Skip to main content

The Tierra Chiloe Hotel

Chiloe Island, Chile; tierrachiloe.com; 12 rooms starting from $575 (U.S.) a person, double occupancy (two-night minimum). Includes meals, drinks and extensive activities.

Passing a farmer plowing his field with two yoked oxen and green fields dotted with sheep, we arrived at the Tierra Chiloe Hotel. This is not the wilderness, I thought, for which the Tierra chain, with luxury hotels in the Atacama Desert and Patagonia, is noted. Another surprise: Instead of melding into the bucolic setting, the hotel looked like a sleek spaceship, all sharp angles and futuristic. Appropriately, we were called passengers, not guests.

(Steve Ogle)

LOCATION, LOCATION

The resort is on Chiloe, a magical island dotted with picturesque fishing villages, ancient wooden churches and rolling farmland, situated about two-thirds of the way down the long shoelace that is Chile. Toward the east, the volcano-studded Andes march along the horizon. Nearby, a grassy slope leads to a bay, where the resort’s yacht, the Williche, bobs at a pier and flocks of birds fuss in an extensive wetland. One afternoon, eight horses were led under my window to a paddock where they grazed, occasionally breaking into boisterous gallops. I wanted to share their free spirit and race and whinny with them.

DESIGN

Santiago architect MOBIL has made a bold statement with a linear arrangement of rooms, suspended on four concrete pillars. There are only 12 guest rooms, all identical, lined up like soldiers. Visually, it’s a pleasant surprise.

I found the hotel’s interior warm and comforting. A window formed one wall of my room, offering a sweeping view toward the ocean. Wood is everywhere. A light, local larch covers the walls, floors and even ceilings. Simple, unpainted wooden carvings – boats, pigs, bicycles – and woollen hangings are scattered throughout.

The lobby lounge is cozy, complete with fireplace, grand views and an ever-open bar, which beckons guests to come and settle in with a book. Outside, a sheltered lounge with a fireplace and comfortable sofas gives you a great place to relax and view the fickle weather, which changes more frequently than a traffic light.

(Nicolas Saieh)

WHOM YOU’LL MEET

With only 12 rooms, there’s a great deal of privacy, intimacy even. I quickly found myself on first-name basis with other guests, testing my stumbling Spanish, enjoying the sound of rolling r’s and sibilant s’s. Strolling along lanes, I met many woolly sheep and cows with long horns, but they didn’t speak Spanish.

BEST AMENITY

I immersed myself in the extensive activities included in our stay, such as a tour of the town of Castro and the wooden San Francisco Church, a UNESCO Heritage site. Then, that afternoon, I was boosted onto a horse and we bounced along country lanes and the shoreline.

But the best came the next morning when we boarded the well-appointed, 17-metre Williche, and explored the archipelago. We stopped at Chelin Island and toured the late-19th-century church, which, under a massive renovation, looked like a skeleton. We also launched kayaks from the ship and explored the bay further.

EAT IN OR EAT OUT?

Having no other restaurants nearby is not a hardship here, especially at dinner. The ceviche of salmon included buttery scallops and shrimp. The conger eel was lightly fried in garlic oil. Grilled octopus was served with three types of potatoes – Chiloe has more than 400 varieties. On the last day, the chef treated us to a traditional curanto feast. It was quite a show: Red hot rocks were put in a hole. Mussels, clams, beef, pork, chicken, sausage and potatoes were placed in layers separated by large nalca leaves, then cooked for hours, imparting an earthy, smoky flavour. Fantastico!

IF I COULD CHANGE ONE THING

While on the Williche, a rolling wave caused a glass of crisp chardonnay to tumble; a tear welled in my eye. Glass holders, like coffee-cup holders on cars, would help. I’ll happily come and test them.

The writer was a guest of the hotel.