Chapelco Ski Resort Facilities and Services
Chapelco has well developed facilities and services. The base area near the car park has a large ticket office, child care centre, a cafeteria, a retail shop, and a ski and snowboard rental shop.
Another hub of facilities is located at the top of the gondola near the novices’ area. Amenities here include a few refugios, a snow garden, ski school, and the activities centre.
Facilities for Children
Child care is available at Chapelco for little tots aged 3 months to 3 years. The nursery is open from 9:30am to 5:30pm, although it’s not open from 1-2pm so parents will have to pick up the kids for lunch.
Children aged 3 to 5 years can hit the snow garden where instructors lead games and teach kids the first steps to skiing. More serious ski and snowboard tuition is for kids aged 6 to 15 years in a program called Junior Academy.
Chapelco Ski School
Chapelco has a highly regarded ski and snowboard school, but unless you speak fluent Spanish, your options may be somewhat limited. Some seasons they have English speaking instructors who can provide a private lesson at a price that may make you say “yikes”!
Chapelco Ski and Snowboard Rental
Chapelco has a ski and snowboard rental shop at the base area where you can hire out a range of equipment. Like elsewhere in Argentina, rates for equipment hire are very reasonable. When we visited, Ski Austria also had an equipment rental “store” set up in the car park in a shipping container.
There are also lots of San Martin de los Andes ski hire shops (skis and snowboards). There’s plenty of competition so prices are pretty good.
Chapelco Shop
The base area has a very small retail shop with the most basic of ski and snowboard accessories. This shop is for emergencies only, otherwise you’d be better placed heading to one of the San Martin de los Andes ski shops.
The on-mountain shop also sells a very small range of Chapelco souvenirs.
Eating On Mountain
Chapelco has nine restaurants and refugios. These range from simple inexpensive eateries where you can get a quick bite, to lunch spots where you get table service and après drinks to settle in for the afternoon.
Refugio Graeff is a beautiful restaurant located in the upper reaches of the ski resort. The fare includes pizzas, hamburgers, cakes and other naughties, and the wine list is very conducive to a bleary eyed afternoon. On nice weather days, the deck area and lounge chairs are the perfect spot to catch some rays.
The cute log cabin Rancho Manolo is a great spot for lunch (although the pizzas seem rather expensive) or afternoon tea, particularly if you love waffles!
A common meeting spot is Antulauquen at the top of the gondola. This self-serve cafeteria provides a range of food at inexpensive prices.
Chapelco Activities
Chapelco has a few activities other than skiing and snowboarding. In a forested area near the gondola, Chapelco offers dog sledding, snowmobile tours, and snow shoeing.
