Food & Nightlife
Nevados de Chillan Restaurants The Shangri-La Restaurant at the Gran Hotel is the “jewel in the crown” of restaurants at
Nevados de Chillan (aka Termas de Chillan). The fine dining meals here are included as part of Gran Hotel packages, but others can also dine here with a reservation. The outlook is pleasant, but the real highlight is the food and the service. Lunch in particular seems fantastic, in part because you know that this is soooo much better than sitting in a packed cafeteria whilst eating a dried up hamburger. The Shangri-La restaurant is a much more civilised way to have meals. The only problem with lunch is the temptation to have a fine wine or two, which diminishes the motivation to go out skiing. Breakfast is served from 8am, lunch from 1pm and dinner from 8pm. For dinner chaps should adhere to the dress code of trousers and a shirt with collar.
El Montanes at the casino is another great option for dinner. With tasteful bamboo decorations and an international menu, this is a popular choice amongst well heeled guests.
Restaurante Andino (Andean Restaurant) at the Club House is where many of the condo guests dine out, but this restaurant can also be included in the accommodation package for those at the Gran Hotel. The menu here is simpler and it is suitable for family dining. For entradas there are salads and soups, and for mains there are grilled meats, fondues, sandwiches, pizzas and pastas. There is also a kids menu, postres, and a range of alcoholic beverages including the very addictive pisco sour.
For a really simple meal at a small price, the other option is to grab a sandwich at the bar at the Gran Hotel.
Down in Las Trancas there is a large range of restaurants spread throughout the town. Dining here is less formal than up at the resort, and prices are very inexpensive. Options include traditional restaurants, pizzerias and there’s even a pub and restaurant with a train carriage tacked onto the back of the building.
Nevados de Chillan Bars & Nightlife
There is cute little bar on one of the “home trails” just below the mid-mountain hub area. This is a great place for a tranquil après drink, but you won’t be able to hang here for too long if you’re pressured to get back to the ski valet at the Gran Hotel before it closes at 5pm.
The Gran Hotel has a saloon bar that spills out onto a large lounge area with lots of cosy couches and an enormous fireplace. The bar never fires up, even when there’s live music, but it’s an incredibly relaxing place to perch with a pisco sour or five. They bring out yummy snacks with every drink.
The casino next door to the Gran Hotel opens at 5pm so you can lose your money either before or after dinner. It’s only a small casino but there is an array of pokies machines and various tables such as roulette, poker, craps and blackjack. There is also a bingo room. Whilst a reasonable dress code is expected in the casino, don’t feel you can’t visit if you haven’t got a cocktail frock (or a bow tie).
In the casino there is often live entertainment and the discotheque starts at about 11:30pm. It fires up at about 1am and it’s incredibly variable as to how long the nightlife continues to pump. Those who party to 5am generally don’t make first lifts the next day. This keeps powderhounds very happy on a powder day!
For a less “resortified” nightlife, there are various bars and pubs down in Las Trancas. The best place to party is the Snow Pub, a rustic restaurant and pub with a discotheque that has a tree growing through the roof. Don’t try and climb the tree after too many pisco sours (OK I confess that I’m obsessed with pisco sours!).