In an effort to update its facilities, Las Torres Patagonia has completely renovated Pionero Bar, one of the most iconic spaces at Hotel Las Torres.
Torres del Paine, November 2, 2025. As part of the remodeling project that began in the winter of 2024, Hotel Las Torres, located in the heart of Torres del Paine National Park, has completed the second stage of its renovation with new infrastructure for its bar, lobby, and excursions room. The redesign aims to offer guests a modern, comfortable, Patagonian experience.
Pionero Bar has 15 years of history mixing sustainable cocktails in Torres del Paine National Park. Over the seasons, it has improved its environmental approach by replacing plastic straws with copper ones, recycling bottles to make eco-friendly glasses, and working together with the hotel’s biointensive garden to manage the organic waste generated by the kitchen.
For the start of the 2025-2026 season, Hotel Las Torres launched a new visual concept for Pionero, expanding from a small bar to a larger counter to create more dynamic interactions between bartenders and guests. This includes a space designed for a new activity called “Bartender for a Day.”
In this circular section of the bar, Pionero’s head bartender, Federico Gil, teaches his cocktail masterclass, an hour-long session in which he teaches attendees how to prepare a classic Patagonian cocktail and how they can help protect the environment through this craft.
The walls of Pionero Bar also play a role in its new look. Shelves stretch all the way to the ceiling, providing space to store jars used for making shrubs: sweet and sour syrups made from fruit, vinegar, and sugar. These ingredients are essential in the bartenders’ concoctions.
According to Federico Gil, the idea for the new Pionero came about during a series of conversations with architect Pedro Kovacic and interior designer Enrique Concha, in which they decided to continue with the Contemporary Patagonia concept they had used to remodel the hotel rooms last season, giving the bar a fresh look.
Kovacic and Concha explain that the Contemporary Patagonia concept prioritizes the aesthetic of the landscape over that of the building, transforming spaces into neutral places for contemplation with minimalist, modern decor. Pionero Bar follows the same concept.
The bar now features walls that blend dark, smooth tones with aged wood, highlighting the main attraction: the cocktails. Color is provided by the jars filled with shrubs, the stills used to extract alcohol from leftover beer, and the plants used to decorate cocktails.
Pionero’s head bartender also notes that the concept aims to revive a classic tradition of Chilean culture: the pulpería. The pulpería was a colonial general store that typically stored dry goods on high shelves, boasting a wide inventory of items. Gil hopes that, as the months go by, the staff’s uniforms will also reflect this classic concept from the country’s history.
New lobby: The new front desk of Hotel Las Torres
As part of the renovation work, the hotel lobby was also refurbished with a more spacious layout and decor that highlights the building’s history: native wildlife, baqueano horsemen, and the family that founded the hotel.
The entrance was also renovated with a gently sloping ramp to ease access for guests with reduced mobility, as well as for suitcases and luggage.
This also included remodeling the Calafate Room, which is where guests at Hotel Las Torres are briefed before starting each excursion. The room is now more accessible and has been redesigned to match the hotel’s overall style, with dark colors and aged wood taking center stage.
Hotel Las Torres opened for the season in October this year and will continue to welcome guests until the end of April 2026.