Solace Hotel Puerto Varas

The hotel itself was very basic, fine if all you need is somewhere to sleep, but not a place for relaxing or downtime. The pillows were hard as rocks, the rugs and sofa looked heavily used, and the towels were cheap and rough. Breakfast was okay in a pinch, though other options seemed clearly better if you had time. I ate at the restaurant and waited 45 minutes after ordering. When I asked, they said the food was being prepared. What arrived was a terrible burger: cold, sloppy caramelized onions, unidentifiable stuff they called cheddar, a stale bun, and bacon so aggressively salty I scraped it off because it was inedible. It was frankly disgusting. I was very hungry, so I ate the patty and avocado. At least the avocado was intact, since the kitchen hadn't prepared it. The puréed beet smear on the plate made no sense. Service was bad and the kitchen seemed even worse. It took 15 minutes to get a poor glass of red wine, and I had to ask again for the ginger ale. Whoever was running the kitchen didn't seem to know what they were doing. Overall, 2 out of 5.

A large, well-appointed room made for a wonderful stay.

The town center is conveniently close, and the staff were very friendly. But I slept terribly both nights. Dogs barked continuously from 3 AM to 6:30 AM the first night. I told the front desk, and they said there was nothing they could do, though they offered to move me across the building for night two. It made no difference, which I guess the staff already knew. You can hear the loud, nonstop barking from every side of the building, and it went from 3 AM until after 7 AM the second morning too. The food was good, but if you want sleepless nights in Puerto Varas, I'd highly recommend this hotel.

The staff were kind and pleasant, and breakfast was included. The fruit was fresh and delicious. The location is also hard to beat, only a five-minute walk to town and the grocery store, though it isn't right in town. It was budget friendly, too. The rooms were a problem. Every bed had a dip in the middle, and I woke up with back pain. They smelled musky, and my children even asked about the odd restroom smell. The shower curtains seemed like they hadn't been changed in years. The air didn't work, so they moved us, which was considerate, but the second room was in worse shape. My husband had to take apart the AC unit and clean the air filters in the shower before it started working. The place is old and outdated, with musky, mildew-like smells and air conditioning issues.