Awasi Patagonia

From the window of a villa at Awasi Patagonia, the three granite towers of Torres del Paine stand across Lake Sarmiento with nothing between them and the glass but wind and guanacos. The lodge sits on a private reserve on the eastern side of the national park, outside its boundary and above the lake, and was built so that every one of its 14 villas has that view. It opened in December 2013 and is the second of the Awasi lodges, after Awasi Atacama.

History

Awasi began in 2007 in San Pedro de Atacama, where its founder Matías de Cruz opened an eight-room lodge on a principle that was then unusual: one guide and one vehicle for each room, with no group excursions. The Patagonia lodge applied the same rule on a larger scale and in a harder climate. Choosing a site outside the park, on private land with a long frontage to Lake Sarmiento, gave Awasi a quiet that no other luxury hotel in Torres del Paine can offer and a view of the massif from the east, where the towers themselves are visible. Both lodges are members of Relais & Châteaux, and a third, Awasi Iguazú, opened in Argentina in 2018.

Architecture and design

The villas and the main lodge were designed by the Chilean architect Felipe Assadi. They are raised on stilts above the steppe, clad in timber that has weathered to grey, and spaced far enough apart that no villa sees another. The forms recall the sheds and shelters of Patagonian estancias, with low pitched roofs and small windows on the weather side; the view side is glazed. Interiors use local wood, wool and leather, and each villa has a wood-burning stove. The main lodge holds the dining room, a lounge with a fire and a small library.

Rooms and suites

The 14 villas are all of one type, with a bedroom, a sitting area, a bathroom with a tub and an outdoor hot tub on the deck. There is one two-bedroom villa for families. The layout keeps the bed and the bath facing the towers. Each villa is assigned a guide and a 4x4 for the length of the stay, and the guide plans each day with the guests the evening before: a walk to the base of the towers, a drive to Grey Glacier, a ride with the estancia's horses, or a day of puma tracking on the reserve. Stays are all-inclusive, with excursions, meals, drinks and transfers from Punta Arenas or Puerto Natales.

Dining

The kitchen cooks Patagonian produce: lamb from the estancias, king crab from Puerto Natales, calafate berries, and vegetables from the lodge's own greenhouse. Dinner is served in the main lodge, with a Chilean wine list, and lunches are often packed for the day in the field. Breakfast runs on guests' own timing, since departures depend on the plan agreed the night before.

Wellness

There is no spa building. Each villa's outdoor hot tub, filled and heated for the guests' return, serves the purpose after a day in the wind, and massages can be arranged in the villa.

Weddings and events

Awasi Patagonia is not an events lodge. With 14 villas it can be taken over in full by a single party, which families and small groups do for celebrations, and that is the only form of private event it hosts.

Location

The reserve lies on the eastern shore of Lake Sarmiento, about twenty minutes by road from the Laguna Amarga entrance to Torres del Paine National Park. Puerto Natales is roughly two hours by road and has a small airport with seasonal flights; Punta Arenas, with daily flights from Santiago, is about four and a half hours. The lodge handles transfers from both. The season runs from early spring to autumn, and the lodge closes in the depths of the southern winter.