Facilities & Services
Portillo has high quality resort services and facilities, most of which are located in the hotel. In addition to the standard amenities such as ski hire, child care, ski school and lockers, they also have other special touches to make the ski holiday experience a bit easier.
The communication at Portillo Hotel is exceptional, and verbal communiqué is supplemented with other mechanisms. One example is a large electronic board near the ski locker area that outlines the current weather conditions and the forecast, as well as the status of the runs and lifts.
General service is also of a high standard with the staff to guest ratio being close to 1:1.
Ski and Boot Storage
Another highlight of
Portillo is the ski, snowboard and boot storage service for overnight guests. You only have to walk a few metres with your equipment before you’re on the snow and clicking in – absolute luxury! Enrique, one of the boot storage men, has the most amazing memory. Even though there are hundreds of guests, he remembers your face and which boots are yours from the first day. His memory combined with a cheeky grin warrant a huge tip. And considering some of the bad smells he must have to put up with, give him a ginormous tip!
For day trippers there is also a ski and boot storage area outside the hotel.
Eating On Mountain
Portillo Hotel and Octagon Lodge guests have meals in the formal hotel dining room, whilst Inca Backpackers have lunch in the cafeteria on the lobby level of the hotel. When purchasing a lift ticket, day trippers can pay an extra $Ch4,100 for a lunch ticket for the cafeteria. See the
food and nightlife page for more information on dining at the hotel.
There are a couple of other dining options on-mountain. Tio Bob’s is perched up in the ski area near the top of the Plateau lift. From the deck of the restaurant, the views across Inca Laguna and the surrounding Andes are absolutely spectacular. The beers and food are great, but they pale into insignificance in the presence of such vistas.
The Ski Box kiosk is not far from the hotel. It’s located adjacent to the magic carpet and learners area, so it’s a great place to watch the kids or have a chuckle at wet-bottomed adults learning to snowboard. The kiosk sells soft drinks, beers, and a few snacks. They even rent out stereos but not the small I-pod kind.
Facilities for Children
Childcare facilities are located on the reception level of the hotel. The crèche is open daily from 9am to 8pm. It doesn’t really need to be open any later as kids are welcome at the first dinner sitting at 8:30pm. There is a charge for child care for ages 0-3. Prices for the nursery are $3,900 for 1 hour, $14,600 for 4 hours, and $3,350 for each additional hour. Children over 3 are free of charge for hotel guests.
A private nanny service is also available. Costs are as follows: 1 hour $8,400; 8 hours $58,900; additional hour $7,250 (2009 rates –
convert currency here).
In addition to Kids Camp ski school for kids, the hotel runs various programs for children such as treasure hunts, games and baking classes. In the gymnasium there is also a games area with table tennis, billiards and a rock climbing wall.
Parents should keep an eye out for the Kid’s Ski Free Weeks at Portillo as they offer great value for money, and the little ones are guaranteed to make lots of new friends.
Ski and Snowboard School
The Portillo ski school has a good international reputation with a history of high profile ski school directors. The school has high quality instructors who are multi-lingual so there are no problems booking a group lesson in English. A 1:45 hour group lesson costs $21,500 and there are discounts for multi-day lessons. Private lessons cost $45,000 per hour.
Kids Camp is ski and snowboard tuition for children aged 4-6 and it operates daily (except Saturdays). Classes are only for 1.5 hours, so parents wanting some child-free time will need to combine ski school with child care.
Children ages 7 and above can join in with the regular group and private lesson formats.
Equipment Rental (Taller)
The ski and snowboard rental department at Portillo is the best of the Chile ski resorts. In addition to standard ski and board sets, they also have some powder skis and performance gear. Prices are comparable with those at “middle of the road” US ski resorts, and hotel guests can charge rental costs to their hotel bill so that it doesn’t attract the Value Added Tax.
The Portillo rental shop also has a high quality tune and repair workshop.
Banking and Internet Facilities
Portillo doesn’t have an ATM so it’s probably best to cash up with pesos before you arrive. There are various ATMs at Santiago International airport and in Los Andes. You probably won’t need much cash whilst staying at Portillo because drinks, equipment rental and shopping can be charged to your room and paid by credit card. A small amount of cash is required for incidentals at any of the non-hotel restaurants and for tips. The staff will gladly accept US dollars if you don’t have pesos.
At the reception there is a cambio (money exchange) where they exchange US bills and traveller’s checks. The rates aren’t fantastic but if you need cash it’s a good option.
The hotel has wireless internet access in the lounge and throughout the rooms. There is also a library that has computers and internet access for a small charge.