Chile & Argentina: Andes To Patagonia Day 19

We were in Santiago again, this time in March and stayed at the TorreMayor two different times. Unlike the other hotel nearby, this one lacks good mechanical capabilities.

First time there we were on the 15th floor and when we walked in the room was 84 degrees. We quickly turned on the A/C and perspired. Next morning the room was still at 73.

I spoke to the front desk when we checked out and they apologized. The window do not open.

When we returned 6 days later the room temperature was at 86 degrees and the A/C had been turned on three hours earlier at our request.

Window shades were wide open with sun streaming in.

I spoke to the desk, they informed me that the A/C was functioning correctly and I could not change rooms.

I went down and spoke to the front desk and as I was explaining our situation, three other customers approached the desk. All were on their own.

Each agreed with me that the hotel needed to upgrade their system and this situation was very poor. ROOM WAS HOT.

Great location, our room layout was quite nice, nice shower, and good bed. Internet was good. Breakfast was quite average for a quality hotel. Kept part of our luggage when we traveled.

We spent 5 days at the hotel and once the issues were fixed, we had a very nice stay. The room was spacious and well layed out. Bathroom was small with no storage or counter space.

We checked in late in the afternoon and with the outside temperature over 90 degrees, the room was warm. Our room had a freestanding fan and the windows have screens (rarity in Latin America). We could open the windows and after the sun went down, the altitude of San Pedro led to cooler evening. Still, our room never had temperatures lower than 72 degrees.

The internet was a serious problem and took close to an hour with the hotel staff working to get the router rebooted and fixed. But they blamed it on me at first until the front desk came and saw their cell phone had no WiFI reception. Then it was fixed. Once it was working, wow, wish mine at home was that fast. VERY GOOD. And I was uploading films, pictures and stories to the USA and Canada for publication.

Breakfast was minimal but replenished all the time.

This is a nice centrally located hotel with many amenities around the hotel grounds in surrounding blocks - clothes wash, supermarket, restaurants, etc.

On our first of two visits, the front desk was great. The doormen were super and always smiled. Staff was superb in everything.

On our second visit, not so good. Doormen did not open doors, were grouchy, and I had to handle my own luggage (not a problem but...)

They had only one elevator for the tenants. Other was for the hotel staff. Both times we were there we had to wait some time to use the elevator to go to 7th and 5th floors.

Our rooms were quite nice; spacious rooms, nice bathrooms and good counter space.

BUT, air vents need to be cleaned - lots of black dust on louvers.

With temperatures between 80 and 95, it was so nice to have a hotel with good A/C - first on our whole trip in Argentina and Chile.

They also had a very good breakfast with plenty of variety and food and real and good coffee, not the Nescafe one has in Chile

We were here for two nights and it was pleasant and peaceful, overall.

Grounds are on a hillside - roses and more roses. They also had beautiful wild birds on the grounds and flying.

Our room was very spacious - great room!

From our window and door to the patio, we had super views of the lake and mountains.

No A/C but cool nights with open windows.

Outlets for plug ins and many rooms have balconies.

The hotel has bars, restaurants, spa, etc.

Breakfast are best we have had in Argentina, maybe the whole trip.

The elevators are quick and responsive, even though we were on the 3rd floor, we used them a couple of times.

Front desk was quite cold - as we spent two days here - never saw any person smile.

Even when we asked question - short answers and no feeling of trying to help.

Maids, waiters, bartenders - all smiled and were extremely helpful

Barking dog till at least 9 PM in the lodges in the hotel grounds.

A little ways from city of Bariloche - taxi is 50 pesos - 5 dollars.

Get a room with view of lake and mountains.

With a group of 12, we spent two nights here in Puerto Varas. Previously we had stayed right on the lakeside but a little outside of the city center.

This hotel is only 1 block from downtown and worked well. Close to the church that is a milestone of the city. Excellent location and quiet neighborhood after 10 PM.

Everyone at the hotel was very helpful, sometimes overly so. They would come to our room and open the door without knocking to close the windows and turn down the beds.

We had to go to the front desk to ask them not to have people do this. Quite helpful.

The room was quite large and great beds. Unfortunately the layout was not well thought out. For sleep yes, work not. We had to remove the TV from the desk to work, had to ask for sitting chairs, and moved a lot of furniture.

The room had good outlets, efficient WiFi, spacious bathrooms with shelf and counter space and a fan that ventilated well between 6 AM and 9 PM. Then it turned off. The bathroom sink was quite modern and with any water pressure, it splattered and mirror and the sink top. Not good planning. Great showers. The temperature in the city was in the 80s and the hotel has no A/C. Windows did open but on 3". So the room was quite warm until well into the night.

The elevator worked well and there were two. Good overall breakfast with food quickly replenished (there were two groups in the hotel).

This hotel area (old fort) is preserved as a historical site.

Entrance is great as is reception, dining area, bar and the views from the garden with beautiful pieces of art.

But once one gets past the lobby, wow!

Hallway and room carpets have not been cleaned or shampooed for a long time. They are falling apart.

Keys are perforated plastic cards that do not work well. In and out so often.

We had been warned that - SMALL rooms with almost no room to move.

The TV set covered the table so we had to put it in the corner by the bed and then pulled the table to the bed to be able to do our nightly writing.

I had to ask for a super long extension cord to reach the only plug in the room.

Bathroom is small and poorly maintained.

No counter space. Two people could not use the toilet and sink at the same time.

Bathroom shower worked great but there was black mold at the base of the shower.

Black soot is all around.

When in the shower I looked up when something fell on my shoulder.

Vent above the shower had leaves and fungi dropping from it.

I went to the front desk and it was cleaned, but not the shower base.

No ventilation - with window open still does not cool the room.

With open door and hall windows open we got some cooling.

Bring a small fan.

There are no screens to keep out the bugs.

We had 12 pieces of laundry done, pressed and they charged over $76. I told them our bill was not correct.

Had to have tour guide, manager and us to get the bill right. Went down to $34

Get a copy of the invoice when you turn in the clothes as they do not keep them and do not have a carbon.

Show when you check out - they do not keep the work order.

Breakfast is average but people are not happy to be working there.

I ask one of the workers if she was happy and her response - I do not like working here.

Dinner meals were great.

But, the hotel is very close to everything in Ancud.

Their excuse may be that they cannot do any changes to the old fort but they can and SHOULD renovate the hallways and rooms. RIGHT NOW!

We were here only one night on our way from central Chile to Torres del Payne. Sure wish we could have been here longer. Super hotel, facilities and breakfast. No complaints.

May have been the best breakfast - selection, variety, layout, seating - of our whole trip.

Coming from the worst lodging we had had on three week tour, this was paradise. We did face the back not the Plaza and the traffic.

The room size was OK and we could work and send out our article to the USA and Canada with their internet. Bathroom was well laid out with good counter space.

Heat worked, we had to turn it off and open the window to cool the room so we could sleep.

This was our second time at the Lago Grey. Previous was in 2007 and comparing the accommodations, we were very lucky to have one of the new rooms and it was fabulous. Room had a well laid out floor plan, was spotlessly clean, very modern, with a great bathroom and shower. Plenty of counter space and storage. The window and door opened for cross ventilation. The hot water heat was very quick to heat the room. We only used it for about 20 minutes and the room got so warm we had to open the door. From then on we did not use the heat.

To get to the hotel one has to drive a long distance through Torres del Payne NP over gravel washboard roads. Arriving at the hotel we saw great parking but a good walk to reception. Well laid out cabins and well maintained walkways. The hotel is located in a very scenic location, with beautiful views from dining and bar areas. We had great help from the porter, very gracious and from Samuel in the dining room. He always smiled and seemed to be pleased to see us for dinner and then breakfast. Dinners were very good but breakfast was minimal.

Internet at the hotel was quite poor as it uses satellite reception to have any communication at all. No connection in the rooms, one had to go to reception and the bar but even there it was quite poor. Part of the reason were the people using the WiFi. Almost all the staff were on their phones and then the customers were using the bandwidth. For our work, submitting the material to the publishers in the USA and Canada we had to go to the bar after 10 PM and closer to 11. Then we could upload our material.

It is worthy of mention that the hotel and the trees surrounding survived the fire that ravaged the surrounding area. Individuals and groups are fortunate to have accommodations so close the Lago Grey and the glacier.

Arriving with our group of 12 we were excited to see a beautiful hotel grounds, it used to be a ranch. We were welcomed and treated very graciously by everyone throughout our two day stay.

We were told all the rooms were on the main level, down a long hallway. Once we left the reception area we began to see major and serious problems. The hallway carpet was awful; dirty and ragged and in need of replacement - 5 years ago. We walked into the room and were pleased to see two queen size beds and a work table with one chair. We asked for another and they quickly brought it. When we walked into the bathroom we saw more major problems. No counter of any size by the sink. The bathtub and shower was badly chipped with heavy rust stains. We used the toilet and found it to be broken. Would run continuously. It was not fixed until the next day. Hot water heater worked well, we had to turn it off and open the windows to cool the room. Unfortunately, as it is true in most places in Latin America, screens on the windows are non existent. Bug flew in to get out of the rain after feasting on the grass and horse manure outside. We also saw dings on the walls - need to be patched and painted. The closets also were badly marred.

As nice as this ranch/hotel is it is too far away from center - need long walk or taxi - 50 pesos - $5.

This hotel could use major renovation and then it would be a great place to get away from the hustle of the tourist town of El Calafate.

Day 13: Azores & Madeira: Portugal's Unspoiled Archipelagos

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Day 13 - Saturday, April 22, 2022 - Depart for U.S.

The hotel prepared a box breakfast for us as we had to be in the lobby way before the breakfast room was open.

Last night we found out that our departure flight back to...

Continue Reading Day 13