Hotel Casa de Campo
Santa Cruz, Santiago & Central Valley, Chile
Stroll around and you’ll find the affable owner Armando with his workers in the fields, while the 2 Virginias (his wife and daughter) are helping pack blueberries to be shipped overseas. Lounge by the peaceful pool or play with the cats on the cobblestone courtyard beside the burbling stream. Inside the hotel, wicker chairs encircle the brick fireplace in the stone-floored lobby, noble wood beams criss-cross the ceilings, Mapuche weavings grace cornflower-blue walls. It’s a 5-minute drive into Santa Cruz for dinner, but before you head into town, have a glass from the complimentary bottle of Colchagua wine in your room, as you sit on your balcony and drink in that view.
Highs
- A perfect base for touring local wineries or driving La Ruta del Vino in the Colchagua Valley
- Spotlessly clean, spacious rooms with great bathrooms; most share a balcony with amazing Andes views
- Delicious breakfasts with homemade bread, fresh strawberry juice, creamy yoghurt and blueberries from the farm
- Friendly owners and staff who make you feel welcome and recommend restaurants and day trips
- Their commitment to renewable energy - heating is partially sourced from solar panels and stream water; windmills are planned
Lows
- No restaurant at the hotel, nor any within swift walking distance
- Santa Cruz is 2km away so you'll have to rely on taxis if you don’t have a car
- Some traffic noise can be heard from the highway, especially in the morning
Best time to go
Our top tips
- Country Hotel
- 11 rooms
- Breakfast (+ lunch on request)
- All ages welcome
- Open all year
- Outdoor Pool
- Spa Treatments
- Beach Nearby
- Pet Friendly
- Disabled Access
- Car recommended
- Parking
- Restaurants Nearby
- WiFi
- Air Conditioning
- Guest Lounge
- Terrace
- Garden
- Gym
Rooms
A footbridge over the stream links the hotel to a 2-storey, relatively new building housing 8 country-rustic rooms. This extension to Casa de Campo honours the typical style of the area, with wood ceiling beams and thick walls separating the patios and rooms.
The rooms are spacious with marble-and-stone flooring and sepia photos on white stucco walls. Our room on the first floor was a Deluxe with a wooden staircase leading up to a small loft with a single bed; our own bed was a super-kingsize with oak posts, white cotton sheets, stacks of pillows and olive-green cushions and throw. French doors opened onto a black-and-white tiled terrace with cushioned wicker chairs, a glass-topped table, potted plants and, of course, the film-set panorama of the Andes.
There are 3 rooms in the original 1867 casa de campo, leading off a hallway lined with antique furniture and watercolour paintings - these slightly smaller rooms have double beds and ensuite bathrooms but lack a terrace.
Bathrooms have rain showers and terraSpirit toiletries; wardrobes and shelves are built-in. All rooms have well-stocked minibars, satellite TV and WiFi. Air con is not needed; the rooms stay cool all day and central heating is provided by solar panels.
Features include:
- Hairdryer
- In-room treatments available
- Minibar
- WiFi
Eating
Breakfast is served in the pretty dining room of white tables and blue-wash walls hung with colourful weavings. Creamy yoghurt and blueberries fresh from the family farm are laid out on a buffet table, along with pastries and orange juice. Homemade bread and jams and a plate of ham and cheese are at your table; tea or coffee is brought to you. There are also outside tables under a canopied terrace facing a water fountain.
Staff can make up sandwiches if you want to stay at the hotel and have lunch by the pool or on one of the terraced sitting areas. Alternatively, there is a list of suggested restaurants by the front desk - we went into Santa Cruz and had some typical Chilian chipperones and paella marina at Alma Campasina.
For dinner, Armando personally recommended Club Social, the town’s working men’s club, which has a restaurant open to the public. Waiters were friendly and there was a good selection of seafood, with many wines by the half-bottle. Out of town, Panpan Vinovino is set in an atmospheric old bakery with a huge brick oven and offers variations on local cuisine such as curried lamb stew and eggplant casserole with polenta. Its sister restaurant Mistela has an outdoor terrace and more traditional dishes.
Features include:
- Breakfast
- Lunch by arrangement
- Organic produce
Activities
- Winery Tours: The Colchagua Valley is aiming to become South America’s Napa Valley and dozens of local vinas offer tours - Casa de Campo is closest to Apalta, Las Ninas and Montes, which has a gravity-flow winery designed along Feng-Shui principles
- Explore the Colchagua Valley. There are some stunning hiking trails close by; ask staff to recommend a route, or arrange horse riding or bike hire for you
- Museo de Colchagua: Santa Cruz’s patron of the arts, Carlos Cardoen, donated his personal collection of pre-Colombian and Conquistador-era artefacts to the town and created a fascinating museum
- Espiritus de Colchagua: Tour this typical adobe house in Santa Cruz to learn (and taste) how the family makes delicious liqueurs and brandies from 21 different types of fruits, nuts, herbs, and spices (call to arrange a visit; +56-72-822-754, Thurs-Sun)
- Museo de la Artesania Chilena: Located in the nearby town of Lolol, this museum showcases more than 2,000 pieces of antique craftwork including Mapuche pottery and handicrafts from Rapa Nui (Easter Island)
- Pichilemu: this coastal town is about an hour away and is popular with surfing expats - wetsuits and lessons available or you can just eat grilled seafood by the shore
- La Lajuela: this hamlet is the best place to buy chupallas, the handmade braided straw hats - Casa de Campo also has a small shop with ponchos, purses and sombreros for sale
Activities on site or nearby include:
- Cycling
- Hiking
- Historical sites
- Horse riding
- Museums / galleries
- Private guided tours
- Shopping / markets
- Surfing
- Swimming
- Wine tasting
Kids
Children will enjoy the pool, extensive grounds, and wandering through pathways to the willow trees by the river at the edge of the fields, or watching the blueberry pickers and sorters. All of the rooms in the extension can fit an extra bed or a baby cot and some are triples with a single bed in a small loft.
Best for:
Babies (0-1 years), Children (4-12 years)
Family friendly accommodation:
The Deluxe Room has a single bed in a small loft area, and all rooms in the newer extension building can fit a rollaway bed, where a child can stay free of charge
Cots Available, Extra Beds Available
Distances:
- Airport: 2 hours (Santiago)
- Shops: 5 minutes
For more family-friendly places, see our Kids Collection
Location
Casa de Campo is on the main highway into Santa Cruz, the I-50, about 2km from the centre of town. Santa Cruz is in Chile's Colchagua Valley, 200km from Santiago.
By Air:
There is a small airfield near Santa Cruz, called Tobalaba, where planes land at the Club Aéreo del Unco (Unco flight club) but it's mostly for private planes. Most people fly into Santiago and drive here. Click on the links below for a list of airlines serving Santiago.
From the Airport
The hotel can arrange a transfer from Santiago - see Rates - but we'd recommend hiring a car (see below) for ease of getting here and so you can visit wineries on the Ruta del Vino through the Colchagua Valley.
By Car:
The hotel is a 2-hour drive from Santiago, for car hire please see our car rental recommendations.
By Bus:
There are buses from Santiago to Santa Cruz every half an hour - the trip takes around 3 hours.
Detailed directions will be sent to you when you book through i-escape.com.
More on getting to Chile and getting around
Airports:
- Tobalaba airstrip 5.0 km
- Santiago Arturo Merino Benitez International 194.0 km SCL
Other:
- Beach 80.0 km
- Shops 2.0 km
- Restaurant 2.0 km