Tierra Atacama Hotel and Spa

I had the pleasure of spending three nights at Tierra Atacama organised with Chimu Adventures. The facilities, architecture, cuisine, knowledge of staff, activities offered, and incredible guides made for an exceptional stay.

Quite possibly the best hotel we’ve stayed at anywhere in the world. We were greeted at the airport by our driver, who had snack and water goodie bags waiting for us. When we got to the beautiful property, we were greeted by Asst. Manager Chris, who’s warmth and positive energy make it impossible to not be in a better mood after interacting with him. We were given a tour of the property and shown to our very spacious room, the highlights of which were both the heated floors and the outdoor shower. I now have a core memory of being able to stargaze while taking a shower one night. There is wifi throught the property, and while fast, the firewall and ssl settings need some attentions. Many apps just didn’t work because of SSL issues (they worked fine after turning a VPN on), and the content filter blocked me from accessing the website of a liquor store at home when I was checked to see if they carried the wine we had at dinner. We then met with the excursion team, who helped us plan out our itinerary from the many included excursions they have. There is a wide variety of excursions from laid back and scenic to adventurous hiking. Our crew prefers the former. The hot springs are a must visit. On an unforgettable excursion to the Tatio Geysers, upon returning to the van after a brief bathroom stop, we found a fox had made it’s way into our van, and had to be coaxed out by the park staff. The excursions are shared with other hotel guests, but they are still quite small. I think are largest group was 5 people in addition to our family. The guides and drivers are very knowledgeable and accommodating resulting in a great experience. We had to modify the itinerary a few times, once because of a rare thunderstorm and the other because of a local holiday which closed the national parks. The excursion team was great and reprogramming and keeping us informed. All meals are included as well. Breakfast is buffet style with eggs/pancakes made to order. Lunch and dinner are both three course with three options available for each, generally one meat, one fish, and one vegetarian. There is also an “alternative menu” with standard fare if you aren’t feeling the pre fixe options. The restaurant staff is excellent and friendly. Server Benjamin took special attention at learning about our family. During the thunderstorm day, we took full advantage of the spa, with it’s heated indoor pool and amazing massages (massage was not included, but was very reasonably priced). The highlight of our stay stargazing with Adrian. We ended up going twice because the first time was fairly cloudy from storm that was rolling in. Both times we were the only ones there, which was shocking because it was an amazing experience. Adrian sets up a high quality telescope and explains all the things you’re able to see, how they were formed, and how far away they are. We will definitely miss Tierra Atacama. They’ve ruined us for every hotel stay going forward.

My wife and I stayed three nights at the Tierra Atacama in July. We have stayed in a good number of world class hotels everywhere, but this one stands out for both of us. Aside from the property itself, which is built in an attractive and expansive modern style in keeping with its environment, and the rooms, which are very well appointed and equipped with more or less every comfort, including a humidifier and even two showers, one outdoors and one indoors, the main reason we loved the Tierra Atacama so much is its staff. Mostly young, they were, without exception, always cheerful and welcoming, and incredibly helpful from our arrival at the airport to our departure. Nothing seemed to be too much for any of them, especially Christiam, and we felt extraordinarily well taken care of throughout our stay. Room and laundry service were very good and efficient, with a nightly turn-down service, and laundry returned the same evening. A free hotel car and driver were available for guests who did not want to walk the 20 minutes or so into town. A goodie bag is provided for guests, which includes a very useful stainless steel water bottle, a reusable snack bag and a neck/head warmer. Our room also had a mini-fridge stocked with free beverages. Dressing gowns, slippers and essential toiletry items were also supplied. Sunscreen, snacks and filtered water for excursions were freely available from dispensers in the reception/lobby area. The other outstanding feature was the food. We were on a full board package, so all meals were included. In our experience with full and half board, hotel catering is very rarely memorable; the menus are often not very varied and the house wine list rather average. We couln't say any of that about our meals at this hotel, all of which were very good, and one or two of which were truly excellent, even memorable. In addition, the house wine selection included with our meals was hard to fault, made up of excellent Chilean wines, of which we particularly liked the Sauvignon Blanc. On arrival, we sat down with the hotel's excursion manager, and arranged a very full tour schedule for the two whole days we would be there. We did two half day tours on the first day, Valle de la Luna and Laguna Chaxa in the Salar de Atacama, a flamingo reserve, returning for lunch. On the second, we did a full day excursion to the El Tatio geysers with an excellent and generous picnic lunch by a beautiful wetland full of wild vicuña and bird life, including andean gulls, ducks and waders of various kinds. Our guides and drivers - Paola and Edward on day one, and Cathe and Pedro on day two, were exceptionally friendly, knowledgeable and helpful, and we are very grateful to them for making our visits to the extraordinary natural wonder that is the Atacama truly memorable. We would go back heartbeat and look forward, on this showing, to visiting the Tierra hotel in Patagonia.

I, unfortunately, didn’t have the pleasure of staying here but a friend’s daughter who had stayed here a few weeks earlier accidentally left her necklaces here. It so happened that I would be visiting San Pedro de Atacama and she kindly asked me if I would pick up her daughter’s necklaces from Tierra Atacama. My friend contacted the hotel’s reception and they arranged for me to pick it up. As a token of her appreciation, my friend had a complimentary dinner prepared for me when I came to pick up the necklaces. Chris, the assistant manager, who greeted me when arrived at the hotel and helped me every minute of my time there, was INCREDIBLE. When I say INCREDIBLE, I mean it. I couldn’t have imagined a more welcoming, charming, kind, funny, and thoughtful individual. He made sure that I felt valued and appreciated. The bar tender who tended to me before I sat down for dinner was amazing. He was very knowledgeable and prepared a special wine cocktail for me. It was delicious! The waiters and their manager were attentive and polite during the meal. After dinner, Chris kindly arranged for the hotel’s van to drive me back to where I was staying - at no expense. Again, enough can’t be said about my dining experience at Tierra Atacama and especially, the professionalism and care of Chris. I can only imagine how INCREDIBLE it must be to stay there as a guest based upon my memorable dining experience.

This is the second time I've stayed at Hotel Tierra Atacama (last time 2023) and it was exceptional. I love the location and the overall peaceful nature of the hotel. The rooms themselves are gorgeous. The excursions and guides continue to be the star of the show. Really knowledgeable, engaging, and entertaining guides coupled with thoughtful excursions. You've got a wide range of options based on your preferences, which I appreciated. Also really grateful how the hotel accommodated my vegan diet. They had a custom menu for me everyday! Will 100% stay again and look forward to exploring the other property.