Remota

One of the more stylish new bases in Patagonia for exploration is Remota, an upscale lodge designed by the great Chilean architect Germán del Sol (creator of the Explora hotel-adventure company). While the exterior is severe, angular, and clad in black asphalt, the interior is a study in del Sol’s brand of inventive modernism: consciously rusticated elements combined with pizarra (slate) floors, heavy modular furniture, and museum-quality Chilean artifacts. The hotel can arrange an array of trips into the Patagonian countryside, including a visit to an organic vegetable farm; a hike up the nearby Cerro Benitez for an astonishing 360-degree view; and a walk along a stream littered with fossils in the Sierra Baguales, followed by lunch with a cowboy who has lived alone in the valley for 20 years.