About Us

Weskar Lodge is a small hotel in the Chilean Patagonia, located on the fjordfront in the city of Puerto Natales, in the Magallanes and Chilean Antarctic Region. The hotel is a family-run venture that began in 2005 in what was our own residence and grew into what it is today.

When we arrived in the beautiful city of Puerto Natales, we were struck by the sublime landscape, completely different from anywhere else we had known. In this remote part of the planet, the pampas meet endless skies, mountains with unique profiles, a network of fjords and glaciers creating dramatic landscape contrasts. The highest expression of this is Torres del Paine, a world-renowned nature landmark and Chile’s main international nature tourism destination.

In 1999 we bought a plot on the city’s coastline, with an impressive view of the Última Esperanza Fjord, where we would build our home. The incredible thing was that once construction was finished, many foreign travelers knocked on the door asking if we were a hotel, since the building is made of Lenga (a tree endemic to Patagonia) and is perched 25 meters above the fjord, right on the waterfront. In those years there were very few hotels in Puerto Natales, so tourists passed directly through to Torres del Paine without stopping in town.

Thinking of making a life change, with very little money but with a lot of conviction and heart, we decided to expand the house and transform it into a hotel. At the same time we trained to become good hosts, since hospitality had never been in our plans and the responsibility was great. We started with 8 rooms in 2005 and it took us 10 long years to complete the 31 rooms Weskar Lodge currently has, becoming hoteliers first by choice and later by vocation.

We have spent nearly 30 years in Patagonia and have welcomed thousands of travelers from all over the world. It has been a wonderful journey, and we are delighted to see how this small city at the end of the world has developed a tourism spirit while retaining its unique character, in a privileged natural setting where time moves differently, unhurried.

Juan José Pantoja San Martín — Weskar Patagonian Lodge Founder