Hotel Review: The Singular Patagonia - Puerto Bories Hotel
Nestled in the heart of Chilean Patagonia, The Singular Hotel is not just a retreat; it's an immersive journey into unparalleled luxury and untamed natural beauty. From the moment one sets foot into this architectural marvel, a sense of grandeur interwoven with Patagonian charm unfolds. As if painted by the region's dramatic landscapes, this historical gem effortlessly marries sophistication with an adventurous spirit. Prepare to embark on an opulent odyssey, where each moment transcends the ordinary, and every detail embodies the essence of exclusivity and excellence.
The Singular Patagonia Exterior
As I’ve mentioned a few times in the full Chile trip outline and in social media (you can find my full plan here), this trip had to be rescheduled multiple times and in fact on the very original plan (a round the world trip for a landmark birthday of mine), when visiting Chile as the last stop we weren’t able to come south to Patagonia in May, with this being winter. When there in February (summer for Patagonia) we had excellent weather, but it was still cool and we could clearly see why winters are harsh and the area inaccessible. Indeed The Singular closes at the end of April and doesn’t reopen until September each year.
Being part of Leading Hotels of the World, and the (later opened) but sister property of The Singular Santiago (where we stayed first when arriving in Chile - my hotel review here), on rebooking each trip I opted to book The Singular Patagonia. I loved the idea of its repurpose from the cold storage plant, and it certainly did not disappoint. The redesign was so well done, carefully crafting modern (luxuriously heated) areas for the hotel in amongst vast spaces still featuring the various areas (and machinery) of the old factory.
As I always do when looking to travel to a new location, I also checked out all suitable options of hotels, and had considered both the Explora and Awasi (luxury) alternatives for Patagonia. Only Explora was in the park itself (a stunning remote location, as we passed it on our park day trip) but very much looked like somewhere we would like to stay, as would the equally high-standard Awasi located about 70 miles from The Singular (north) about a two hour drive.
Fast Facts for The Singular Patagonia - Puerto Bories Hotel
Address - Km 5, 5 Norte S/N, Natales, Región de Magallanes y de la Antártica Chilena.
Contact - patagoniareservas@thesingular.com
Nearest airport - PNT Teniente Julio Gallardo / Puerto Natales Airport (2.7miles) or PUQ Presidente Carlos Ibáñez del Campo International / Punta Arenas Airport (143 miles)
Opened - 2011
Number of rooms / suites - 57 (Singular King and Twin, Suite & Accessible)
Number of floors - 3 (accommodation levels)
Bars - 1
Restaurants - 3 (Desayunador - breakfast), main restaurant & El Asasdor - seasonal)
Wellbeing - Full service spa with limited availability treatments
“This exceptional hotel preserves the century old cold storage Frigorífico Bories, declared a National Heritage on 1996 embodies the very essence of its destination, serving as a Museum and a unique destination that maintains the legacy and the identity of the ground it rises from, paying tribute to its past and integrating its spirit into every aspect of experience. ”
What about The Singular Patagonia - Puerto Bories Hotel Location
The hotel seems to be serviced by three main airports, Puerto Natales the nearest (less than 10 minutes), Punta Arenas (where we had to fly into, about a 2.5 hour drive) and El Calafate in Argentina across the border, being over a 3 hour drive). It’s only a few minutes drive away from the nearest town of Puerto Natales (more on this in my Travel Diaries blog later), or an easy cycle, which we did one day hiring bikes (free of charge) from the hotel. Most of the way there is a dedicated cycle path along the water, and it was very easy to get into town. There was a decent selection of basic shops, cafes and restaurants, and although we had intended to have dinner there one night, in fact we just ate each night in the hotel because it was convenient and good.
The Singular Patagonia has been repurposed from an old cold storage plant purpose built at Puerto Bories on the fjords (Frigorífico Bories) into a remote but luxury hotel, deep in the Chilean south Patagonia. Built in 1915 as what was probably seen as being the end of the world, this stunning architectural renovation still has a lot of the original machinery (a lot actually made in the UK). It was designated as a National Museum in 1996, and it’s a wonderful blend of luxury functional hotel accommodations and all related services, seamlessly created around many huge areas left as they would have been originally with machinery and space.
Hotel Accommodation at The Singular Patagonia - Puerto Bories Hotel
Although a lot of the original buildings remain intact, albeit sympathetically restored and renovated, the new accommodation wing (the hotel opened in 2011) was built on what was the meat hanging area. Now a three story building made from exposed concrete, steel and natural woods, all rooms face out onto the stunning fjord with expansive views to the mountains surrounding the area. On each level (we were on the ground/1st level so looking straight out to the water) there are 19 rooms with 20 huge floor to ceiling panoramic windows making the most of the view. On each level (ours was 113) there is one suite which has double the frontage, the addition of a huge living space with an enormous comfortable sofa and footstool, with a separate writing area. There is the option of king or twin rooms, and all are standard in design and amenities, save for the extra space in the suites (which was well worth it for the double view alone).
I loved the design throughout (like the exposed concrete ceilings in the bedroom and (more on this later), the incredible atmospheric sunken tunnel into the spa area (think a concrete floor and ceiling, on the walls corrugated iron cast in concrete too). Within the suite, there was decent sized entrance with hanging space, antique furniture throughout, lots of storage drawers and a large bathroom with both a huge walk in shower, separate WC, large vanity unit with sink (but my usual bugbear of only one sink) and a standalone oval shaped deep soaking tub.
There was a huge king sized bed which was positioned to look straight out the panorama windows, an additional dining table for two (room service was available), an included mini bar with water, soft drinks and alcohol (miniature vodka, whisky, gin and prosecco) but no mixers for the spirits like tonic. The soft drinks and water were replenished daily, as was the tea and coffee, but not the alcohol.
Food and Drink at The Singular Patagonia - Puerto Bories Hotel
The restaurant/bar area was vast, on two levels with an extra mezzanine level doubling as the breakfast room and a reception area where you could talk to the guides each night between 6 and 8pm to discuss trip bookings. Walking through from the reception area to an original part of the cold storage plant on an elevated walkway past some artifacts from the building’s past, you take a staircase down into the bar area with stunning views over the fjord. Here we would have afternoon or pre-dinner drinks (like a rhubarb or Calafate [pisco] sour), always served with a selection of nuts and water, or pre-dinner canapes. Dinner was served from 7:30pm in the other part of the ground floor level, always a good choice (albeit a bit limited for vegetarians and vegans, and there didn’t seem to be much connection between asking for dietary requirements and then matching this to the menu) and service was great (save for being harassed twice about not siging for dinner, when in fact we had).
Breakfast was served from 6:30am on the mezzanine level above, early enough so that if you had a tour departing (as we did on the boat at 7:45am) you could have a full breakfast beforehand. Tea or coffee was served to you, as was a choice of eggs, and there was a full self-selection buffet (everything pre-portioned) with fruits, cereals, yoghurts, delicious local honey, dulce de leche (an indulgence at breakfast), muffins, toast, pastries etc.
We did two full day tours, and the catering provided was great there too - like snacks provided throughout the day to a full lunch (picnic day 1 and then a sit-down barbeque on the boat trip), and all drinks included with a choice of wine, beer, pisco sours etc. Although we were always out (either on a trip, or one day into the nearby Puerto Natales) for lunch, the hotel did serve a full lunch in the restaurant or there was always a limited menu available in the bar. In addition, although we didn’t have it, there was full room service from breakfast right throughout the day.
Facilities & Service at The Singular Patagonia - Puerto Bories Hotel
The highlight here was the spa, apparently the biggest in Patagonia which I loved (saved for an issue on booking treatments below) and with incredible views from an entire glass front overlooking the fjord from panoramic windows. It had clearly been designed to maximise the views at sea level, either relaxing on loungers overlooking the inside/outside pool, the glass fronted showers, sauna or steam room; in the private post-treatment relaxation area, or in one of the two treatment rooms with water views (there was a third internal one too). Going from the accommodation wing down to either the dock or the spa, this really enhanced the spa feeling with atmospheric music emanating from the heated concrete tunnel.
Although no gym at the hotel, with all the activities on offer (everything from basic level walks, museum tours, guided city tours to full day boat or driven park excursions or for the more advanced, hikes in the park areas themselves) there wasn’t need really for a gym as the focus was more on relaxation when in the hotel.
Service was good, albeit a bit patchy in places, and it was great to be part of a living museum that had repurposed a closed facility into a luxury unique hotel.
Highlights of our stay
Was nice to have a personal in-suite welcome (and recognition of LHW membership) on arrival with a tray of sweets and macarons from Matias (the Guest Relations & Leading Ambassador) and he was omnipresent throughout our stay around the hotel, always a good sign.
Location was just amazing and the view from the suite. If you want to be inside the national park itself though, this hotel isn’t. I chose it regardless though for its accessibility (we had to drive from Punta Arenas on arrival) and there were many options of various trips into the park itself, and outwith too.
The trips - great day being driven round the Torres Del Paine national park on day 1, and on our last day we did a full day boat trip to glaciers and then an afternoon on a working estancia (ranch) with barbecue and horse riding. Both excellently organised.
Having the funicular at the entrance between receptions was amazing - I LOVE them, especially in hotels!
Areas for Improvement
Having such a wonderful spa, was only marred by apparently very limited availability (albeit the treatment rooms looked empty whenever we passed) of appointments, presumably through lack of therapists. Also disappointing thinking I’d booked an 80 minute treatment to then find out (only at the end) that they were only doing 50 minute appointments (lack of confirmation).
Only other negative really was the restaurant - great service really, but on our first night (having just signed the check leaving a gratuity too), we had the restaurant manager literally run after us telling us we hadn’t signed! One oversight could be forgiven, but again on our last night (again having signed before leaving the restaurant), they phoned our room about an hour later to tell us we hadn’t signed. Not sure why there should be a lack of communication between staff, and although we had definitely signed fully both times, when staying there I couldn’t see why it would be such an issue.
Good to have the refillable water canisters and refill water machines throughout the hotel, but seemed a bit incongruous (albeit I think they were recyclable and made partially from recycled plastic themselves, and especially when one of the machines had a counter to show how many plastic water bottles had been saved from usage) to keep use plastic water bottles in the minibar and on trips.
Would I stay here again?
It’s such a unique set of buildings in wonderful surroundings, that I loved being there and wouldn’t have chosen different, but I think if returning to Patagonia (save for perhaps an overnight stop if needed, being so close to Puerto Natales airport) I would try staying in the park itself (Explora Patagonia) for a different experience. We met some guests that were combining the two hotels together; had we stayed longer on this trip, the two-centre would have been a highly recommended option.
Easter Island had been on my radar for some time, so I was absolutely thrilled to finally get there, albeit with three years of Covid disruption. Chile only reopened for tourism in 2022, and Easter Island remained closed even beyond the rest of the country resuming visitors.