Tierra Patagonia

Seen from the road to the Laguna Amarga gate, Tierra Patagonia almost disappears. The lodge lies along a rise above Lake Sarmiento, its roof covered in grass and its walls clad in lenga wood that has gone silver in the wind, so that it reads as a fold in the ground rather than a building. Inside, the whole length of the lodge is glass, and the Paine massif stands across the lake. It opened in December 2011 and was the second lodge of the Tierra group.

History

Tierra Hotels belongs to the Purcell family of Chile, who opened Tierra Atacama in San Pedro de Atacama in 2008 on the site of a former cattle corral. For their Patagonian lodge they bought land on the eastern shore of Lake Sarmiento, outside the park but minutes from its main eastern entrance, and commissioned the architect Cazú Zegers. The lodge opened in December 2011. A third property, Tierra Chiloé, followed on the island of Chiloé. Tierra Patagonia has since received a run of architecture and hotel awards and is the most photographed luxury hotel in Torres del Paine.

Architecture and design

Cazú Zegers, working with Roberto Benavente and Rodrigo Ferrer, drew the lodge as a long, gently bending form meant to recall a fossil or a piece of wood washed up on the lake shore. The structure is timber throughout, with the lenga cladding left to weather. Rooms line the lake side; the public rooms are at the centre, where the building swells to hold the dining room, a lounge with fireplaces and a library. The interiors, by Alexandra Edwards and Carolina Delpiano, use local wool, leather and pale wood, with furniture made in Chile. The grass roof and the low profile keep the lodge out of the view from the park.

Rooms and suites

There are 40 rooms, all facing the lake and the mountains through floor-to-ceiling glass. Standard rooms have a sitting area and a bathroom with a tub set to the view; the suites are larger with a separate lounge, and some rooms interconnect for families. Beds are made with Chilean wool blankets. Stays are all-inclusive: guided excursions in the park and on the lodge's own land, meals, drinks and transfers from Puerto Natales or Punta Arenas. Guides meet guests each evening to plan the next day from a menu of walks, horse rides and drives.

Dining

The dining room runs along the glass wall at the centre of the lodge. The kitchen cooks Patagonian lamb, fish from the fjords and vegetables from the region, with a wine list from Chilean valleys and a bar that serves calafate sours. Lunch goes out with guests in the field on full-day excursions.

Wellness

Uma Spa occupies the end of the lodge by the lake, with a heated indoor pool under a glass wall, an outdoor hot tub, a sauna and treatment rooms. After a day in the wind, the pool with the massif in view is where most guests end up.

Weddings and events

Tierra Patagonia is not an events hotel. It can be booked in its entirety by a single group, and families and companies do so for celebrations and retreats; beyond that there are no meeting rooms or wedding facilities.

Location

The lodge is a few minutes by road from the Laguna Amarga entrance to Torres del Paine National Park, on the eastern side of the park where the towers are in direct view. Puerto Natales is about 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 and closes in the southern winter.