If you love wine and are visiting Chile, the WineBox in Valparaiso, a port city on the Pacific coast 120 kilometers from the capital Santiago, is the most interesting themed hotel.
Only four years old, the three-star hotel is a five-minute walk from the city center. It was constructed from 25 disused shipping containers that were stacked and painted in vibrant colors in an urban graffiti-style aesthetic. Twenty-one of the twenty-five containers are hotel rooms, each insulated with a cellulose-based material made from recycled newspapers. The interior furniture complements the aesthetic of the containers’ exteriors: tables and chairs are made from recycled wood and disused materials.
Grant Phelps, a Valparaiso winemaker originally from the Kiwi Islands, and Camila Ulloa, a Chilean architect who designed WineBox, collaborated on the unconventional structure.
Each of the 21 rooms is insulated with a cellulose-based material that includes recycled newspapers, emphasizing the hotel’s commitment to sustainability. Each perfectly formed container includes a private balcony, a kitchenette, and, of course, a minibar stocked with wine.
A few prices: the Deluxe Double Room Panoramic View suite is 36 square meters and costs around 400 lei per night, while the Sea View Suite (95 square meters) and Sea View Suite (103 square meters) cost 666 lei per night.The hotel also has its own wine cellar, which is managed by owner Phelps.
Visitors to the hotel are invited on a tour of the urban wine cellar, where they can help crush the grapes. The tour concludes with a tasting in the Cellar Room, which is located near the parking lot.
Foto: WineBox Valparaiso
