The Valle Nevado ski resort has very well developed facilities for skiers and snowboarders that are concentrated in two general areas. Many amenities are located in the buildings adjacent to the hotels, which includes lockers, a cafeteria, ski and snowboard school, ski and snowboard rentals, and a repair workshop. The base of the ski resort near the day parking lot has facilities and services such as lift ticket sales, equipment rentals and ski school.

Facilities for Children

Guests of the hotels receive complimentary child care (ages 3 to 7) from 0900 to 1300 and 1400 to 1800 (does not include lunch). There is also a games room in the Hotel Puerta del Sol for little kids and big kids, with various toys and other entertainment such as a Wii console. Day trippers can also access the day care (ages 4 to 7) in a half day or full day format.

For ages 4 to 7, the Valle Nevado Snow Garden offers group or private ski lessons. Programs are half day or full day with the latter including lunch.

Valle Nevado Ski School

The Valle Nevado ski and snowboard school is large with lots of multi-lingual instructors. There are instructors who can speak Portuguese (for all the Brazilian holiday makers), Spanish (of course) and English. They even have a snowboard instructor who speaks Australian!

The Valle Nevado ski school can run group classes in English, with a maximum of 4 people per instructor.

Valle Nevado Ski Rentals and Snowboard Hire

Valle Nevado rents out standard skis and snowboards as well as some “prestige” equipment, although this is nothing too special. Don’t expect a huge range of boards, and they only rent out a very limited range of fat skis. Overnight guests who charge the equipment rental to their hotel room bill are excused the VAT.

Eating On Mountain

The Slalom cafeteria at the Hotel Puerta del Sol next to the ski area sells “fast food” such as burgers and fries, although the speed with which you receive your meal is from fast, even when it’s not busy. Just relax and absorb the Chilean culture. Have a beer or two while you wait.

The Bayo Zero restaurant is located at the base of the Andes express detachable quad chairlift. This is a delightful place to stop for a drink or lunch, particularly if it’s a sunny day when you can perch out on the deck and watch the lift queues. They have a combination of fast food and a la carte fare. They also sell those gorgeous sweet treats from Havanna, so this restaurant can be a dangerous place for the waist line. This is also a reasonable spot for après drinks as it’s open until 5pm.

Banking and Internet Facilities

Free internet access is available throughout the hotels in the common areas, although it’s a bit slow. Hotel Puerta del Sol has a cyber café, and Hotel Valle Nevado also has PCs available in the lobby area.

An ATM is located in the cafeteria.

Medical Facilities

Valle Nevado has a small clinic on the hill to deal with minor medical issues. The most common ailment is probably not broken bones from mishaps in the terrain park, but altitude sickness because the hotels are at an elevation of 10,000 feet.