At El Colorado ski resort there are two main areas that house the resort services and facilities. The base lodge called El Parador houses lift ticket sales, a cafeteria, restaurant, ski rental, ski school and lockers. A smaller hub is at Los Zorros near the Colorado Apart Hotel that has ski school, equipment rentals and lift ticket sales.

Eating On Mountain El Colorado

El Colorado has lots of great lunch spots to soak up the sun and the wondrous views.

The aptly named El Mirador is a small mid-mountain restaurant and bar at the base of the Leon lift. Burgers and sandwiches are the main fare. They also sell hot and cold drinks including beers, although these are quite expensive. For sunny days there’s a great deck and at 10,000 feet the views can be superb.

On-mountain there is a simple eatery at Olympico on the southeast face, and a snack bar at the boarder’s point near the top of the terrain park.

At Los Zorros the cute El Andinista pizzeria has nice homemade pizzas and it also has seating out on a deck with spectacular views.

The cafeteria in El Parador building has a salad bar, sandwiches and a creperie with sweet and savoury crepes. This restaurant is a common lunch spot for many of the racing teams so sometimes it is absolutely packed and has huge queues to buy food. There is a large outdoor deck that overlooks the slopes and a small outdoor bar selling delightful pisco sours and beers.

For table service try El Alambique restaurant upstairs in El Parador building.

Cadaques Restaurant and Bar at El Colorado Apart Hotel is also open for lunch.

Eating On Mountain Farellones

For daytime eating with easy access to the slopes, El Montanes restaurant and bar is the main place in Farellones. This restaurant is really cute and the fare includes share plates and pizzas, although a simple pizza is around the $10.000 mark. A couple of waiters speak OK English and the vibe of the place is fantastic.

Facilities for Children

There is no child care available at El Colorado or in Farellones. Other than mini ski school for kids, the only other activity for kids is tubing down in Farellones.

El Colorado Ski School

The ski resort has four ski schools (escuela de ski y snowboard): El Colorado, Los Zorros, El Andinista, and Farellones. They provide individual or group classes for skiers and snowboarders of all levels. There are also kids’ specific schools (mini escuela). The only catch is that you’ll have to speak fluent Spanish to participate in a group lesson although you may be able to organize a private lesson with an English speaking instructor.

Equipment Rental

There are lots of arriendo buildings spread out across the village. With equipment rentals at Las Terrazas (the colourful building), Colorado Apart Hotel, Los Zorros, El Parador, and El Montanes at Farellones, you’d think there’d be plenty of choice. However the options are incredibly limited with only very basic ski and board sets available. Don’t expect performance gear or fat skis. The exception to this is the rental shop at the Monteblanco building. They tend to have higher quality rentals and they might even have a couple of pairs of fat skis if you’re lucky.

If you want a decent snowboard or skis, rent them at one of the Santiago ski shops. There are various shops on Las Condes Avenue and Camino Farellones on the way out to the Tres Valles ski resorts.

And if you’re not too fussed about quality and have a very tight budget, there are various rental tents on the way up the hill!

Banking Facilities

There is an ATM just outside the cafeteria in El Parador building. The ATM (ABM) takes international cards and provides instructions in English.

Language

This ski resort has some international influence considering the many Northern Hemisphere racing teams that train at El Colorado. To cater for the English speaking visitors, there are a few signs around the resort in English, but otherwise you’ll need to brush up on your Spanish (or Spanglish). Ditto for verbal communication as very few staff around the resort speak fluent English, and only some staff speak a little English. Also have your phrase book on hand with the culinary pages bookmarked, as none of the dining menus have English translations. Otherwise just order a cerveza and papas fritas!