Explora Rapa Nui - Review
It’s clear from the beginning that you’ll spend very little time at Explora Rapa Nui on Easter Island (Rapa Nui) off Chile’s coast in the South Pacific. Put simply: they don’t want you around. Instead, you’re encouraged to devote each day to epic adventures with the hotel’s guides: snorkelling with turtles in the ocean, hiking past ancient ruins to the tops of dormant volcanoes or coming face-to-face with the island’s famous monolithic stone human figures, known as moai, which give this tiny Chilean territory its mysterious appeal.
Yet who would want to forgo chef Marco Guzmán Catin’s three-course lunches, featuring island staples such as seared mahi-mahi or tuna ceviche – all paired with top-flight Chilean wine? Or how about downtime at the all-inclusive property’s pool and spa, which overlook a swathe of the Pacific so remote that the empty horizon seems to curve?
The building itself is full of curved walls, calling to mind the stone homes at the nearby archaeological site, Orongo, a ceremonial village brimming with rock art, while the stacked stones that form the hotel’s base evoke the ahu platforms on which the remarkable moai stand. It seems you don’t have to go anywhere to feel enraptured by the Rapa Nui spirit.
Of course, if you do as you’re meant to, you might wake up at dawn for a sprawling breakfast spread (including the neighbour’s pineapples), followed by an encyclopaedic briefing, with topographical maps, about upcoming activities.
Set out on adventures with Rapa Nuiborn guides you’d swear were off-duty archaeology professors and return in time for happy hour at the Explorer’s Bar to swap tales and share photos. Later, tropical drink in hand, it’s back to the maps to plan the next day’s quest. You’re not meant to linger here but Explora sure makes it hard to leave.
