4 Best Hotels in San Pedro de Atacama, El Norte Grande

No other hotel makes you feel quite as part of the Atacama Desert landscape as Alto; set in the middle of the Salt Mountains Range (Cordillera de la Sal), this 42-room luxury retreat is a surprising oasis in a desert that seems to extend endlessly in every direction. Guest rooms are spacious and tastefully decorated with local crafts and linens, large bathrooms, and private patios looking onto the attractively landscaped native gardens. Meals that showcase local cuisine and ingredients are served with Chilean wines in the main dining room or on one of two outdoor patios. Six outdoor pools and a world-class spa help make this a true getaway. The hotel organizes excursions tailored to all skill and fitness levels, from mountain biking and trekking to sightseeing and astronomy tours. Try the less conventional local gastronomy tour or an energetic walk through the cactus gorge. Rates might invoke some sticker shock, but prices do include all meals and drinks, daily excursions, transfers to and from Calama Airport, spa access, and use of mountain bikes. A bed-and-breakfast-only rate is also available. All water is taken from a well and later recycled, making this one of the most environmentally sustainable hotels in the area.

Atacama's largest resort features 60 large and comfortable rooms spread over the vast property, offering peace and privacy, with each room having its own patio looking onto native flora and an indoor/outdoor shower. You won't run out of activities between relaxing in the pools, Jacuzzis, and spa (be sure to experience Chile's first oxygen-therapy room); savoring the tastes of the restaurant-bar; and keeping busy with more than 15 different excursions on offer. The large communal areas have been refurbished with handsome furniture collected from artisanal producers from Chile, Peru, and Bolivia, and there's a specialist shop with beautiful alpaca wool items and local crafts. Excursions include all the classic Atacama experiences with a private guide (for up to nine guests) and VIP lunches, and there are other itineraries that include mountain ascents, trekking, and morning yoga. The Kunza restaurant serves up plentiful Chilean cuisine using native ingredients in a modern way—like llama jerky arrancini and carpaccio of guanaco—and the breakfast buffet is plentiful. This is a popular spot for events and weddings and offers the best conference facilities in San Pedro.

This adobe-walled dwelling has comfortable rooms and a cheery central courtyard dotted with islands of desert shrubbery. The rooms are pleasantly airy, with skylights and reed ceilings. The pool is ideal for cooling off after your desert exploration.

This stylish hotel has an imaginative take on design, services, and excursions to give it a touch of luxury and originality without losing that atacameño feel, or respect for local places, people, and traditions. Cool stone-floored rooms featuring private terraces and open-air showers overlooking volcanoes, mountain ranges, and aromatic gardens ensure private enjoyment of the wilderness, while the wide-open reception-area-cum-bar and restaurant invite you to share tales of rugged adventure with fellow travelers. The spa has a picture-perfect infinity pool dropping into pampa grass with Volcán Lincancabur in the distance, and steam rooms, bubble beds in the heated indoor pool, and exclusive outdoor hot tubs that complete the water experience. Excursions are well organized, never run above eight people (although are usually closer to two to four people) and take a slightly different twist on the classics: visiting the Valle de Luna during the empty morning hours, cycling to the stunning lagoons with a picnic next to the water’s edge, and walking under fabulous moonlight through the Valle de la Muerte with a local band serenading you under the stars. The food, which is included in the rates, along with tours, spa, and bar, is excellent and incorporates local cuisine as well as international favorites to keep everyone happy. Dishes are served alongside great biodynamic wines from San Antonio.