Lodge Conguillio

Worst service experience, I made a reservation for the beginning of February which was cancelled due to danger of forest fires in the area. They never refunded my camping reservation (~60 euros) with the excuse that they can't refund money on foreign account. Which is ridiculous because they can receive money from foreign accounts, with an additional cost, but they can't refund? There are many other good campsites in the areas near the park, I recommend staying there and not with Sendas Conguillio.

We spent 2 nights in July, and loved every minute. The park itself is world class, but add to it some simple but newly renovated, comfortable, and warm cabins in the middle of winter, and you have a unique experience hard to match elsewhere. The difficulties of getting to an isolated place with over a meter of snow, only accessible through a rough road winding through old lava flows and ancient forests, are small change compared to the reward. The staff, in particular Constanza, were cheerful and helpful, and well on their way up the learning curve of dealing with the isolation and extreme weather. Their passion was well appreciated, as keeping the hot tub going was no small feat!

We stayed in a comfortable and warm "cabaña" set for three, well-equipped, well insulated, with log burning stove and comfortable double bed.||Located within the National Park, this a privately-managed concession that is caring for the environment and preservation of the native forest. ||The Sendas hosts are well-informed about the vicinity.||Spectacular forest and hillside walks, with amazing views of glacier-water lakes formed by the geological movements of the Llaima volcano which dominates the surroundings.||Lodging is set in a forest of Araucaria trees. The main administration center with store and restaurant is located next to Lago Conguillio. ||Very helpful staff.||The cabañas are for 2-3 or 6 people, very comfortable.

The cabins were fresh new and the park was almost empty because of the off-season. We enjoyed long hiking days, relaxing hot tube baths until stars came out and perfect sleep in these well provided cabins. It just hit the spot!

Camping days: Dec. 24-26, 2017||Camp site: Hoyon #9||Pros:||- This is a beautiful location. This particular camp site had a small trail behind it that led to the lake, it was nice and private and accidentally camped here for the first night since we did not realize that you were required to camp next to the picnic area ||- We were completely alone during most of the stay, it was fabulous||- The site included a picnic table with small roof that was very helpful for meals||- The private bathroom was not too far away and had running hot water 24 hrs a day||Cons:||- No fires allowed while we were there||- Got asked over and over if we had paid to camp there by anyone that came upon us||- We did not like that we had to camp where we parked, it was not as nice as the small area behind our picnic area||Overall: ||Great experience I highly recommend it to anyone. The beauty of the lake was breathtaking. For a splurge it is nice to choose this camp site, otherwise it’s a bit pricey to pay for a hot shower; however we did not check out the other campsites to see what they were like.

This was truly one of the worst camping experiences of my life. For one, the rates are obscenely expensive - $40 USD for 2 people for a mediocre site with no hot water. Bathrooms are unclean, water is freezing. Zero amenities. To make matters worse, the staff is horrible. I asked at the concession whether they had wine, and I was scoffed at as if I'm insane (note: they have a bar menu with over a dozen mixed drinks ranging from pisco sours to jagermeister and everything in between, and at least as many bottled beers). Is it so crazy to think they would have Chilean wine too? They didn't need to be so rude about it. Fine, I went to sleep, only to be awoken at 6:30 on the dot by some insane Chilean screaming nonsense over a microphone that blasted through our campsite. Why? Who knows! I couldn't understand a word of his Spanish and I am a native, fluent speaker. We were not told there would be any such interruptions when we checked in or we would have asked for a campsite further from the concession. The staff act like they own the place, when in fact they are given permission to run a business from CONAF. CONAF, STRIP THESE IDIOTS OF THEIR LICENSE! I have had the loveliest vacation in Chile over the last two weeks, camping throughout Patagonia and Southern/Middle Chile - this was an unusually bad experience that has left a horrible taste in my mouth. I cannot wish enough bad on the idiots working this site. I would never return to Conguillio, which is a shame because the nature is lovely. Horrible, entitled staff - they all deserve to be fired.

I just had one of the best experiences in a very long time staying at the exclusive Sendas Conguillio resort located in one of Chile's best national parks. If your idea of relaxation is walking through 40 - 50 meter tall virgin forests of Araucarias (Monkey Puzzle trees) and Southern Beeches (Nothofagus), kayaking across a lake at the bottom of an extinct caldera, hiking a ridge line above tree line, exploring a vast lava field, and star gazing with absolutely no light pollution from your hot tub, then come to this resort. Open all year round, Sendas Conguillio provides unique experiences in every season. I was fortunate to be there just at the transition from Winter to Spring, where the shrinking remnants of snow was giving away to the awaking new growth of the amazing plant life. The staff were professional, helpful, and attentive to all my needs. Few people and lots of wilderness to explore. I am definitely going back for a long extended stay very soon.

These cabins might seem expensive but they totally worth it. The view is just amazing and the cabin has everything you could need (hot water, cooking supplies, fridge, power, towels). They even have a hot tube outdoors, which we weren't able to use because of the prohibition of using fire, but if you're lucky enough you can have an amazing experience bathing in hot water between the araucarias. The only downside that I can think of this place is that the second floor is really hot because of the water heater that is located upstairs. No more downsides. |PS: visiting this place must be amazing during winter. |PS2: in sendas conguillio cafeteria, take the night kayak expedition to "cascada escondida" it's just amazing. (18.000 CLP p/p including a snack)