Considering the main facilities of Valle Nevado resort are confined to the three hotel buildings, it's not surprising that the restaurant and bar options are somewhat limited. However Valle Nevado has the advantage of being small, so every bar or restaurant is within stumbling distance of your bed!

Valle Nevado Restaurants

Breakfast and dinner are included in the Valle Nevado hotel packages. Guests of the Hotel Valle Nevado and Hotel Puerta del Sol can choose from any of the restaurants, whilst guests staying at Hotel Tres Puntas are restricted to just the Sur Restaurant.

Hotel Tres Puntas guests can buy meals at the other Valle Nevado restaurants, as can day trippers or those staying in the apartments, but some of the meals at the restaurants are very expensive. There is usually at least a few staff at the restaurants that speak a little English, and the service is generally reasonable and much improved from a few years ago where you ran the risk of being chastised by the staff.

Top of the pops is La Fourchette in the Hotel Valle Nevado, which has a tri-lingual menu of French Mediterranean cuisine. Beautiful presentation, fine cuisine and a big wine list – everything was delightful although we found the service a little slow. This restaurant is also open for lunch and they have a great deck for sunny days. If it isn’t included as part of your package this is not the place to come if you're watching your pennies, but if you're not concerned with a budget, enjoy!

The restaurant in the Puerto del Sol Hotel is Mirador del Ploma. Dinner consists of a huge buffet. Entree is antipastos, soups, and breads that are so decorative that it seems a shame to eat them. Mains include a range of meats and pastas that are made to order. For dessert there is a small range of sickly sweet treats on offer in plastic cups. The quality of the food is very good, and dinner can be accompanied with wine from an extensive list. The Italian decor is friendly and relaxed.

The restaurant behind the pool on the plaza is Don Giovanni, another restaurant with an Italian influence. The fare includes pizza, good quality pastas, and various mains. The décor is cheery and a nice mix between casual and upscale. We received great service here, possibly because it was gringo hour and rather quiet.

Restaurant Sur at Hotel Tres Puntas is very casual and offers a mainly Chilean menu, so you'd better love meat!

Valle Nevado Bars & Nightlife

There are lots of Brazilians at Valle Nevado who have a reputation for partying hard. The vibrancy of the nightlife really depends upon how many Brazilians are visiting at the time!

Après ski drinking sometimes starts beside the pool on weekends where lots of hot bodies gather to swim in the pool, have a drink, and rock along to the pumping music.

The Bar Lounge is a good spot for après drinks and snacks. The huge fireplace is the centre-piece of the bar, and there are lots of couches and comfie chairs. The atmosphere is enhanced with great views, a DJ, a screen showing extreme snow riders, and plenty of Brazilians.

A very sedate bar is the Bar Hotel Puerta del Sol. It's open from 9am for coffees until midnight. They have après here, but it's more of a place to bring the kids for a hot chocolate or catch up on your emails whilst sipping on a cocktail.

Over in the Hotel Valle Nevado, the Bar Valle Nevado is another spot for a sedate wine.

The most vibrant nightlife at Valle Nevado happens at Pub Tres Puntas with live music, karaoke, and lots of dancing. The nightlife sometimes goes off here and at other times it’s dead - it’s hard to predict which it will be. If it is going off, beware - all those flashing lights and pisco sours can put you in a time warp. There’s a high risk of not making first lifts the next day!