Finding the perfect place to stay on vacation can be daunting, especially in a place like San Pedro de Atacama in Chile. Choices are plentiful, and comprehensive reviews are hard to find. We found that to be true when we were planning our time in San Pedro de Atacama. I narrowed it down to two choices, and somewhat blindly chose one. Somehow, I managed to pick a hotel that was absolutely perfect for us – the Terrantai Lodge. We loved it for many reasons. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this hotel. To find out why, you’ll have to read my review of Terrantai Lodge.
Don’t Want to Read it All?
Here’s why you should stay at Terrantai Lodge…
- Centrally located
- Excellent level of service
- Wonderful amentities
Getting to Terrantai Lodge
Terrantai Lodge, as stated above, is in the town of San Pedro de Atacama, Chile. Getting there isn’t hard, but it can take a fair amount of time. For more information about getting to San Pedro de Atacama, read my Atacama Desert Guide.
Location in San Pedro de Atacama
Most hotels in San Pedro de Atacama are solid 3-star hotels or below. What sets each one apart is the location. When I was researching where to stay, it is recommended that you don’t want to be too close to Caracoles, the main street, because of the noise at night. I really don’t know why!
Terrantai Lodge is only about 200 feet from Caracoles but we didn’t hear any noise whatsoever. It may be that our stay was during the winter, but it wasn’t low season. We really liked the location of the hotel, and wouldn’t want to be much further away from Caracoles.
Checking In
Check in at Terrantai Lodge is at 4PM, but we got there several hours early. Our room wasn’t ready yet, but we were still allowed to check in. It was a smooth process, and they offered to store our luggage while our room was being prepared.
We got lunch and wandered around San Pedro de Atacama until slightly after 4 PM. The hotel employee remembered us, gave us our room key, and said he would bring our luggage shortly to our room.
Our Guest Room
The room we booked was a typical hotel room with one bed and ensuite bathroom. While the room is pretty rustic, we completely expected it to be. It was spacious enough that we didn’t feel like we were on top of each other the entire time.
There is radiant heating that is centrally turned on at 7 PM. However, it can be adjusted in the room. We found the heating to be very efficient at heating up the room.
The hotel room opened up to a very lovely patio with view of the church. I wish we had more time to sit and relax. The patio would have been the perfect place.
Hotel Bathrooms
The bathroom was on the smaller side, compared to the rest of the room, but it wasn’t surprising. The shower is sunken a couple of steps from the rest of the bathroom. I was particularly impressed by the shower head. It had very nice water pressure.
There was one thing that we weren’t quite prepared for. In the bathrooms, there is a sign that instructs forbids flushing toilet paper down the toilet. Instead, there is a trash can with a cover nearby for that purpose. Housekeeping does empty it everyday which is more than what some other hotels in San Pedro de Atacama do!
Terrantai Lodge Amenities
The amenities at Terrantai Lodge are much of what sets it apart from other hotels. There is something offered at nearly every hour of the day. All of them, except for spa treatments, are included in the daily rate.
Pool
Terrantai Lodge has a pool that is, admittedly, on the smaller side. I was there during the Winter, so using it wasn’t even a remote possibility in my mind. The pool, even though it isn’t big, looks like it would be absolutely amazing during the summer months. However, unless you build in extra time in your stay, you might not have a chance to use it. The pool has a water feature, but it was turned off for the winter.
Breakfast
Breakfast is served every morning from 7:00 to 10:00 AM. It is a fairly typical international/continental breakfast buffet with cold food items, coffee, tea, and juices.
Most of the group tours/activities leave before 7 AM, and we only sat down for breakfast once during our stay. If you let the hotel staff know the night before, they will pack a small breakfast for you. Either way, there is a Nespresso machine available if you only want coffee.
They also have coca leaves and hot water if tea is preferred. Coca tea has a bitter grassy taste, but some people think it helps adjust to alleviate altitude sickness. We learned that it is mostly a myth. Coca tea is mostly a placebo that masks the symptoms of altitude sickness, but you will still not be accustomed to the high altitude of San Pedro de Atacama!
Afternoon Tea
In the mid-afternoon, Terrantai Lodge offers a nice selection of loose-leaf teas. This isn’t afternoon high tea, but we still enjoyed it. It was a wonderful way to warm up after venturing around in the cold weather. Yes, deserts get quite cold in the winter!
Wine Tasting
This was perhaps the most surprising amenity at Terrantai Lodge. After the afternoon tea, they have a wine tasting hour from 4:00 – 6:00 PM. The term “wine tasting” is used very loosely. There were four Chilean wines (two red & two white) to choose from. The first time we went for wine tasting, we thought we would be given small pours of wine, similar to what wineries pour for tastings. Instead, they poured full glasses! Also, they didn’t limit guests to one or two glasses either.
The hotel also puts fruit and cheese plates to snack on while drinking wine. We thought this was an amazing amenity that we did not expect at all!
Service at Terrantai Lodge
The service we got at Terrantai Lodge was above and beyond what we expected. It is the epitome of a 3-star hotel with 5-star service. All of the employees recognized and greeted us. They gave us wonderful lunch and dinner recommendations. We were pleasantly surprised by how nice and friendly everyone was. Most of them spoke English at a conversational level or better.
How I Booked Terrantai Lodge
Allow me to preface this by saying, I have always recommended avoiding travel portals like Expedia. Instead, book flights and hotels directly with the airline or hotel. The reason for that is that you, the airline, and the hotel, are not in full control of the reservation. If something needs to change or goes wrong, you are at the mercy of the travel portal to help you. Also, you won’t get any hotel points or status recognition if that is important to you.
On the other hand, most travel rules are not set in stone and are meant to bend. While I don’t recommend it, booking through a travel portal can be beneficial. Terrantai Lodge was slightly (and surprisingly) cheaper on booking.com than it was if I booked it directly. Terrantai Lodge is not part of a chain, nor are there any chain hotels in San Pedro de Atacama.
Overall Rating
If it isn’t obvious, I highly recommend staying at Terrantai Lodge for anyone visiting San Pedro de Atacama. We truly enjoyed our stay. The town itself isn’t for everyone, and it is kind of a “one and done” destination. There isn’t really anything to pull us back, but if we had a need, we would not hesitate to stay at Terrantai Lodge. Frankly, neither should you.
