You'll never guess which luxury company is planning the world's southernmost hotel
02.10.2024 - 21:15
/ thepointsguy.com
There's about to be a new southernmost hotel in the world — operated by a company you might not expect.
Luxury cruise line Silversea Cruises revealed on Wednesday that it will build a 150-room luxury property just south of Puerto Williams, Chile — the southernmost settlement in the world.
The luxury brand, which has not been in the hotel business until now, plans to use the property to house its luxury-loving customers at the start and end of cruises to Antarctica.
"It's going to allow for a much more comfortable, on-brand experience," Silversea president Bert Hernandez told TPG during an exclusive interview in advance of the announcement.
Silversea sells all-inclusive trips to Antarctica that include precruise and postcruise nights at hotels in Puerto Williams. However, until now, it has used hotels operated by other companies for the Puerto Williams stays.
The new Silversea hotel will allow the brand to offer a more seamless, upscale experience during its Antarctica trips, Hernandez suggested.
"There's not a lot of great accommodations in the area, so that really kind of creates a big gap in the experience," he said.
The new hotel will be built in partnership with a consortium of Chilean investors, according to Silversea.
It'll overlook the Beagle Channel, a famed and scenic waterway at the southern tip of South America that is the traditional jumping-off point for Antarctica cruises. The channel is part of the Patagonia region, known for its stunning mountains, glacial fjords and temperate rain forests.
Related: Best Antarctica cruise ships: 11 stylish expedition vessels exploring the White Continent
Silversea said the hotel would be surrounded by pristine forest and feature views of the Beagle Channel and snowcapped Patagonia mountain ranges.
Construction on the hotel begins this week with completion scheduled for the end of 2025.
Silversea is the only cruise line that operates Antarctica trips out of Puerto Williams. Most cruise companies with Antarctica trips operate the sailings out of Ushuaia, Argentina.
The latter is a bigger tourism hub than Puerto Williams but slightly farther away from Antarctica. Like Puerto Williams, Ushuaia is along the Beagle Channel, which leads into the famously rough Drake Passage — the ocean passage between South America and Antarctica.
Unlike many Antarctica cruise operators, Silversea offers both traditional cruise-across-the-Drake trips to Antarctica and rarer "fly-cruise" trips to the continent.
Related: How to get to Antarctica: The pros and cons of flying vs. cruising
"Fly-cruise" trips begin with a flight from Puerto Williams across the Drake Passage to a Chilean base in Antarctica with a gravel runway. On such trips, a Silversea vessel awaits passengers