We had a great time at Valle Navado. There were good and not so good things about this condo.
I will start with the Good:
- Great views. Spectacular scenery from the condo
- Owner was very responsive. I had several text exchanges with him. He sent someone to fix several of the issues in the bathroom unfortunately they were not fixed.
- For my group of 6 adults the space was perfect. We have a lot of room to spread out and move around. Having a third bathroom was great. It was stocked well with dishes, glasses, silverware and pots & pans.
- It was a true ski in/ski out. That was excellent. Easy walk to the other hotels, restaurants, shops and small market.
- There was a nice hot tub and heated outdoor pool (more about this in the bad section).
- The unit and furnishing were old but the place was clean.
- The couch was comfortable but old. It was leather but the leather was cracking. Not a big deal but thought I would mention it.
- The unit was on the top floor (8th) and there was only one other unit on that floor. Felt safe.
- There is underground parking. If you have a car and the weather is bad this is Great.
- The ski locker was excellent. It was in a good location and very large. It also had a fan at the top which help dry the equipment. I have never see that before. We were comfortable leaving our boots in there overnight.
Now for the not-so-good (bad)
- The bathrooms proved to be an issue. The sinks did not drain well. The toilets did not flush well. One bathroom the curtain was torn up and water would get on the floor. (I managed to tie it up and make it better.). There were no bath mats when we arrived. We received some the second day. Each bathroom had one of two lights out which make it darker than it should have been. They were specialty bulbs (likely halogen) so we could not replace them.
- The showers were a big problem. The water would run hot/cold/hot/cold than scalding. All the bathrooms did this but is was some what better in the master. These were the worst showers I have ever used. Very disappointing.
- We only had one towel per person for all the days we were there. This would not have been a huge deal except when we used the pool. The towels would be wet so taking a shower after using the pool was impossible.
- Except for the master room the beds were not comfortable. They were extremely hard.
- The pool and hot tub could have been great but... The water was nice and warm but the hot tub jets did not work. Why have a hot tub without jets. It just becomes a tub. The hot tub was inside and it lead out to a nice outdoor pool with a retractable roof. We were not allow (by an employee) to open the roof. What good is retractable roof if you can't open it. One of the nice things about a ski resort is a hot pool and cold open air above.
- There was only one key for the condo. This made it difficult for the group to split up and come home at different times. We often had to leave the door unlocked.
- Wifi was sporadic. I work find the first day, did not work the next two days, than was in and out the rest of the time. We tried the TV once and it did not work. We never tried it again.
Would we stay there again? Yes but the showers would give us pause. A couple of us got burn (not seriously) by the scalding hot water that came out of nowhere. I hope this review gives readers some info on our experiences and helps them with their decision to say a this resort in this unit.
About the resort. The mountain is huge and the resort is small. Great for skiing, less crowded but not good for restaurants, grocery or shopping. Very little it the way of groceries. Buy what you need in Santiago before you head to the resort. Note the road to the resort is one way each direction on weekends and in bad weather. Plan accordingly. Also, on a nice day the locals go up to sled and picnic. The park in the road making it difficult to pass and causing horrible traffic jams. Took us over 1-1/2 hours long just because of the traffic. They do have ski rental. The also have one tuning shop and the tech is great. If you need your skis tuned get them done there.
The restaurants are pretty good and not crazy expensive. The French one is pricier than the rest and they sever some of the exact dishes as other restaurants at a higher price. We like the "no frills" restaurant in the first smaller hotel. I can't remember the name. Good food and reasonable prices.
Hope this info helps and have a good trip.