Estancia El Deseado, Patagonia

Since opening in 1998, page after page of the guest book compliments the hospitality and food. Time and again the wish is to return, having come to feel a part of the family. One visitor from Seattle writes, “It was the tone of the home that for me was so healthy and happy.” Another confesses that they don’t want to tell anyone about this precious little secret, in order to keep it for themselves no doubt.

All meals are included in the price of accommodation.

Looking at the meal schedule there are so few hours that are not “official” mealtimes between when the generator cranks up at 7 in the morning to nightfall. That takes into account tea time too. The fare is Argentine fresh, meat heavy, with lots of love thrown in from the local availabilities. Oh they make good coffee here - hardly miss Starbucks. The traditional asado takes place when enough people are in attendance and that means a shift from the dining room to an out-building. There, the roasting meat, usually lamb or beef, becomes the centerpiece and a show in itself, as it slow cooks in the smokey wood-fired parilla.