I'll start be saying I have no frame of reference to other hotels in Puerto Varas, so this may be one of the better choices all things considered. I found the hotel to be somewhat generic looking, kind of like a Hampton Inn. Rooms were a bit cramped and lacking in amenities. On the good side is the location--easy to walk to downtown and the beaches, however I will concur with those who complained about the barking dogs--it never ends! Had an amazing view of the Orsono volcano. Only ate breakfast and it was soso.
My major issues with this property came down to two things. First, no air conditioning. Now I realize this region generally has very mild temperatures but I was here during a heat wave. Really hot. No air conditioning and only a limited number of fans. On a sunny day your room will cook like an oven and the hallways will be even worse. After a long day hiking the volcano it was disappointing to return to a hot stuffy room.
Second, laundry. I left a full laundry bag on my bed before leaving for the day only to return to the same bag on a chair, otherwise untouched, still full of my dirty clothes. This was particularily frustrating considering I was on my last pair of clean underwear. I even went out of my way to make sure I followed the hotel's laundry protocol before I left that morning. I called housekeeping to make sure all I had to do was leave the full bag, with filled out form indicating the contents, on the unmade bed. Well, it would have been nice if someone had bothered to tell me that the hotel does not do laundry on Sundays since nothing in the hotel's room guide mentions this. When I called to ask why my laundry wasn't done, the response was essentially "It's Sunday." When I protested that I had talked to someone earlier that day and that person never said anything about no laundry on Sunday I was met with indifference.
The town of Puerto Varas was cute and fun. Should I ever make it back, I would consider different lodging options.
- Solace Hotel Puerto Varas
