Alhue Patagonia Hostel

Alhue Patagonia Hostel occupies its own building at Rudecindo Roca 720, a few blocks from the center of San Martín de los Andes. From its location, guests can walk to the town’s main points and, using a local bus line that stops one block away, reach stretches of Route 62 and the trails surrounding Lago Lácar.

The hostel offers three accommodation types: shared dormitories of up to six beds with shared bathrooms, private double rooms with twin beds and shared bathrooms, and premium private doubles with a queen bed and en-suite bathroom. All rooms have heating. Breakfast is included with every rate and is prepared with homemade bread.

The common areas are designed to bring travelers together: a large, fully equipped kitchen — with enough room for multiple guests to cook simultaneously — a proportionally sized dining room, a TV lounge, a garden, and private parking. The ratio of bathrooms to beds is generous by hostel standards, a detail guests consistently highlight.

The hostel staff serves as a genuine orientation resource for getting around the region. Alhue maintains its own activities guide documenting conditions and access for each nearby trekking trail, viewpoint, beach, and mountain bike circuit. Several trails are accessible directly from the building’s entrance: Cerro Cortadera — 5 km of low difficulty with full views of Lago Lácar from the summit — and Cerro Curruhuinca on the lake’s north shore are the closest; Laguna Rosales, roughly 7 km away, can be reached on foot or by bus. For more demanding treks like Cerro Colorado — with summit panoramas of Lago Lacar, Lago Lolog, Volcán Lanín, and Volcán Villarrica — or Cerro Falkner along the Ruta de los Siete Lagos, the hostel provides detailed difficulty ratings and seasonality guidance.

In winter, the hostel operates as a logistics base for Cerro Chapelco, one of Argentina’s top ski centers, with 28 runs at 1,980 meters above sea level amid lenga beech forest. From Alhue, guests can arrange a complete package: airport transfer, daily transfers to the mountain, ski and snowboard equipment rental, and lift pass and lesson coordination. Lago Hermoso Ski Resort, 25 minutes away with nine family-friendly runs, is also on offer.

Water anchors the other half of the experience. Lago Lácar’s shore is within easy reach of the hostel and hosts kayaking and stand-up paddleboarding. The Chimehuin and Hua Hum rivers are the main rafting points in the area. The beaches along the lake’s south shore — Catritre at 5 km, Quila Quina, and the corridor toward Yuco and Hua Hum — offer half-day to full-day outings across different seasons. The hostel provides guidance for each, including those requiring entry into Parque Nacional Lanín.

The mix of solo travelers, couples, and groups the hostel draws, alongside a warm and attentive service style, places it in the upper tier of the mid-range hostel segment — a strong base for anyone spending multiple days in San Martín de los Andes with outdoor activities as the priority.