Hotel Simple Patagonia

Room Type: Superior Double Room (1 night) and Double Room (1 night)

Hotel Amenities: On-site Restaurant and Bar, Luggage Storage

Average Cost per Night: $298 (incl. fees, for 2 nights)

Star Rating: ☆☆☆

My Rating: 9/10

Anyone looking to do the well-known 5-day W Trek in Chile's famous Torres del Paine National Park will usually need to spend at least some time in the small Patagonian town of Puerto Natales in (very, very) southern Chile. This outpost serves as the launching point for most treks in the region, as it has the closest airport to Torres del Paine. Puerto Natales itself is rather sleepy and extremely windswept, even on the calmest of days. With a handful of cafes and restaurants and a couple of handfuls of souvenir and outdoor trekking shops, there's not much to entertain—afterall, one comes to Patagonia for the storied landscapes, not the cities.

All that to say, if you are necessarily spending a night or two in Puerto Natales on either side of your trip to Torres del Paine, my recommendation is to embrace the wild landscape around you by staying just outside of town. And nowhere will you get better value and authenticity in doing so than at the 11-room boutique Hotel Simple Patagonia.

Located just a few kilometers outside of town and just a five minute drive from the airport, Simple Patagonia neighbors The Singular Patagonia (a much more expensive 5-star property) but garners the same lovely views of Última Esperanza Sound at its front door. The wooden shack-like exterior of this boutique hotel makes a first impression of the grand interior lobby all the more breathtaking. Vaulted ceilings lined with rafters top the floor-to-ceiling windows, filling the space with light. It feels as though there's hardly a barrier between oneself and the grassy knolls leading to the beach of the Sound outside, especially when accompanied by the howling of the wind and spattering of raindrops that are so typical of the region.

As for the rooms, we stayed in a corner room for our first night (before the W Trek) and in a standard double for our second night (following our trek). Both were spacious and simply appointed, letting the stunning panaroma beyond take center stage. Adjustable underfloor heating was a welcome surprise, and kept us feeling cozy and warm despite the biting wind and cold outside.

The breakfast buffet was a traditional spread of coffee, tea, pastries, fruit, yogurt, and deli meats, along an offering of eggs cooked to order. Dinner was a real treat, with a Chilean-style king crab chupe being the star of the show. Service was exceptional, as well.

Patagonia is notoriously expensive, so although this stay was pricier than our usual fare it was actually comparable to other hotels in Puerto Natales and, in my opinion, provided much better value and interior design than other properties at this price point. We would absolutely stay again.