What does it mean when travelers keep choosing the same place, year after year?
This year, EcoCamp Patagonia was once again recognized in the 2026 Condé Nast Traveller's Readers' Choice Awards. Readers of the UK travel magazine Condé Nast Traveller voted EcoCamp the 11th best resort in Central and South America.
Every year, the travel magazines invite its readers to rate their travel experiences across a wide range of categories, including hotels, cities, islands, airports, spas, and tour operators. Readers score these experiences on a scale from 1 to 5 (poor to excellent), evaluating aspects such as rooms, location, service, food, activities, and more. The scores are then averaged to produce an overall ranking.
We're proud of the recognition and grateful to everyone who took the time to vote for us!
But the award itself isn't the most important part of our story. The more interesting question is why, 25 years after opening our first domes in Torres del Paine National Park, travelers continue to choose to stay here.
We could talk about our location, our sustainability practices, or the many adventures we offer. Instead, we looked at what guests actually mention when they review their stay. Some things were what we'd expect, and other things stood out.
Food comes up regularly in guest reviews. Guests mention the quality, the presentation, and the fact that there are plenty of options to choose from after a day outdoors.
And occasionally, they admit that they may have eaten a little more than planned.
As David wrote in May 2026:
"The food provided was scrumptious. Breakfast was a buffet with plenty of options, which is no small feat considering that we were isolated in a national park! Lunch came from the same buffet, as we would pack a meal to take on our daily excursions. When we came back, we were treated to appetizers and drinks, then a 3 course meal! I definitely gained more weight than I lost on our hikes."
But it's not always the food itself that guests mention. Some reviews point out something much simpler: being able to choose what you want to take with you for the day.
As Erica wrote in May 2026:
" I loved that we got to pack our own lunch and snacks to go in the morning. "
Sharon highlighted the same part of the experience in November 2025, describing the food as “creative, abundant and varied,” and adding "We especially enjoyed building our own lunch boxes to take on our daily adventures."
Then there are the moments nobody can plan. A condor overhead. A fox crossing your path. A herd of guanacos spotted from the vehicle on the way to an excursion. Patagonia has a way of reminding you that you're a visitor here.
Our guides can take you to some of the park's most spectacular places, but they can't guarantee what you'll see along the way. And that's precisely what makes these encounters so memorable.
Peter wrote in November 2025:
"We also saw a baby puma near our dome."
Photo from Jazmin Davis
And not all unexpected encounters involve wildlife.
Some guests arrive with a partner or a friend. Others arrive on their own or simply don't know anyone else staying at the hotel. After a day of hiking, kayaking, or horseback riding, guests often end up around the same tables, talking about their experiences and making plans for tomorrow.
For us, these conversations are part of the EcoCamp experience. That social aspect is something we intentionally encourage. It's one of the reasons why we don't offer Wi-Fi in the hotel.
Dream wrote in January 2026:
"(....) And to spend time with other travelers from all over the world, without all of our heads in our phones (because no wifi), was a nod to humanity."
And Baahumbug wrote in October 2026:
"The set up meant that you got to interact with other guests everyday and this added to the whole experience."
Not everything guests mention is part of what we would normally describe as the “EcoCamp experience.” Sometimes, it's the logistics. For a remote property in a national park, that means coordinating transfers, excursions, meals, guides, equipment, and schedules, often around changing weather. It's the kind of work that's most successful when guests barely notice it, but when they do notice, it makes our day.
Jasper wrote in February 2026:
"Everything was beautifully organised, from the comfortable domes to the smooth logistics that make you almost forget how remote this place is."
Brad made a similar observation in December 2025:
"Logistics throughout the entire trip were perfectly timed, which is not an easy task."
We know that location is one of EcoCamp's biggest advantages. We also know we have very little control over what the weather decides to do with it. Rain, snow, wind, and clouds are all part of being in Torres del Paine. The landscape can look completely different from one day to the next.
David wrote in May 2026:
"It was amazing to see the night sky so clearly or to have the Towers framed so wonderfully in snow."
And Sepideh mentioned:
"Waking up to the light over Torres del Paine and returning each evening after windy, challenging hikes felt both humbling and refreshing."
These are experiences we can provide the setting for, but we can't manufacture them. Patagonia does the rest.
A place isn't defined only by its surroundings. A guide went the extra mile, a receptionist remembered your name, or a bartender helped turn a difficult day into a memorable one.
These moments may seem small to us but can mean a lot. And perhaps that's one of the things that has remained at EcoCamp over the past 25 years: the feeling of being welcomed by people who genuinely want you to enjoy your time here.
Simone wrote in April 2026:
"What really made the stay stand out, however, was the staff. Their attention to detail and the special care they showed throughout my visit made me feel incredibly welcome. It is rare to find a team that is so genuinely dedicated to ensuring their guests have a memorable time."
Amber wrote in March 2026:
"The human element is what really sets this place apart. Our guides—Francisco, Gonzalo, Hannah, and Gerardo—were walking encyclopedias of Patagonian knowledge and genuinely caring people. But the excellence didn’t stop with the guides; the drivers, servers, bartenders, and cooks treated us like royalty. You can tell the entire team takes immense pride in what they do."
So, why do travelers keep choosing EcoCamp? There probably isn't one answer.
For some guests, it's the hikes. For others, it's the food, the people, the views, the wildlife, the opportunity to meet other travelers, the chance to disconnect or simply the fact that the complicated logistics of traveling through Patagonia are taken care of. Or it's a collection of details, some carefully planned and others completely out of our control.
That's what makes this year's recognition particularly meaningful to us. Guest stories give us something that awards, numbers and rankings can't: a glimpse into what people actually take home with them.
After 25 years, we're still incredibly proud to welcome travelers from around the world to Torres del Paine. And we're grateful that so many of them take the time to tell us what made their stay memorable.
To everyone who has stayed with us, explored the park, asked our team a hundred questions, or simply taken the time to write a review: thank you! We read them. And they help us understand what we're doing well and where we can continue to improve.