Las Balsas

an elegant base from which to explore

Set in the Bariloche region of Argentina, Las Balsas is a very polished smaller property.

The hotel is set in the village of Villa La Angostura, which is on a peninsula jutting into the north side of Lago Nahuel Huapi, around 70 km north along the Seven Lakes Highway from Bariloche.

The lodge is centred on a rather quaint and understated timber building, which sits in a lovely quiet position overlooking the water.

Cosy and elegant public areas are complemented by an extensive spa, with an indoor/outdoor swimming pool.

The hotel is a member of the Relais & Chateaux portfolio.

Rooms

Guest accommodation is in 15 rooms of various specifications, all of which are cosy and beautifully presented, with private bathrooms and lovely views out over the lake or the surrounding forests.

• Standard Lake Rooms : 20 sqm / 215 sqft : queen bed
• Studio Suite Rooms : 50 sqm / 540 sqft : king bed : lake views
• Corner Suite Rooms : x5 : 60 sqm / 660 sqft : king bed

Both types of suite rooms can be fitted with an extra single bed.

Activities

Las Balsas provides access to a wide range of activities, most of which are not included in the room rate and need to be paid for locally.

During the Oct-Apr summer season …

• hiking
• mountain-biking
• horseback riding
• kayaking
• lake cruises
• golf

During the May-Sep winter season …

• skiing
• snowboarding
• snow-shoeing

Las Balsas is usually used as a single stop here in the Bariloche area, but can be combined by road with the similarly high quality but more remote Tipiliuke Lodge, further to the north.

The usual stay duration in each area is 3-4 nights, adding up to around a week in the area.

Seasonality

The best time to visit Bariloche is very much dependent on whether you are looking to do summer or winter activities.

The vast majority of overseas travellers visit during the Oct-Apr warm dry summer season, since this is the best time to visit most other parts of the country.

During the Oct-Apr summer season the conditions are usually relatively warm. Average daytime temperatures usually reach around 20C/68F, with nighttime temperatures holding up around 5C/41F. Rainfall is relatively low, at around 25 mm (1”) per month. Sunshine is up around 10 hours per day, peaking in Dec-Feb (around 75% of daylight hours).

Those travellers who want to go skiing, snowboarding and other such activities tend to visit during the May-Sep winter season. Since the skiing here is not generally considered to be good enough to attract people from around the world, most visitors at this time are from Argentina and other neighbouring countries.

During the May-Sep winter season the weather is usually cold and wet or snowy. Average daytime temperatures usually manage to reach around 7C/65F, with nighttime lows dropping to around 0C/41F. Rainfall is up around 125 mm (5”) per month, with heavy snow cover, especially at higher altitudes. Sunshine drops dramatically to around 4 hours per day (around 40% of daylight hours).

Getting there

If you are heading to the main San Carlos de Bariloche or Villa La Angostura areas then you can fly into the larger San Carlos de Bariloche Airport (BRC).

If you are heading for the more northerly San Martin de los Andes area, then you can fly into the smaller Aviador Carlos Campos Airport (CPC).

If you want to connect southwards into Patagonia then there are two options …

The first is to fly from Bariloche (BRC) to El Calafate (FTE) in the Los Glaciares area, from where it’s possible to cross the border by road into Torres del Paine National Park in Chile.

The second is to use the famous Lake Crossing to reach Puerto Montt (PMC) in Chile, from where you can fly on down to Punta Arenas (PUQ), in order to access Torres del Paine. From there you can cross back into the Los Glaciares area of Argentina and fly back from El Calafate (FTE) to Buenos Aires.

usually visited during the Oct-Apr summer season