Dreams del Estrecho

Quark’s “Fly the Drake” expedition departs from Punta Arenas, Chile - not by ship, but by a chartered 3-hour flight that arrives on a gravel airstrip on King George Island. This approach bypasses the Drake Passage and its potentially turbulent waters. Quark's expedition includes one night before departure at Dreams Hotel and Casino, in Punta Arenas; and another night upon our return from King George Island at the end of the trip. Dreams Hotel served the expedition team well. The rooms were modern, spacious, and clean. The floor I was on was quiet, and provided great views of Punta Arenas, both times I stayed there. There were sufficient front desk staff to address the needs of the 90 travelers who formed the expedition's guest list. While I spent one night at another local hotel (as Dreams had been fully booked for that night), I found Dreams to be a perfect fit for this expedition.

We stayed here on our trip to Antarctica as it was the hotel suggested by our tour company, Quark Expeditions. Our room was spacious and well appointed. The bed was comfortable and the view over the harbour was wonderful. Our check-in was smooth and our room was ready when promised. The breakfast was included and had a good selection of meats, cheeses, fruit, eggs, bread and yogurt. There was another cafe type restaurant with good lunch type food. We did not visit the casino but, as we were on an upper floor we did not encounter any noise from the casino. The staff were friendly and helpful and offered some good suggestions for where to eat in town and what to do. We enjoyed our stay and would return again.

This is one of the few large hotels in Punta Arenas, so caters to large cruise/tour groups. The rooms are spacious. The staff generally helpful. Unfortunately, the captive market means rather average facilities. The breakfast buffet is adequate, but quite modest for a large hotel. Meals for tour groups in the conference area were repetitive. There is no air conditioning, so rooms get very hot in the summer and one needs to open the window — the street below can be noisy. The shower floods the bathroom due to poor drainage. Spotty and slow Wi-Fi.

We stayed at the Dream Hotel in between our trip to Antarctica. It was a lovely hotel, with comfortable beds, a huge bathroom and an amazing view of the Straight of Magellan! The restaurant was wonderful with very large Portions and they had a fantastic coffee cafe in the lobby that we frequented twice a day.