If you haven’t entered any dates, the rate shown is provided directly by the hotel and represents the cheapest double room (including tax) available in the next 60 days.
Prices have been converted from the hotel’s local currency (USD599.25), via openexchangerates.org, using today’s exchange rate.
Modern boutique hotel Vik Chile is a meld of glass and metal in bucolic Millahue Valley, two hours south of Santiago. A Japanese-inspired criss-cross of walkways over a reflecting pool leads to the entrance of this wavy-roofed stay; inside, themed suites are individually designed by Chilean and international artists and a sultry restaurant serves authentic South American fare paired with wines from the estate’s vineyards. Floor-to-ceiling windows throughout ensure you never miss a second of the dramatic landscape: expanses of the owners’ vineyards and the Andes beyond. Head into the great outdoors for horseback riding, hiking and cycling; or unwind in the wine-infused holistic spa. Cheers to a chilled-out Chilean getaway.
Rates include a buffet breakfast at Milla Milla and a welcome drink each. The ‘full experience’ rate also includes lunch (with one glass of La Piu Belle wine), afternoon tea, dinner (with a glass of Milla Calla and two glasses of Vik wine) and activities.
Also
To find the best terroir, owner Alexander Vik tasked a team of oenologists, climatologists, geologists, viticulturalists and agronomists to search South America; they landed on Millahue Valley – known as ‘Place of Gold’ by the indigenous people – for its optimal grape-growing conditions.
Hotel closed
The hotel closes annually from 29 May to 30 June.
At the hotel
Spa and gym, yoga room, sauna, relaxation lounge and Zen garden, free WiFi throughout, and laundry services. In rooms: iPod dock, minibar (refilled daily), free bottled water, Ecolab bath products and air-conditioning; suites also have grape seed-infused bath products and free minibar.
Our favourite rooms
The four Master Suites occupy each corner of the hotel and have the most wide-angle of views. You can even admire the scenery from the bath tub.
Poolside
The infinity pool looks out over Millahue valley and lagoon. Take a few leisurely laps, or set up camp on the duo of sunloungers; drinks and snacks can be ferried to you as you desire.
Spa
Holistic wellness is the name of the game at Wine Spa, where therapies are designed to renew physical and mental energy. Treatments use Caudalie and Casmara products or oils and unguents made from grape seeds or with anti-inflammatory-infused vines. Fittingly, treatments involve slugs of wine, but on your face and body rather than from a glass – it’s grape stuff. Alternatively, relax as a pair with an aromatherapy massage for two. Afterwards, lounge in the sauna or Zen garden. In-room spa and beauty treatments are also available. Please note, all treatments must be booked 72 hours or more before arrival.
Packing tips
Bring layers for outdoor explorations and your most pensive look and a few in-the-know phrases to bandy around at wine-tasting time.
Also
Guests aren't allowed to bring any outside food or drink into the hotel. All common areas and suites are wheelchair accessible, and there’s lift access to all floors. Rooms and bathrooms are not specially adapted for guests with mobility issues.
Children
Welcome; a cot or an extra bed (free) can be provided, and babysitting is available for £30 an hour with three weeks’ notice. Bike and horse riding and pint-sized cookery classes are on offer too.
Sustainability efforts
Vik Chile’s energy-efficient design uses natural resources for heating, cooling, and irrigation. Water is collected and recycled, heat is generated using solar tubes.
The expansive outdoor terrace has the best views of the valley, lake, surrounding vineyard and, at night, the twinkling stars.
Dress Code
Breakfasts are brunch-level casual, but dress for a gallery opening in the evenings.
Hotel restaurant
A wall-length wine rack and sturdy wooden tables stand out amid the industrial stylings of restaurant Milla Milla; chef Rodrigo Acuña Bravo focuses on authentic South American cuisine, including traditional barbecue, fresh fish and seafood from the coast at Pichilemu, and locally grown produce, all paired with signature, bottled-on-site Vik wines. Order your wine with Merluza agnolottis (hake and leek in puff pastry) with fresh tomato butter and goat cheese, or fall-apart braised lamb shanks. For dessert, try chocolate panna cotta and wine-poached pear tart with lemon custard – both served with home-made ice cream. Breakfasts at Milla Milla include freshly baked breads and pastries, seasonal fruit, yoghurt, jams, and cheeses, Valrhona chocolate pie and cooked-to-order eggs. Take your second cup of coffee or tea for a leisurely stroll through the Zen garden as the sun rises above the valley.
Hotel bar
The restaurant and Vik’s adjacent winery are all the bar you’ll need. Don’t leave without sampling the bespoke red blend.
Last orders
Milla Milla Restaurant serves breakfast from 8am to 10.30am; lunch from 1pm to 3pm and dinner from 8pm to 10.30pm; it can be taken at Milla Milla Restaurant, on the terrace, or in the vineyard-surveying Pavillion.
Room service
While there’s no dedicated room service, the goodies in your minibar are gratis (even the drinks if you’re on an all-inclusive stay).
Art hotel Vik Chile sits by the only winery on the eastern side of the Cordillera de la Costa range in Millahue Valley. It’s in prime position for views of the Andes range.
Planes
Santiago’s Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport is a two-hour drive from the hotel; direct flights are available from London, New York, Seattle, Auckland and across South America. Call our Smith24 team and they’ll happily sort out flights and hotel transfers for you.
Automobiles
Vik Chile is a two-and-a-half hour drive south of Santiago, and 45 minutes by car from Chilean wine region, the Colchagua Province. There’s free valet parking at the hotel.
Worth getting out of bed for
Limber up with a yoga session, then borrow a bike and spin around the estate. Head out for a hike – hotel staff will point out the best trails for you – or ride over the hills and through the vineyards on horseback. Bird watching, guided stargazing, and tours of the nearby Colchagua and Cachapoal valleys can also be arranged. Meander over to the Vik winery for a crash course in viticulture, vineyard tours and guided tastings of carménère, cabernet sauvignon, merlot and Vik’s signature red. Back at the hotel, private cookery lessons can be arranged; learn to make traditional dishes to pair with your take-home bottles of Vik’s finest varietals. If you prefer the final product to the prep work, indulge in gastronomic tasting menus, specially-packed picnic lunch, or private meals in the Vik vineyard.
Guests staying on the 'full experience' rate will have a winery tour and tasting, horseback rides, mountain biking and guide-led activities included with their stay.
Every hotel featured is visited personally by members of our team, given the Smith seal of approval, and then anonymously reviewed. As soon as our reviewers have returned from this wine-soaked stay south of Santiago in verdant Millahue Valley and unpacked their bottles of red, a full account of their luxury break will be with you. In the meantime, to whet your wanderlust, here's a quick peek inside Vik Chile…
Just a two-hour drive south of Santiago, boutique hotel Vik Chile sits on a grapevine-garlanded hilltop amid the dramatic scenery of Millahue Valley. It makes a great first impression, with walkways that lead over a Zen-garden-inspired reflecting pool to the hotel entrance. Within, bold artwork by one of Chile’s best-known abstract expressionists vies for your attention – but floor-to-ceiling windows throughout the property pull your gaze out to the rolling vineyards and the distant Andes.
Hiking, riding and trekking await – ask hotel staff to pack up a picnic lunch and point you towards a scenic trail. For more leisurely pursuits, meander over to Vik’s winery and sip on the signature red blend, head to the holistic spa for grape-seed-infused facials or enjoy an authentic South American meal whipped up by the stellar chef.
