the water’s edge to let our horses have a drink from the river before making the trek back to the hotel. Although it had been a dream of mine to go horse riding in Patagonia when it came to it, as a complete novice I was actually quite nervous and nearly cancelled this excursion, but I was so glad I didn’t, it was the highlight of our vacation - a once in a lifetime experience and a dream come true for me.
Back at the hotel we celebrated our wonderful morning on the horses with our fellow riders by ordering a calafate sour (calafate is a local berry that folklore claims if its eaten in Patagonia will win your heart and make you want to return) before heading up to the restaurant for our lunch. After a busy morning and a hearty lunch we had just a short half an hour to take a nap before our afternoon excursion to Mirador Cuernos. There were quite a few of us on this 12km trek along the riverbank to get a view of the base of the towers from across the river, so we had two guides with us, the wonderful Pablo and Paula who had accompanied us on our morning horse ride earlier. We had a 45 minute coach ride to get to the start of the walk which started out along a glacial river with a stop at a magnificent waterfall before a small climb up to the viewpoint which looked over the glacial river to the base of the towers beyond. We spent a good half an hour there just taking in the view, before making our way back to the coach. By the time we had walked back to the coach and driven back to the hotel it was about 7pm so after a quick shower and change we headed straight down to the restaurant for our dinner. Another delicious three course meal later we went down to the bar for a drink and a chat about our incredible day before heading off to bed.
Our final morning before we left this little slice of paradise, and since we didn’t need to leave until later we at last had a day where we didn’t have anything to get up for, so we lazed in bed watching the sun rise next to the mountains on what was promising to be a beautiful, clear, warm day. We didn’t have to check out of our room until midday which was also the time for our arranged transfer to the airport, so we went down to breakfast later than normal and packed our bags before heading out for a couple of hours to explore the plain the hotel is situated on. We walked about 5km getting our bearings in the tiny little hamlet of Villa Rio Serrano which seems to simply consist of tourist lodges and hotels, and the occasional private house. We walked along the river occasionally being joined for a short way by a random dog and often time bumping into horses grazing on the calafate bushes along the river bank. Our circular walk took us back to the hotel just in time to enjoy a coffee from the bar before checking out and getting on the coach for our lift to Puerto Natales airport.
The hour and half journey went quickly and we arrived at what has to be the smallest and most modern airport we have ever been to. Since ours was the only flight going out that day everyone at the airport was checking into the same flight as us and we spotted some friends and fellow passengers from our Antarctica cruise giving us the chance to catch up on what we had all been up to post cruise in Patagonia. We couldn’t wait to tell them about the amazing time we had had at Rio Serrano, somewhere we couldn’t recommend highly enough and a must do add on to an Antartica cruise out of beautiful Chile.
We were invited to stay at Rio Serrano hotel and Spa on an all-inclusive basis for four nights. They covered our transfer costs, our hotel stay, all meals and drinks and our tours. We would like to thank them for giving us the opportunity to stay at their amazing hotel and for hosting us throughout.
If you would like to find out more about Rio Serrano Hotel and Spa please click here.
If you enjoyed this blog why not read about the Antartica cruise we took prior to this stay on board Aurora Expeditions MV Greg Mortimer. If you are interested in taking a voyage like this or indeed in booking any cruise then we would recommend contacting a connoisseur at our trusted cruise partners Panache cruises - please mention that you have been referred to them through Visit With Us.
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