“Welcome to the end of the world, or as I like to say, the beginning,” said Philipp Reutener, general manager of The Cormorant at 55 South to the newly opened hotel’s inaugural guests.
Located in Puerto Williams, Chile, along the Beagle Channel, The Cormorant debuted November 5 as the southernmost hotel in the world. Silversea luxury cruise line built its first hotel as a gateway for its Antarctic expeditions. Forbes Travel Guide was among the first to stay in the 150-room property.
The lodge marks a turning point for travel to the region. The Cormorant establishes Puerto Williams as a destination unto itself — in fact, the hotel plans to open to non-Silversea guests in future seasons. And it anchors Silversea’s Antarctica Fly Cruise program, which allows cruisers to fly over the notorious Drake Passage, whose massive, unpredictable swells make for a stomach-swirling crossing.
“It was a journey that had to be endured rather than enjoyed, and so we wanted to change that,” said Bert Hernandez, president of Silversea, aboard the Silver Endeavor after the hotel’s grand opening. “That was the real impetus behind the hotel: not wanting to get a hotel up and running but asking how we solve this problem and improve the guest experience.”
For the program, guests arrive in Santiago and take a 3.5-hour Silversea-branded charter flight. They land in Puerto Williams and two minutes away is The Cormorant. After an overnight stay, they return to the airport for a 1.5-hour charter to King George Island, Antarctica. From the airstrip, a seven-minute drive brings them to the waterfront, where Zodiacs ferry them to the waiting ship (either Silver Endeavour, Silver Wind or Silver Cloud).
The hotel gives Silversea more control of the guest experience off its ships, ensuring service is consistent throughout the journey. And if the weather turns, as it often does in Antarctica, delaying or canceling flights, guests can remain at The Cormorant and take part in activities or comfortably lounge around. Passengers only head to the airport when a plane is ready to go.
“That is my favorite part [about the hotel]: knowing that when things go sideways, the guest is not going to be inconvenienced a great deal,” said Hernandez, pointing to our own half-hour delay as we prepared to head off to Antarctica. “It was a beautiful day… and people were almost sunbathing while they waited.”
Previously, Silversea put guests up at hotels in Punta Arenas, having to adjust to their availability, and used commercial flights from the town — a longer journey to Antarctica that could leave travelers stranded by delays.
The hotel streamlines the rest of the expedition prep, too. The Cormorant has a biosecurity station to ensure guests don’t bring contaminants or invasive species to Antarctica, and staff hands out gear for the adventures ahead: waterproof boots and pants, as well as a red parka to protect against the Antarctic’s wind and cold. There’s no check-in at the hotel — guests receive their room number ahead of time and keys await in the mailbox beside their room door.
Hernandez said Silversea’s first hotel was built around the service. “That is how we want to approach it: the attention to detail on how you make the guests feel, bringing the whole vibe of the Silversea way onto land and into the hotel,” he said.
Like Silversea’s cruises, the stay is all-inclusive, including accommodations, meals and drinks, airport transfers and charter flights.
The Hotel Design
The Cormorant’s entrance has a dark stone that lends it a cavernous feel, an effort to echo the Patagonia landscape outside. Just inside, you’ll find one of the last-standing canoes in the world from the area’s indigenous Yagan people fronts a mural of the Andes. Light pours into the lobby, which also brings in more natural tones and materials, like reclaimed local lenga wood. Suspended from the third floor in the center of the room, Navarino, a laser-cut, oxidized steel sculpture by Patagonian artist Paola Vezzani, depicts whales transforming into waves, wind and flora. But the real showstopper in the lobby is the wall of windows at the back overlooking the Dientes de Navarino mountains.
The lobby flows into the bar, restaurant and fireplace lounge. This open first-floor space and its patio were designed for gathering, and it’s the hotel’s best feature. The focal point is a handmade cone copper fireplace with a geometric stone base, a nod to the hotel’s location in Tierra del Fuego (“Land of Fire”). Around it are bed-like sofas draped with cozy blankets and rocking chairs with canary-yellow cushions that face the peaks. For a closer look, step onto the patio, huddle around the fire pits and make s’mores or sip hot chocolate (spiked with Frangelico or Licor 43, if you prefer).
The 150 identical rooms have the same natural aesthetic with wood furniture, slate floors and sage-green chairs positioned at the window overlooking the water or forest. Stone-tiled bathrooms come with rain showers and handheld fixtures, rosemary-scented Persea toiletries and a heated towel rack.
The Amenities
When you arrive at the Patagonia hotel, the sweet smell of burning wood wafts through the air. That’s the asado out back. A chef spends hours barbecuing meat and vegetables hung on a metal tree-shaped grill. The smoky results are served at a family-style welcome dinner that night at Latitude 55, The Cormorant’s Chilean restaurant, which also has sizable breakfast and lunch buffets.
The adjacent Bar Sur has tea, coffee and light nibbles during the day, and cocktails with local ingredients, like calafate berries, at night. It also hosts tastings of Chilean wines and pisco.
The luxury hotel offers other activities for guests during their stay and any flight delays. Excursions like kayaking and bird-watching walks take advantage of the natural surroundings. We saddled up for 90 minutes of horseback riding on cinnamon-colored Siddhartha, a mixed-breed horse named for his peaceful nature. These rides book up fast, and it’s easy to see why. The trail brought us past the channel, Andes views, black-stone beaches, a flock of lambs and a mare and her foal.
More Silversea Hotels
Hernandez said Silversea has no other hotels planned, but he left the door open. “In other areas where we see a barrier to providing the best experience possible, we would consider it,” he said. “That’s how we approach it: it’s about making it a better experience for the guest.”
