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Review: RIO Serrano Hotel & Spa, Torres del Paine, Chile

When travelling to Chile, there is no way around it; visiting the Torres del Paine national park is a must. And it’s here that you’ll find the RIO Serrano Hotel & Spa which serves as the perfect starting point to explore this majestic and utterly beautiful area. What’s even better is that they have everything under one roof, so you don’t need to worry about a thing.

The welcome

Upon arrival in Puerto Natales we were warmly greeted by one of the hotel guides that would drive us to the RIO Serrano while instantly giving us a first glimpse of the region. You can also drive to the hotel yourself but as we were only staying for a short amount of time in Chile, we opted to use the comfortable transfers from the hotel as it would allow us to maximise our time and experience there.

After a scenic 90 min drive through beautiful scenery, we arrived at the RIO Serrano hotel & spa where the check-in formalities were quickly sorted and within minutes we were enjoying the views from our superior room.

The room

From the moment we walked into our superior room I noticed the giant window filled the room with light while simultaneously drawing the attention to the Paine massif in the distance and the Serrano river which runs along the edge of the estate.

There’s plenty of space and the large wardrobe makes it easy to store all your belongings without cluttering the rest of the room. I loved the use of soft natural tones (which is done throughout the whole property), wood and local elements. This room would look dull in Las Vegas but ticks all the right boxes here in Patagonia and the beds were among the best I slept in recently.

The bathroom

The bathroom is spacious and there is a ton of counter space to place any of your personal belonging. It’s something that I often miss in other hotels but here they’ve done it absolutely right.

There’s a large bathtub with a shower on top, but I would have preferred they get rid of the shower curtain as I’m not of fan of those. Of course, that’s just a detail and also a personal preference so nothing to worry about. As there is a huge spa facility in the hotel, there are some very comfortable slippers and gowns provided which you can wear either in your room or when you go for a treatment.

The Alpaka toiletries were a very nice touch and being a brand that focuses on sustainability while using 100% natural and bio-based materials it fits perfectly into the whole vibe of the RIO Serrano hotel.

The facilities

Exploring the area often involves being very active so to top up those lost calories you certainly want to enjoy some of the wonderful food that’s being served here. The main restaurant Kaienk situated on the first floor will certainly not let you down. The king crab, guanaco and tuna dishes were my personal favourites but all the guests in general were raving about the gastronomy and there are options for any food preference you might have. It’s also here that you’ll enjoy the breakfast.

Irrelevant of which meal you’ll have, the views remain as stunning as ever with sunrise and sunset illuminating the scenery outside in soft candy cotton colours.

There’s also the bar on the ground floor where you can get some yummy food during lunch and throughout the day. It has a beautiful terrace which offers the same stunning views over the massif while enjoying some sunshine on your face. Don’t forget to taste some of the delicious cocktails, especially the ones where they use local ingredients to create masterpieces only to be found in this area. The Calafate sour which had the perfect balance between the sweetness of the Calafate berries and the sourness of the limes was the perfect example of how you can incorporate local delicacies into a bar menu.

The name gives it away and I already mentioned it before, but there is indeed a wonderful spa which truly differentiates this hotel from all the other ones in the neighbourhood. The spa comprises treatment rooms, saunas, a huge indoor swimming pool with whirlpool, a gym,….all in all everything you need to get your body in shape or relaxed (the choice is sometimes hard, I know). I enjoyed a deep tissue massage which re-energised my sore muscles in the most enjoyable way possible.


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RIO Serrano knows that the views all around the hotel are priceless so they made sure to take as much advantage of it as possible, and who can blame them. All along the pool there are massive windows which give you the feeling like you are swimming in between the mountains. Truly stunning.

So far you might think this is the perfect place for adults thanks to the comfortable rooms, delicious food and drinks and a spa facility where you can spend the whole day and still feel like you didn’t have time enough. But don’t be fooled, the RIO Serrano welcomes the younger guests with open arms. Even the smaller ones and they’ll be pleasantly surprised when they notice there is even a kids club. Does that mean you have to give up on the spa? Not at all as there are even treatments where the kids get to be pampered together with their parents which in my books is a win-win situation.

Across the reception area you can also find The Massif which is the excursions desk where they offer all kinds of options to explore the Torres del Paine National Park. Some excursions require a good physical health but there are equally options for those who are less mobile and still want to enjoy everything the park has to offer. I contacted them upfront and arranged everything before arriving in the hotel which made the overall experience seamless.

Location

When it comes to locations there are few options better than right on the border of the Torres del Paine National Park and next to the Serrano river. There’s an easy access to the airport of Puerto Natales or if you are coming (or going) from Argentina it’s about a 2 hour drive to the border.

If you are driving yourself be aware that the last part of the road towards the park (coming from the south) is unpaved. There is ample parking space too so no need to worry about that.

Thanks to it’s central location in the massif, all the rooms have amazing views, no matter which direction they look at.

Other nice touches

There are many nice touches, going from the super friendly staff to the superb facilities but it’s the locally inspired details that make the difference. The perfect example was the hot Patagonian infused tea that was waiting in our room when we came back from a long, exhausting but equally amazing excursion. It felt like liquid comfort!

Cost

Prices for a room start from around 235 USD on a B&B basis. The hotel also offers a great all inclusive rate where all the food and even drinks (yes, this means also that amazing Calafate sour) are included. Those rates start around 535 USD per room.

The best bit

The RIO Serrano is a cocktail of many great things that come together in perfect harmony and that in itself is the best part. Having everything under one roof, being able to plan and organise your time in Patagonia the way you want is something that isn’t a given.

If I really have to point out 1 thing, it would be the insane views that you get from every window, irrelevant if you are in your room, having dinner or enjoying the spa facilities.

The final verdict

All in all you can’t go wrong when staying at the RIO Serrano. It is really the perfect place to decide for yourself how you like to spend your time in this beautiful region in Chile.

Disclosure: Our stay was sponsored by RIO Serrano.

Kristof Eyckmans

Kristof Eyckmans is a travel writer from Antwerp, Belgium. He’s been living all across the globe and while he loves wildlife and nature, he can still enjoy a good urban jungle.

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12 Comments

    1. It was my first time in Chile and I must admit, it was even better than what I anticipated. Of course, I only visited a small part of the massive country but RIO Serrano felt like the perfect basecamp to explore the beautiful Torres del Paine national park!

  1. That’s a pool that could inspire me to do a lot of laps. I always swim better when I’m distracted by the views.

    I remember swimming early morning in San Francisco in a hotel pool where every other length you swam towards the Golden Gate Bridge. I had some of my best swims ever there.

    1. You are absolutely right!

      I swim a lot more when there is a view to enjoy and the pool at the RIO Serrano certainly provides that!

    1. The easiest is Puerto Natales in Chile. You can also fly to El Calafate in Argentina but then you’ll have a 5 hour transfer to get there which is scenic but might not be ideal.

  2. This really looks to be a place for more than a short stay. By the time I’d explored plus relaxed I think I’d be looking at a week to 10 days.

    1. You’re absolutely right. We stayed here for 4 days but could have easily done double and still not been able to explore everything!

  3. I read somewhere about Mick Fleetwood of Fleetwood Mac saying that one of the things he likes about touring is the excitement of seeing what toiletries he’ll get in the hotel bathrooms.

    I’m pretty much the same. I’d love to try those Alpaka toiletries.

    I know all the conservation arguments for reusable bottles. But only last night I used a small bottle of shampoo from a Scottish hotel that I visited in 2019 and immediately all the memories came flooding back. I could make a strong marketing case for all those little bottles.

    1. Toiletries have (and still are) always been one of the items that guests like to take home. For some it’s for practical reasons, others to limit the waste and indeed some do take them along as a tangible memory of a great holiday.

      I’m happy to see that reusable bottles are becoming more and more the norm, even in luxury properties, but they don’t give the same memorable flashbacks….

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