Chalten Suites Hotel — Hotel in El Chaltén

Tucked into the woods about 40 minutes from the little hiking-based down of El Chaltén, this is definitely more of a small, boutique hotel compared to the somewhat-nearby Torres del Paine Explora, with a smaller, quieter vibe.||Right after we checked in we were met with a guide coordinator that we chatted with about what we wanted to do during our three days there, and they suggested what made sense on each day based on the weather. For us, the first two days were going to be windy/rainy but the third day clear, so we scheduled hikes nearby the lodge the first two days and a longer hike to see Fitz Roy on our third day. This was excellent advice -- the first two days ranged from light rain to blustery downpour, but our hikes were well-suited to conditions and the guides made sure we knew what we were getting ourselves into and that we were well-prepared gear-wise. They were all really friendly and informative, kept us moving but didn't rush us, and led us expertly through each hike.||The hotel itself is pretty small, around 20 rooms (and not all were occupied when we were there). Rooms feature very clean simple lines with tons of wood, both stylish and comfortable. A great bed was appreciated -- it's important when you've been hiking all day! Because it's so tucked away, a lot of the room views aren't really anything special, but the view from the common areas and especially restaurant are amazing, overlooking the valley to the glacier and the surrounding mountains. Not Torres-del-Paine-absurd, but still very striking.||Our hikes for each day:|Laguna Azul/Valle Electrico|Glacier Vespignani/Glacier Huemel|Granite Valley||The first day was a typical two-half-day hikes, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. For the second day they actually combined two hikes (Glacier Vespignani and Glacier Huemel) into one full-day hike for us and a few other guests since they're both kind of in the same area. They're both up-and-down hikes to see glaciers, so if you're trying to find something to combine with Glacier Huemel or are doing Glacier Vespignani, and are up for that, see if they'll do the same for you!||The common area has a few tables but is dominated by the bar, which is a great hangout place. We'd often come down for a pre-dinner drink (dinner didn't start until 7:30 which is pretty late for us Americans), and I can't say enough good things about the bar staff -- especially the main bartender whose name I forgot to write down but she was awesome. Almost every day seemed to have a custom "cocktail of the day" posted which were uniformly excellent and quite varied, and they also put together a outstanding pisco sour variant when I asked for one (they didn't have any pisco which I guess is more of Chilean thing). They also made a great non-alcoholic lemon-turmeric juice that was waiting for us at the end of a couple of our hikes. While hanging out at the bar and chatting with fellow guests that we'd met during our stay (the place is small so you'll meet almost everyone!), they'd also just bring out random bites of food: cheese and crackers, olives, pickled veggies, empanadas (!), etc. Did I mention they also had a few kinds of freshly-made cookies out every day too? ||If you're getting a sense that Explora El Chalten has a lot of good food, you are absolutely correct. Breakfast and lunches were buffets, but not your standard fare -- lots of custom-made and traditional dips and loafs and pies and whatnot, along with a few egg dishes you could custom-order at breakfast. Dinner started with a spread of starters which always included some fire-cooked unleavened bread and dips (the chimichurri was outstanding) along with a few other shared small plates that were different each night. After that, the staff walked around and talked about what the options were for your mains, and let you decide which you wanted. And if you decided you wanted more than one, that was totally fine -- they actually offered multiple mains to us a few times but honestly at that point we'd eaten so much we couldn't do it. They expertly kept track that we were pescatarian throughout so we never had to avoid any meat dishes, too. At the end of the evening we really couldn't have eaten any more, even if we wanted to.||There's also a small smokehouse out back that I think you can go out to and get in some grilling and samples, but it seemed like it was probably more meat-oriented (and again, we had more than enough food) so we didn't check it out. But for meat-eaters, might be worth looking into!||Wi-fi was surprisingly fast (60mpbs down at one point when I tested!) and worked throughout the hotel. Nice for streaming some tv on our iPad before passing out at night.||The spa was small but only a few steps out the back, and the hot tubs were perfect for a post-hike soak. At least one of them was out of the sun in the later afternoon too, for those that want to stick to the shade.||The one complaint I had was that tipping was hard. Unlike Torres del Paine, you couldn't do a bulk tip on your credit card that would be distributed, and as far as we could tell there wasn't any way to tip other than giving cash to everyone individually (which we definitely didn't have). We want to tip, he staff was awesome! Please make it more convenient (or even...

I really wish I could give this hotel a 5 star but it is unfortunately a 2 due to noise and mold or mildew in the shower. We were very pleasantly greeted upon arrival and given a welcome bag of local hand soaps and bath salts and tea, and we're given amazing details on how to enjoy thr trails. They also explained how to clean our boots to avoid using towels (which makes complete sense) and how we get breakfast and can order a boxed lunch for our hike. We arrived at our room which was 303 a balcony room facing the mountains. The room was nicely decorated and they had a welcome bottle of wine and a kettle with teas. There was no thermostat for the room but it was of a very comfortable temperature so it seemed OK. The room appeared clean and we had a lovely evening. If it was that it qould be a five star but then we slept the night and oh gosh there were people in both rooms besides us and you. Would literally hear them peeing and talking and sneezing. I was woken up at 2am by the people beside us coughing and going to the bathroom. At 6am everyone was up and slamming doors and having alarms go off that sounded like they were in our room. ||Breakfast was decent. Nothing extraordinary but decent. The coffee was pretty grainy but again if all was equal it would be a 5 star. ||Then came a shower. Oh boy. Behind the shower door inside the shower was enough mildew accumulation from at least 4 months I would think. Good heavens. They need a heavy dose of bleach. The water pooled in my feet. I literally used a alcohol hand wipe to wipe my feet afterwards. The rest of the room appeared clean. When we checked out I told the lady at the desk to let housekeeping know about the mold or mildew and she just said "ok". Not "oh I am so sorry this isn't good to hear" but rather just "ok" and "bye". Lol. She never asked about our stay so maybe they will read this. ||I think the lack of carpeting greatly contributed to thr noise. Its amplified by the wood flooring. I was shocked there were not many mentions of noise but it might be that most people don't have anyone beside them and we did as a large group was there I dono! ||I wish I could give this place a 5 star but we barley slept and paid over $300 a night. It is a shame as its just a badly built hotel.||The reception again was great except the person who...

Chalten Suites is a nice hotel, but not enough to justify a rate of 320usd per night. Located right on the main street, it has comfortable rooms (though not very big and feeling a bit empty in terms of decor). Staff is wonderful and very helpful. However:|- Rooms are awfully hot, we tried to open the window at night but the wind can be loud, so you either sweat or live with the noise. Apparently the room thermostat does nothing|- Cleaning of the room should be improved. They made our bed and replace towels, but they never replaced the used cups we used for tea so we always had to wash them ourselves. They also never leave you with more than one roll of the thinnest toilet paper, which is annoying. |- Breakfast could use a bit more variety. Also, I ordered 3 times a cappuccino and they only got it right once. Other times it was just a terrible blend of coffee and milk without any foam. You also always have to confirm the evening before what time you want to have breakfast, which sometimes can be bothersome.|- Laundry is a joke. It was returned to us fast, which was nice, but the state of it was unacceptable. Some socks had soil stains which had not been removed at all and worse of all, the other items such as t-shirts had not been folded but instead literally stored as a crumpled, wrinkled ball. I did not expect it to be ironed but a decent folding is the bare minimum!|- Internet is shaky but I guess it’s a town problem rather than hotel, just be aware of it.||Honestly, had the rate been around 200 or so, I I would have happily given 4-5 stars. But if you charge this much, you need to ensure your services...