Hotel Parque Quilquico

HOTEL OVERVIEW

You know what caught me off guard about Hotel Parque Quilquico? The absolute silence when you step outside your room in the morning. I mean, you’re technically still close to Castro, but being out on the Rilan Peninsula feels like you’ve been transported to some secret corner of Chiloé that tour buses haven’t discovered yet. The property sits right in rural Quilquico – and I actually mean rural, not that fake “rustic charm” hotels try to sell you. There are genuine working farms around here, and you’ll hear roosters at dawn (fair warning if you’re not a morning person).

The hotel itself is this beautifully restored building that manages to feel both polished and authentically Chilean. Check-in was refreshingly straightforward – none of that overly formal stuff you get at chain hotels. The staff clearly knows the island well, and honestly, that makes all the difference when you’re trying to figure out ferry schedules or where to find the best curanto. My room had this incredible view over the peninsula’s rolling hills, and on clear days you can actually see across to the mainland. The beds are proper comfortable too, which isn’t always a given at boutique places like this. What I really appreciated was how quiet everything stays – even when the hotel’s full, you barely hear other guests.

Here’s the thing about staying out on Rilan Peninsula though – you’ll want a car. The location is absolutely gorgeous (that 8.9 rating makes total sense), but it’s not like you can just walk to restaurants or shops. Castro’s about a 15-minute drive, which isn’t bad at all, and the road’s decent year-round. Actually, some of my favorite moments were those drives back from town in the evening, watching the light change over the water. The hotel does have parking right on-site, which removes that particular travel headache. If you’re here during summer (December to February), book way ahead – Chileans know about this place, and it fills up fast. I visited in shoulder season and had the breakfast terrace practically to myself most mornings, just me and the view of those impossibly green hills. The breakfast, by the way, features local ingredients – real local, not “inspired by local” – and the coffee’s strong enough to properly wake you up before heading out to explore the wooden churches or palafitos. It’s the kind of place where you actually want to hang around the hotel for a bit instead of just using it as a base to crash.