Correntoso Lake Hotel

Rooms

Few hotels can boast that every room has a lake view from its bed. Windows are immense, and the outlook is stunning, since this is a quiet northern arm of Nahuel Huapi lake with few other buildings: just navy blue water, forest and mountains.

What makes Correntoso so charming is that there are no standard designs: each room has its architectural quirks. Room 303 has a fabulous bath in the bedroom. Rooms 501 and 502 are on their own floor in the eaves: each with a bath set right in the window.

The 12 smallest Superior rooms aren’t second best, either: we loved cosy 306 with windows in two directions. The 20 Junior Suites are better only in having more space (309 and 409 struck us as the loveliest); all rooms have the same high standard of furnishings in smart natural materials, with lots of wood and hessian in subtle hues, and sumptuous beds with duckdown duvets. All rooms can be double or twin. The 11 Junior Suites Deck have balconies, but these are not private so you'll get to know your neighbours if the weather is nice.

Since the lakes area is all about water, it’s fitting that bathrooms are a pleasure: good toiletries all handmade in the area, and powerful showers; some rooms have big bathtubs, too. Robes, slippers and hairdryers are supplied as standard.

WiFi is free, available throughout the hotel; there are TVs in each room too. Extensive room service is available, and each room has a minibar. Rooms can get hot from the sun streaming through your picture windows, but opening the windows provides relief.

Features include:

• Bathrobes
• Hairdryer
• Minibar
• Safe box
• WiFi

Eating

If you arrive in the afternoon, head straight for the front deck or wraparound balconies over the lake and order afternoon tea: choose from 22 kinds of leaf tea, and either the fancy tasting menu or just freshly baked scones, with delicious lemony cream and homemade jams.

In the evenings, start with a drink in the bar or cosy living room, with its books, sepia pictures and antler candelabra. Dinner in the romantic Gourmet Restaurant is a simple and elegant affair: there are big windows onto the lake, tables have white linen cloths and fresh roses, and the service is old fashioned and attentive. We nibbled on homemade breads, and a chive dip before an amuse bouche of matambre in salsa criollo (meat in a spicy marinade).

Our starters of a ‘Mediterranean’ salad of grilled aubergines and tomatoes with local goats’ cheese, were followed by pan-fried grouper (an Atlantic fish) and rib eye steak: not gourmet, exactly, but delicious versions of familiar dishes, created from the freshest local ingredients. The steak was particularly beautifully cooked on the traditional parrilla (grill). Puddings, too, were exceptional: creamy chocolate flan, raspberry sorbet and hazelnut pastry. And we chose a Patagonian wine, Infinito (Humberto Canale) from a very good list: a crisp sauvignon Semillon 2007.

From November to Easter, you can eat in the Puerto Correntoso Restaurant, right on the beach with tables outside. This more informal set-up was converted from the very first Correntoso lodge, built in 1922, and there are great views. Food tends more towards grilled meats and fish, and there’s a traditional clay oven too, producing delicious lamb. A great place for an evening drink, too.

Guests with children under 12 eat in the Martín Pescador (Kingfisher) restaurant, where the menu is exactly the same as the Gourmet, with added dishes for children, but parents can relax in the knowledge that their children aren’t disturbing other diners. The style is warm and welcoming, with lots of wood and stone, bright red walls and grey banquettes, with simple farmhouse chairs and chintzy touches.

Breakfast has to be one of Patagonia’s finest buffets. Fresh berries and fruit salad, a range of juices, delicious just-baked breads and pastries, and all kinds of cereal, nuts and seeds, as well as cold meats and cheeses, and hot dishes cooked to order. Leaf tea in pots and freshly made coffee. You’ll want to linger and gaze and the light glinting off the lake.

Elsewhere, Villa la Angostura is a popular little upmarket resort, with a few decent places to eat. Most recommended is Tinto Bistró, a cosy place with eclectic world cuisine, owned by the brother of Maxima, Princess of Holland. Open for dinner only, closed Sunday.

Features include:

• Bar
• Breakfast
• Kids' meals
• Restaurant
• Room service
• Vegetarian options

Activities

The hotel has a 'Spirit and Adventures team' who are on-hand to advise you what you can do here. They have excellent guides and offer top-notch services: one of the great advantages of staying at Correntoso

• Hiking. Borrow a map, or go with expert bilingual guides to places other tourists never reach: Correntoso’s boat drops you at inaccessible areas of the National Park for hikes from 3 hours to two days. There are also short strolls directly from the hotel
  
  
• Bosque Los Arrayanes - Villa la Angostura’s own national park. Arrayanes are beautiful bark-less myrtle trees, and this forest is one of the few places in the world they grow together in profusion, their twisting cinnamon coloured trunks creating an other worldly fairytale light. Disney was inspired to create Bambi after being here! Correntoso’s boat goes after commercial tours have left so you have it to yourselves
  
  
• Skiing and snowboarding. The small, upmarket family ski resort Cerro Bayo is just 8km away: the views from the top are stunning
  
  
• Fishing. The Limay River is world renowned for rainbow trout fly fishing (November to Easter). There are also many places to fish from boats within the National Park
  
  
• Boat trips. Correntoso has its own pier and their boat Don Primo takes guests to remote beaches for gourmet picnics, or just to watch the sun set with champagne
  
  
• Kayaking. A wonderful way to see the National Park from the water, in double sea kayaks. Experienced bilingual guides make you entirely safe, and this experience can combines with hiking too; rafting, snorkelling and diving are also available in season
  
  
• Bird watching - there's great birding here in spring and summer, from September to February
  
  
• The Herbal Hammam and Spa. Back at the hotel, the airy glass-roofed space looks directly onto the lake. There's an indoor/outdoor infinity pool with magnificent views (heated all year round), a lovely circular Hammam and Sauna, and an excellent range of treatments and massages
  
  
• Further afield, you can ask to go on an estancia visit and spend a day on a typical Patagonian sheep farming ranch, complete with horse riding, traditional asado (grilling an entire sheep on an open fire), and a taste of life on the land

Activities on site or nearby include:

• Birdwatching
• Boat trips
• Fishing
• Hiking
• Horse riding
• Kayaking
• Plantlife / flora
• Private guided tours
• Rafting
• Scuba diving
• Snorkelling
• Swimming
• Traditional cultures
• Well being

Kids

Children are welcome. The Junior Suites have sofabeds/can fit an extra bed for children, but you'd need to bring a baby cot. There's a specific dining room for families, and a nanny is available in the playroom to look after children while their parents eat (summer and main holiday seasons).

Best for:

Toddlers (1-4 years), Children (4-12 years), Teens (over 12)

Family friendly accommodation:

Extra Beds Available

Distances:

• Airport: 1 hour

For more family-friendly places, see our Kids Collection

Location

Hotel Correntoso is at the northernmost end of Lake Nahuel Huapi in the national park of the same name, just west of the popular upmarket town of Villa la Angostura, about 80km from Bariloche in the Argentine Patagonian lake district.

By Air:
Bariloche airport receives several flights daily from Buenos Aires (2 hours), and it’s around an hour’s drive to Correntoso from here. Click on the links below for a list of airlines serving this airport.

From the Airport
The hotel can arrange transfers, see Rates.

By Car:
You may want to hire a car to explore the region - see our car rental recommendations.

By Bus:
From other destinations in Argentina, long distance buses head mainly for Bariloche. There is a regular bus service from Bariloche to Villa la Angostura with Via Bariloche, taking 1 ½ to 2 hours. The public bus to Villa la Angostura runs hourly.

Detailed directions will be sent to you when you book through i-escape.com.

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