Vik Chile

polished service and diverse activities

Set in the very beautiful and pleasantly quiet Maipo Valley area of the Santiago Winelands, Vik Chile is an extremely chic and upmarket property, which offers perhaps the ultimate wineland experience in the country.

The property extends over 18 square kilometres and contains some beautiful scenery. The winery itself is widely considered to be one of the finest in South America.

The lodge is centred on the huge space-aged hill-top Milla Milla Pavilion.

The service levels here are extremely high, the guest experience being carefully tailored to suit your interests.

Other facilities include an extensive spa (which offers innovative wine-based treatments), a fitness centre and a lovely outdoor swimming pool.

Rooms

Guest accommodation is in 22 suite rooms in the main building, plus seven Puro Viv Suites that were added in 2019 and which are ranged across the surrounding hillside, with great views towards the distant Andes Mountains.

The rooms are each unique, varying considerably in style, but with all being large, elegant and very comfortable, each featuring the work of a different artist.

Activities

Vic Chile offers an unusually wide range of activities that are carefully coordinated each day by their expert staff. Some activities are included in the room rate, others are paid extras.

• Winery tour
• Wine tasting
• Cookery classes
• Accompanying the chef to the local markets
• Touring other wineries in the Colchagua Valley
• Mountain-biking around the winery
• Picnicking in the vineyards or surrounding hills
• Visiting local archaeological sites
• Yoga
• Guided nature hikes
• Visiting an alpaca farm
• Guided horseback riding
• Heli-skiing
• Joining in with the harvest
• Astronomy
• Bird-watching
• Jogging
• Paint-balling

Safari planning

Trips which combine the north and south of Chile can require multiple stops in the Santiago region. As an alternative to repeated nights in the city, it can be nice to deploy some time in the scenic winelands to the southwest. The Mediterranean climate can come as a very pleasant change of gear after the unpredictability of Patagonia.

Seasonality

The best time to visit the Santiago Winelands is generally considered to be during the Oct-Apr warm dry summer season.

The Central Valley has a cool semi-arid climate, with two clearly defined seasons.

During the Oct-Apr summer season the conditions are usually warm and dry, with lots of sunshine. Average daytime temperatures usually reach around 29C/84F, with nighttime lows holding up around 10C/50F. Sunshine is up around 10-12 hours per day, peaking in Dec-Jan.

During the May-Sep winter season the weather is usually cool and humid, but with rainfall remaining relatively light at 50mm (2”) per month. Average daytime temperatures usually manage to reach around 14C/57F, with nighttime lows dropping to around 2C/36F, causing regular frosts. Sunshine drops to only around 4 hours per day in June.

The grape harvest takes place during the Mar-May autumn season.

Getting there

The Santiago Winelands are accessed by road from Santiago or Valparaiso, with transfers typically taking 2-3 hours.

too expensive to feature in the vast majority of trips