Awasi Atacama - 3 amazing days in the spectacular Atacama Desert

Recently spent 3 nights at the Awasi Atacama, as part of a 3.5 week trip to Argentina/Chile in March/April of 2016.  The Atacama Desert is an absolutely magical place full of incredible desert landscapes, geo-thermal pools, salt ponds, geysers, hiking, biking and horseback riding.  The Awasi allows you to experience all the Atacama has to offer in comfortable and gracious luxury.  The rates are all inclusive, including airport transfers, meals, drinks (except for premium wines), and most importantly your own private guide and vehicle.  Yes they are the most expensive option of the luxury properties (Tierra Atacama and Explora Atacama - which burned down in Jan 2016), but the extra benefits of the private guide are well worth the premium.  This lodge is also very small and intimate with only 10 suites and lots of common lounging areas.  You are left with the feeling of staying in luxurious, rustic comfort in a friend's home.  I highly recommend both this destination and the property.

For some reason - the add photo link is not working today.  Will come back and add photos later

Atacama Awasi is located in the small desert town of San Pedro de Atacama, which is really like a hippy backpacker outpost for adventure trips to the desert.  You must fly from Santiago to the Calama Airport, which is the primary mining center for Chile's copper industry.  From the airport it is a 1 to 1.5 hour drive through the desert to San Pedro.  You are met at the airport by your guide holding an Awasi sign.  Transport is provided in extended cab 4 x 4 pick-up style trucks that have a roomy back seat.  Luggage is stowed in the open-air section of the pick-up bed - yes it does get dusty.  The vehicles are practical for the desert location and dirt roads, although not particularly luxurious.  Air conditioning works well which is critical given the heat.  Sorry I neglected to take a picture of the truck.

We were greeted at the car upon arrival by the guest services manager who gave us a tour of the property and then checked us in at our room.  We booked as a virtuoso reservation though DavidO's agency and were upgraded to Superior Round Suite #1.  We were traveling with another couple and they were also upgraded.  At the time we booked they did not have two superior suites available so we were happily surprised to get the upgrade.

The resort itself is actually quite small, but it took us a few days to find our way around.  The rooms are located on two sides of the street.  The main part of the resort and the 7 round rooms (superior suite and round) are located on one side.  The office and 3 rectangular suite are located on the other side of the road (a small quiet road).  The entrances to the resort on both sides are very discreet, located behind a rattan gate set into the adobe walls.  You access the resort with a key provided at check-in.

Adobe walls encircle the resort with the guest rooms on the perimeter and the common area in the center.  Upon entering the gate there is small interior courtyard that you walk through to enter the main common area. An interior adobe wall encircles and separates the main common area from the guest rooms.  The common area contains the covered open air dining areas, small swimming pool with loungers, and multiple conversation pit style seating areas.  Each seating and dining area has a fireplace or fire pit and they are all lit up at night - which is lovely.  The style is a chic take on desert rustic with an emphasis on comfort and privacy.  

The rooms are also encircled by adobe walls, with rattan doors that open to your private outdoor area.  In room #1, this front patio area was very large with a covered seating area containing a couch and two chairs.  We never actually used this space, but it was nice to have it.  The rooms are also round in shape with highly pitched thatched roofs.  Our room had a large four-poster bed with canopy and curtains, a writing desk, day bed and bureau.  There was a small walk-in closet.  Nespresso coffee machine was available in the room and every night we received a small turn down gift, which was left in a little wooden box.

The room had a large ceiling fan, which was helpful to keep the air circulating.  Our room had a strange air conditioning system that I had never seen before.  It was integrated into the canopy of the bed - thus the need for the bed curtains.  It operated by remote control and was a bit difficult to understand.  It made the air inside the bed very cold - which I liked - but hubby said way too cold so after night one we used just the fan which was fine.  Our friend's room had a regular in wall air conditioner.  I think our room is the only one that had this system, which they had gotten from Africa and was being tested.

The very large bathroom was attached in a separate round room.  It had a double vanity, large soaking tub, armchair and shower stall and toilet room.  This was also where you gained access to the back private patio.  This patio was surrounded by walls on all sides, was quite large & sunny.  The outdoor shower was located here along with two loungers for taking sun.

Overall we found the room to very comfortable, quiet and relaxing.

All meals were taken at the resort and the food overall was of very high quality.  Service was very warm and friendly, but sometimes a little bit slow.  It seemed that they were perhaps a bit understaffed during our stay and overall it is just a very relaxed vibe.  Our group of 4 had the same table everyday, as did the other guests during our stay.

Breakfast is a buffet style spread of fruits, smoothies, juices, baked goods & breads, meats & cheeses and cereals and yogurts.  Omelets, eggs, eggs benedict, bacon etc... all made upon request.  Great filling breakfast an way to start the morning before heading off to hike.

Lunch has a set menu of 5 choices with a daily special.  For me this was the weakest link in their dining offerings.  I prefer to eat a much lighter lunch, rather than having a large meal in the middle of the day.  The offerings included pasta, fish, beef, chicken and the special.  I really just wanted salad and soup or a sandwich.  The food was good, but just too much for me.

Dinner is a more elaborate affair with very well prepared food and three-course offering.  One night for our Virtuoso amenity we had a tasting menu of 6 courses prepared for our table.  

One other observation, we were asked in advance for our dietary preferences but it does not seem that these were communicated to the kitchen.  We had vegetarian in our group and some other had specific food aversions all identified up front.  Unfortunately we ended up having to have a conversation about this at each meal to arrange for substitutions.  Everything was handled very professionally and politely, but I would expect them to get this right from the beginning and not have to have us keep asking for modifications.  This feedback was provided to the guest manager.

Really cute place settings for each meal featured local hand made dolls available for sale in the gift shop.

This is where Awasi really excels and stands out above all of their competition.  In Chile it seems the primary model that is followed at the high-end resorts is to do group excursions.  Awasi is the only resort where you get a private guide and vehicle for the duration of your stay.  After check-in and lunch our guides sat down to meet with us and discuss our interests and plan our itinerary.  They spread out a large map, to give us a lay of the land and illustrate driving distances.  One of the concerns when visiting Atacama is the very high altitude, particularly for some of the excursion options.  They try and structure your activities so the highest altitude activities happen during the end of your stay when you have had more time to acclimatize.  Awasi also provides you with a large book of excursion choices for every fitness level and interest.  Since we were traveling with friends, we each had our own guide but we were able to coordinate our excursions where we both had interest and divert where we did not.

Our guide Miguel was just incredible, he was a joy to spend time with.  His knowledge of the region was excellent as were his range of interests and experiences.  He worked hard to give us a great experience and make the desert come alive.  

Some of our favorite excursions included: floating in the Cejar Salt Pond, morning canyon hike ending at the Puritama thermal pools, Moon Valley hike ending with cocktails overlooking the sunset, Chaxa Pond, Cornices hike ending with sliding down a gigantic sand dune.

Great and friendly service overall at this resort.  All of the employees really conveyed a warmth and enjoyment of their work.  The property managers (guest relations and guide manager) were very present and checked-in regularly to see how things were going.  I also received a follow up from the guest relation’s manager upon returning home asking for any feedback and opportunities for improvement.

We loved all the intimate living room like setups that are sprinkled around the common area.  Each night as the sun goes down they light all the fireplaces/pits and it is so pretty.  We loved hanging out around the fire before dinner, having some wine and nuts/olives and discussing the days events.  We got so comfortable each night that we ended up starting dinner quite late.  

The pool was a bit on the small side but very pretty and clean.  I dipped my foot in and it felt quite cold, which I imagine could be pretty refreshing in the desert.  We did not see anyone use it during our stay.

This was my favorite property in Chile by a long stretch.  It was the only place that I felt really compared with the level of luxury of other properties around the world.  Couple that with the amazing destination of the Atacama Desert and it is a winner.  My only regret is that we only stayed for 3 nights as I think that is much too short.