Where to stay when you leave.
You Got (Thermal) Mud on Your Face
11/27/2006 at 3:35 PM
Tags: Chile Hotel Reviews, Hotel Spas
While winter is settling in across the United States, summer's high season is just commencing below the equator. At one of Chile's most decadent thermal spas, this might translate to a sunny afternoon spent glooping around in a vat of volcanic mud, followed by a deep tissue massage, a robust glass of Chile's finest cabernet sauvignon, and a nap.
Situated in the country's famous Lake District, nestled in the Andes Mountains, and a two-hour flight from the capital of Santiago, the Termas Puyehue Resort could be considered water heaven. There are indoor and outdoor pools, hot and cold pools, pools with bubble beds, pools surrounded by native flowers, baths that can be "complemented" by salts, herbs, or essences, vichy showers, thermal water facials, autoregulated hydromassage tubs - not to mention showers in the guest rooms.
In case you haven't had your fill of H20, across the street you can rent a boat for a ride around the sprawling Lake Puyehue.
More on the Chilean water resort after the jump.
Built in 1908 and refurbished in the 40s, Termas Puyehue is purported to be the most popular thermal spa in all of Chile, and continues to be after nearly a century of service. While Frommers complained that "The staff has no concept of customer service, and problems with plumbing have annoyed guests," the review went on to give the place raves as a perfect stopover for a sauna, mud bath and lunch before crossing into Argentina.
According to the hotel's website, it has some out-of-the-box amenities: an antique museum, a mini-film salon, a library, and an artificial lagoon. If you have your own plane, you can set the gears down on the hotel's landing strip. The spa resort features three restaurants and a giant stone fireplace.
Guests can marvel at the massive crater of Volcan Puyehue (7334 feet), a live volcano which provides the bubbling, warm waters available at the Termas. They also have access to the only canopy installation in the country, which means that after a delicious slather of thermal mud, you can soar over the treetops of Puyehue National Park. Within the 117,000 hectares of unspoiled forest are rivers and waterfalls, in case you suddenly get a thirst for water.
Related Stories:
· Termal Puyehue reviews [TripAdvisor]
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