Hotel Ultimo Paraiso — Hotel in Cochrane

Our least favorite place of our 2 week trip driving the Carretera Austral. On the plus side was the breakfast, it was clean and there are beautiful rosebushes. Breakfast was one of the most complete that we encountered on our trip- eggs, packaged yoghurt, cereal, bread/toast, homemade breakfast cake, tea, real coffee, etc. The wifi works, and the owner (Carlos) can help make arrangements for boat trips etc. on the River Cochrane. On the minus side, this place is expensive considering what you get, and you have to be careful with the hot water in the shower (alternates being scalding and too cold). The rate for a double room is 110,000—elsewhere you can get an entire cabin at a much nicer place, and perhaps even dinner for the same price! The hotel is configured as two lines of rooms facing each other, so when folks come in late, you can hear them easily. Not as private, romantic, or quiet as other places we stayed. But, the worst part is that they charge an outrageous amount for laundry without warning you in advance. Hard to believe but we were charged 44,400 Chilean pesos for a small bag of clothes (2 pairs of pants, 2 long sleeve shirts, a short sleeve shirt, and a few socks and underwear). This translates to MORE THAN $73 US!!!! We were NOT warned about this high charge, and were told when we asked about the charge that electricity and water are expensive. To give you an idea of what the “going rate” for laundry is at other accommodations along the Carretera—at Posada Quelat we were charged LESS than this for staff tip, bottle of wine AND our laundry. At another place in Puerto Guadal (about an hour away), the cost for 5 kg of clothes was only $12. We felt ripped off by...

To say we had an excellent experience would be an understatement. Carlos, Nela and Susie were excellent hosts and helped us at a time of great need. I had a severe bicycle accident coming into Cochran. After I got out of the hospital, David had found a place we would literally call “ home” for the next 20 days. I attribute my healing to a wonderful breakfast every morning, fruits, breads, eggs, ham and cheese, yogurt, REAL coffee and home made smoothies… every morning! ( who gets to eat like that in the middle of nowhere!). Susie not only helps in the kitchen but cleans the rooms spotless! Carlos and Nela found us a ride to Balmaceda airport through their friend who spent 6 hours driving us to catch a 12 pm flight ( thanks Alfredo). Carlos helped David figure out how to gather banana boxes and other cardboard to box up our bikes to go home. They even changed my mattress when they “ just knew” I was hurting all over. To say these people went above and beyond their normal duties, it’s not enough. They are special people, family to David and I and I will forever be grateful to their acts of kindness and compassion at a time David and I were 5,000 miles from family. With deep love and respect we recommend their cozy, beautiful hotel. It made a difference in our experience after a...

We spent four nights at the Ultimo Paraiso exploring Patagonia National Park, and doing some fishing. It was a great choice.||||The owners, Carlos and Nella, are wonderful hosts. We very much appreciated their advice on fishing, hiking, and dinners. They set up a boat to a nice hike for us one day. And we hired Carlos as a guide (and fly fishing teacher) for the Cochrane river one day which was a real highlight. Carlos will also provide you detailed advice if you just want to fish on your own.||||The rooms are very nice and each has its own wood stove for heat, if needed. Breakfasts were great and the common area is very nice also.||||Cochrane is about an hour from Patagonia National Park's headquarters. The Ultimo Paraiso, and Cochrane, make a great base for exploring this beautiful park. We enjoyed several days in the park, which, unlike most Chilean national parks, has good gravel road access to several hiking trails. We never found any part of the park at all crowded--we definitely enjoyed its feeling...