PRICE:
Frommer's Very Highly Recommended

This hostería sits at the trail head to the Torres on an estancia that still operates as a working cattle ranch. Accordingly, the complex includes a low-slung, ranch-style hotel, and there's a large campground and a hostel -- meaning a fair amount of traffic coming in and out daily. In the afternoon, horses and the odd cow graze just outside your hotel room door, meaning it's a fun place for kids. The hostería is a decent value for its standard rooms, which are far lower in price yet nearly identical to the newer, \"superior\" rooms. This is an ideal lodge for horseback-riding enthusiasts due to their on-site stables, and its access to the Towers is convenient; however, it is a long drive to the other side of the park. Las Torres recently inaugurated a small spa, with mud therapy, massage, and sauna. The buffet-style restaurant is above par, but pricey at $30 (£15) per person for dinner.

The hostería now offers expensive packages that include guided tours, meals, and transportation, much like Explora, and excellent off-season trips to little-explored areas (their 4-night package is just $200/£100 cheaper per person than Explora, so comparison-shop beforehand). Packages are run from 3 to 7 nights, or you can pay separately for day trips. Try spending 2 nights here and 2 at Hostería Lago Grey, thereby avoiding the steep price of an excursion there.

Copyright: Excerpted from Frommer's Chile & Easter Island, 1st Edition, (c) 2008, Wiley Publishing, Inc.

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