Design Suites Bariloche

As the Design Suites group spreads across all corners of Argentina, the branch in Bariloche is perhaps the most impressive of the bunch — perched on a hill overlooking Nahuel Huapi lake, in the ski country of Patagonia, four striking, eco-inspired structures house a contemporary art gallery, wine bar, restaurant, health center, spa, and 54 guest rooms and suites.

As the name suggests — and as the unusually shaped main building, which looks like a futuristic lake lodge, confirms — the hotel is design-focused. Natural materials from wood to leather, plus sleek contemporary furnishings, make the public spaces as cool as they are cozy. Think minimalist leather chaise longues facing the floor-to-ceiling picture windows, or a tongue-in-cheek shag rug before a traditional stone fireplace — this isn’t your uncle’s rustic mountain cabin.

Guest quarters range from simple standard rooms with blond wood floors, earthy hues, and windows facing out to the forest, to lavish luxury suites with jacuzzis, balconies, and stylish furnishings in shades of chocolate, tan, burgundy, and black. The upper-end accommodations, of course, offer magnificent views over the crystalline lakes for which the region is famous. The location is just outside Bariloche proper, an easy jaunt from the raucous ski-town nightlife of this oddly Alpine-style town.