By admin Getting to Chile in late December 2021 wasn’t the easiest experience (read all about it here), but we were thrilled once we arrived at our first hotel: Vik. Located in the Cachapoal Valley, part of the Central Valley wine country region, Vik is both a winery (Viña Vik) and a luxury boutique hotel. While I had visited the Casablanca Valley and the Maipo Valley for wine tasting day trips during other visits to Chile, I had never actually stayed overnight in any of the country’s wine regions. I was excited to taste wine from a new area, and to be able to spend some more time exploring. We booked two nights at Vik, which ended up being the perfect amount of time to experience all that was on offer without ever needing to leave the property.
I didn’t exactly stumble upon Vik; I had read about the hotel a couple years earlier and was intrigued, so I filed it away for a future trip. Owned by Alexander Vik, a Norwegian billionaire, and his wife Carrie, the hotel is unabashedly unique in its design. Alexander has family ties to Uruguay, and the Viks also have several properties in Uruguay that I would love to visit one day.
The Property
With that background, let me tell you a bit more about the property because it is impressive. Approximately a two-and-a-half-hour drive from the Santiago airport, Vik is close enough to the city that we could head straight there upon landing in Chile from New York. The first hour or so of the drive was pretty boring, but started to get more scenic as we got out of the urban area. As we drove into Millahue, the tiny valley within the greater Cachapoal region where Vik is located, an oasis of vineyards gradually opened up to us. As we winded our way up and through the vineyards we spotted the dramatic titanium and bronze roof that was unmistakably Vik.
Upon reaching the top of the hill, we waved goodbye to our driver (arranged through Vik for a reasonable price), made our way up the small set of stairs to the commanding structure, and settled into the living room to complete the check-in process with a refreshing welcome drink. The modern yet cozy space was filled with art as well as a pool table, where several other guests were deep into a game.
The 22 rooms and 7 bungalows that make up the Vik hotel are perched atop a hill with 360 degree views of the 4,400 hectare private reserve that would become our playground for a couple days.
The top floor of the hotel is made up of the living room, reception, a library, guest suites, and the restaurant, Milla Milla (more on that later). Everything opens up to a central courtyard with a Zen garden–it’s very striking, but also bright and airy. There are lots of floor-to-ceiling windows and sliding glass doors that open wide to create a breezy indoor-outdoor space.
More guest rooms are located on the floor below, which also houses a gym, yoga room, and breathtaking infinity pool. I knew where I’d be spending my free time. There is also a spa, which I sadly did not get to experience.
The Restaurant: Milla Milla
The onsite restaurant, Milla Milla, serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. All the ingredients are locally sourced and many of the herbs and vegetables came from Vik’s own organic garden. The menu is small–just three or four options for starters and main dishes for lunch, and a set menu for diner. As a pescatarian, my choices were particularly limited, and we were disappointed that the lunch menu did not change on our second day (thankfully, the dinner menu did). Every dish was exquisitely presented–Vik certainly did not skimp on aesthetics. However, aside from a few items, we were both a bit underwhelmed by the flavors.
At least all of the meals – with wine – were included in our rate. We just had to cover the pre-dinner cocktails that we indulged in both nights, as well as gratuities (“propinas” – 10% is customary, but you must sign off to approve, which confused us at first). Milla Milla is open to anyone, not just hotel guests, so if you are curious to see the hotel but not able to stay, you could always make a reservation for lunch or dinner at the restaurant. I can at least promise that it will be a stunning visual experience.
Our Suite: Cienfuegos
Another interesting design element at Vik: each suite is completely unique, featuring artwork by a different artist. I had read that some guests found certain suites to be a bit too peculiar for their taste, so if you are picky about these things, I would recommend requesting the room that most closely aligns with your aesthetic. I was happy to take my chances and see what we ended up with (and Reuben had no idea what was in store for him at Vik, aside from the fact that it was in wine country and it had a pool).
As I’m sure you can tell from the heading of this section, we stayed in Cienfuegos, named after the Chilean artist Gonzalo Cienfuegos. Neither of us had ever heard of him, but we quickly got acquainted with his work since we were staring at a number of his paintings every time we were in the room. While it wasn’t necessarily my personal style, I appreciated the thought that had gone into every little detail (in the art and in the room). And even if I wasn’t the biggest fan of the art, I couldn’t complain about the huge floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the nature reserve and the tranque (reservoir) below.
I mentioned above that Vik also has seven bungalows, branded as Puro Vik. With three walls made of glass, these literal glass houses are located a short walk from the main building and they also have private terraces with hot tubs. I would have loved to stay in one of these, but the price difference was substantial. Oh well, maybe next time?
A Bevy of Activities
One of my favorite parts of staying at Vik was being able to explore the nature reserve, whether on foot, on bike, or on horse (actually, we skipped horseback riding – guided tours were included in our rate – but neither of us really enjoys it much). There are a number of different trails, and I felt like we were able to see almost all of them during our two days.
Hiking
The first morning we asked the staff about the best trail for a one hour hike and they advised us to take the Cerro al Medio trail, north of the hotel. There were some hills, but nothing too tough–it was a good burst of cardio with great views of the vineyards and the surrounding hills. Plus, we had the trail completely to ourselves. I was glad that we went in the morning when it was still fairly cool, as the late December temperatures climbed into the high 80s in the afternoon.
Mountain Biking
We also did some mountain biking both mornings of our stay (although to be fair, maybe I should say “mountain” biking). We were biking with mountain bikes on unpaved trails, but most of the terrain wasn’t very mountainous. We found different trails out to the tranque each day, again with some hills and lots of vineyard views. The only other people we saw when out biking were some workers in the vineyards our second morning.
Horseback Riding
As I mentioned, we opted out of horseback riding, but we did see other guests participating in these guided tours. I’m sure it would be fun and beautiful if you’re into riding.
Garden Visit
Vik offers complimentary tours of its organic garden for guests in the mornings, but we decided to check it out ourselves during one of our bike rides. I think Reuben had low expectations for the garden, but it was actually pretty interesting to see all the beautiful plants. Fortunately they were labeled, because otherwise we may not have been able to figure out what some of them even were.
Winery Tour & Tasting
Last but certainly not least, a private tour and tasting at the Viña Vik winery was included with our stay, which we of course took advantage of. Our guide picked us up at the entrance to the hotel and drove us down to the winery, although it was close enough that we could have easily ridden bikes. Just like the hotel, the winery was very impressive visually, with unique modern architecture and numerous sustainable design elements.
Inside the tasting room there was of course more art, with an incredible mural in the entryway.
The tasting itself included three single vineyard tastings from the barrel, none of which were sold individually, as all of Vik’s wines are blends. We tried a Cabernet Sauvignon, a Carmenere, and a Syrah, then finally ended with Vik’s signature, simply called “Vik.” While we had been drinking Vik’s lower-priced blends, La Piu Belle Rosé, La Piu Belle (a red) and Milla Cala (another red) with our meals, this was the only time we got to taste Vik, which retails for $140. Of course, if we wanted to drink more, we could’ve bought some.
Our guide asked us what suite we were staying in and I delighted in learning that Cienfuegos had actually designed the bottle art for the La Piu Belle red. Reuben and I both agreed that we typically wouldn’t have been drawn to the bottle if we had seen it in a store, but now that we had a personal connection with the artist (well, kind of), we had to buy it.
At the end of the tour, Reuben made buddies with our guide, asking him what kind of beer he liked, his favorite Latin music, and what his plans were for New Year’s Eve. I got no small degree of satisfaction when Reuben told me that he enjoyed the tour and “actually” learned something from it. He typically prefers self-guided travel, which I also prefer sometimes, but I am always trying to sell him on guided travel in certain contexts. In particular, when you’re looking to learn something on a topic from an expert or gain access to a local experience that you otherwise wouldn’t be able to do on your own, I think private or small group guides can really enhance travel. Hopefully the Vik winery tour was just the beginning to Reuben’s mind opening a bit.
Even if you are not staying at the hotel, you can book a winery tour and tasting at Vik, which I would highly recommend if you’re going to be in the area.
As I mentioned earlier, our two day stay felt like the perfect amount of time. We were able to explore almost all that the property had to offer, yet still felt like we had time to relax. Next we were heading to Santiago (read my recommendations here) for a couple days before finishing up our trip with the main event: six days in the Atacama Desert.
