El Chaltén has a reasonable selection of accommodations, some of them very good, but high summer demand makes reservations advisable. Many places close in winter, but there’s usually something available.

Camping

Directly across from the APN office, on the Río Fitz Roy’s banks, Camping Confluencia is free, but sheltered sites are few here, and toilet facilities are rustic.

Commercial campgrounds, which offer hot showers and shelter for cooking, include Camping El Refugio (Calle 3 s/n, tel. 02962/49-3221, US$6 pp) and Camping El Relincho (San Martín 505, tel. 02962/49-3007, elrelincho [at] cotecal [dot] com [dot] ar, US$6 pp).

US$10–25

Having more than doubled its capacity by adding a second floor, the 90-bed HI affiliate Albergue Rancho Grande (San Martín 635, tel./fax 02962/49-3005, www.ranchograndehostel.com, US$12 pp dorm, US$57 s or d) has drawn some flak for failing to insulate the between-floors gap for sound. It does offer B&B packages with transportation from El Calafate; for reservations, contact Chaltén Travel (Avenida Libertador 1174, El Calafate, tel. 02902/49-2212, www.chaltentravel.com).

Comparably priced hostels include Ahonikenk Chaltén (Güemes 23, tel. 02962/49-3070, ahonikenkchalten23 [at] yahoo [dot] com [dot] ar, US$12 pp dorm, US$40 d) and Albergue Lago del Desierto (Lago del Desierto 135, tel. 02962/49-3010, hosteldellago_elchalten [at] yahoo [dot] com [dot] ar, US$12 pp dorm).

US$25–50

Like El Calafate, El Chaltén has little or nothing exclusive to this range, but several hostels also offer private rooms that are excellent values for around the same price or a little more.

Open all year except June, the HI affiliate Albergue Patagonia (San Martín 493, tel. 02962/49-3019, www.elchalten.com/patagonia, US$12 pp dorm, US$36–58 s or d) provides utilitarian dorms—four beds per room—but also has shared-bath doubles and a separate wing of more spacious and comfortable doubles and twins with private baths; the latter include continental breakfast. On the hostel side, it also provides cooking facilities, laundry service, meals, a book exchange, and bike rentals, and it organizes excursions. Its main drawback is that the hostel toilet and shower facilities, while good enough, are arguably too few. English and Dutch are spoken.

Cóndor de los Andes (Avenida Río de las Vueltas and Halvorsen, tel. 02962/49-3101, www.condordelosandes.com, US$12–14 pp dorm, US$48 d) has four- and six-bed dorms, each with its own bath, kitchen facilities, and spacious common areas with exceptional views. It has also added private rooms.

US$50–100

Family-run Hospedaje La Base (Lago del Desierto 97, tel./fax 02962/49-3031, labase [at] elchaltenpatagonia [dot] com [dot] ar, US$52 s or d) has two firm beds per room, which are two-bedroom cabañas that share a kitchen but have private baths. Like many other places, it closes June–November.

Cozy, friendly, and tobacco-free, Nothofagus Bed & Breakfast (Calle 10 No. 40, tel. 02962/49-3087, www.nothofagusbb.com.ar, US$37–53 s, US$40–55 d, with breakfast) has seven rooms in a handsome house with convivial common areas; rates vary according to whether the room has a shared or private bath.

The no-frills Hostería Los Ñires (Lago del Desierto 120, tel. 02962/49-3009, www.losnireschalten.com.ar, US$45 s, US$50–57 s or d with a middling breakfast) has tiny but functional singles (some with thin walls), larger but awkwardly shaped doubles that lack closet space, and more standard rooms with traditional amenities. All have private baths. Separated from its bar-restaurant by a long corridor, the sleeping quarters are normally quiet.

Friendly Hostería Thiamalu (Lago del Desierto 99, tel. 02962/49-3736, www.thiamalu.com.ar, US$60 s, US$70 d, with breakfast) isn’t up to the level of the Nothofagus, though all its rooms do have private baths.

Recently expanded Posada Altas Cumbres (Lionel Terray 342, tel. 02962/49-3060, altas_cumbres [at] hotmail [dot] com, www.elchalten.com/altascumbres, US$66–70 s or d) has a dozen spacious new rooms and a restaurant.

Open November–April, Hotel Lago del Desierto (Lago del Desierto 137, tel. 02962/49-3010, hotellagodeldesierto [at] yahoo [dot] com [dot] ar, US$71 s or d with breakfast) also rents six-bed cabañas with kitchen facilities for US$130, and has camping facilities (US$6 pp).

Open October–March, Hostería Lago Viedma (Arbilla 71, tel. 02962/49-3089, hosterialagoviedma [at] hotmail [dot] com, US$74 s or d) has just four small but well-designed rooms with private baths and breakfast; it may add more rooms.

US$100–200

At the southern approach to town, Hotel La Aldea (Avenida Güemes 95, tel. 02962/49-3040, www.hotellaaldea.com.ar, US$77–93 s, US$87–108 d, with breakfast) is more a motel-style complex, with the rooms separate from a two-story reception area that includes a restaurant and bar.

Rates at the venerable (by Chaltén standards) Fitz Roy Inn (San Martín 520, tel. 02962/49-3062, hosteriafitzroyinn [at] elchalten [dot] net [dot] ar, US$100 s, US$105 d) drop considerably outside the November–March high season; it also has multiday packages with half or full board, but the full-board option would preclude eating at other good places.

New in late 2008, Hostería Infinito Sur (Riquelme 208, tel. 02962/49-3325, www.infinitosurelchalten.com, US$110 s or d) is a boutique-style hotel with just nine rooms in a building of quarried stone and rough-hewn wood. Only the bar–breakfast room, though, enjoys views of Fitz Roy. Rates fall by about 20–25 percent outside January–February.

Hostería Kalenshen (Lionel Terray 30, tel. 02962/49-3108, www.kalenshen.com, US$100–140 s, US$110–140 d, with breakfast) has 17 rooms with handmade furniture and another six cabañas (US$225, for up to four people).

Rates have risen at Hostería La Casa de Piedra (Lago del Desierto 423, tel./fax 02962/49-3015, hosterialacasadepiedra [at] yahoo [dot] com [dot] ar, www.elchalten.com/lacasadepiedra, US$112–290 s, US$120–330 d), which provides large and comfy but tackily decorated rooms with private baths. It has well-tended grounds and is quiet, though the nearby power plant might bother some guests.

North of town, in an out-of-the-way location bordering the Lago del Desierto road, Hostería El Pilar (tel./fax 02962/49-3002, tel. 011/5031-0755 in Buenos Aires, www.hosteriaelpilar.com.ar, US$120 s, US$143 d, with breakfast) has the classic style of a Patagonian casco, but it’s really a recent construction (1996). Reservations are essential for this cozy and increasingly popular place, open October–April, but it’s possible to dine in the restaurant without being a guest, although reservations are advisable. Shuttle transportation from El Chaltén is free for guests.

With improved landscaping, Hostería Posada Lunajuim (Trevisan 45, tel. 02962/49-3047, www.posadalunajuim.com.ar, US$121 s, US$148 d) continues to make a good impression with appealing common areas (including a bar-restaurant) and rooms with private baths, central heating, and breakfast.

The eight-room Hostería El Puma (Lionel Terray 212, tel. 02962/49-3095, www.hosteriaelpuma.com.ar, US$130 s, US$160 d) and its Terray restaurant make another impressive addition to Chaltén’s accommodations scene. Prices with half board are an additional US$30 pp.

Over US$200

Atop a hillock with panoramic views of the Río de la Vueltas, under the same ownership as Hostería Los Notros, Los Cerros (tel. 02962/49-3182, tel. 011/4814-3934 in Buenos Aires, www.loscerrosdelchalten.com, from US$362 s, US$452 d) works mainly with multiday packages but takes other guests on a space-available basis. Spacious and luminous, with baths all featuring whirlpool tubs, the rooms have massive picture windows; the common areas, many of them decorated with historic maps, have soaring cathedral ceilings that flood them with natural light.