Llao Llao & the Lake District

Jeff made all the arrangements for our Totally Awesome Honeymoon. However, I made it very clear that we had to go to San Carlos de Bariloche, in the Lake District, and stay at Llao Llao. We could do whatever else he wanted but Llao Llao had to happen.

Since I compulsively read about and research travel, destinations and hotels, I had heard about The Llao (as I call it) years ago. And decided whenever I finally got to Argentina we needed to meet.

The hotel is lovely. There is the old part of the hotel, in the original lodge, and the new part. The lodge is based on that very old school, country hotel model: small rooms, rustic design, not a huge amount of amenities. The idea is that you are not in the room much. The new part is great: big rooms, brand new fixtures, very 5-star. Not sure the old section is quite so 5-star.

The public rooms are great. It's decorated like a country, hunting lodge. And when I say hunting lodge I am not kidding. I suppose the place is not for everyone but I thought it was fabulous.


Sorry, Bambi, these chairs were everywhere. And
there were some cowhide ones, too. Sweet!


And antler chandeliers all over. That's Jeff's cigar smoke.

We drove around the area, which is stunning, but the best part of The Llao is the location. It is literally in the most spectacular location in the entire area. Whoever designed the hotel picked the most perfect spot.


Driving up to the hotel.


From the driveway, your first glimpse of the hotel.

Views in every direction:












Lying by the pool was the best. Gorgeous views.


The patio attached to our hotel room. Monte Tronador
in the background. (Thunder Mountain!)


Birds of prey were all over these here parts. This guy
was right outside the breakfast room and was stalking
a hawk's nest. He was a big boy, up to my knee. His
toupee looks lopsided, doesn't it?


Mama-hawk is getting pissed.

The Lake District is in northern Patagonia, and as in the glacier region, Argentina proves it's natural beauty is without rival. The lakes here are huge and very, very deep. And the mountains are very, very tall. And they rise of out nowhere. No rolling foothills, no graceful slopes - it's like walking into a pop-up book. The Andes are the Alps on steroids.

San Carlos de Bariloche, or Bariloche as it is called, is pretty tacky. It's a touristy ski resort town and it feels like it. Llao Llao is several miles out of town, so it's easy to fly in and out of Bariloche while avoiding that. Bariloche was built up in the 30s and 40s when the upper class from Buenos Aires could no longer travel to Europe because of the war. So a savvy developer decided he would make a Swiss-style resort for the Porteños. Everything is very Alpine and mountain lodge-y. I think this Swiss-Austrian-Bavarian vibe the Argentines seem to love probably also feeds right into their bad reputation for harboring Nazis. Seriously. It makes me feel badly for them because the Argentines are such lovely people.

The local restaurants were excellent. We never had a bad meal. We went to one run by an Austrian expat (yup, insert Nazi joke here) and the menu said 'cash only' which we were not prepared for. When we told them we didn't have the cash to cover the bill (before we ordered) they asked where we were staying. When we told them Llao Llao they said, "oh, no problem, leave an envelope with the concierge and we'll pick it up in a few days." I also left my guidebook at a restaurant across the lake and the concierge called them and they brought it over on their boat.

We were told Villa La Angostura was a beautiful town across the lake (Lake Nahuel Huapi). We drove over and had lunch at a nice hotel called Las Balsas, part of the Relais & Chateaux chain. This is where I left my guidebook and they motor-boated-ed it back to me. Lunch was good and the hotel was elegant but rustic. But it couldn't compare to the situation of the Llao. And the town, in our opinion, was tacky. It got such rave reviews from so many people we are sure we must have missed something. It was tacky like Bariloche, but not nearly as big. One main drag a few blocks long and that's it.


En route to Las Balsas. There is so much cattle-raising
that there are now wild cattle everywhere.


And then our steak knives arrive in sheaths!
Yikes!

The moral of the story is that every time we tried to explore off the grounds of Llao Llao we were disappointed. Bariloche - meh. Angostura - meh. Las Balsas, very lovely but not comparable. Stay elsewhere at your own risk.

Next time, I'd sort of like to try San Martin de Los Andes, which is several hours away. It's supposed to be a much nicer town and also in the Lake District. But I fear disappointment.