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Is this luxury hideaway in Chile set to star in BBC Two's Amazing Hotels?

Hacienda Hotel Vira Vira seems to be the likely contender for the seventh - and final - hotel featuring in the second season of Amazing Hotels.
Hacienda Hotel Vira Vira seems to be the likely contender for the seventh - and final - hotel featuring in the second season of Amazing Hotels.

The team behind BBC Two's Amazing Hotels: Life Beyond the Lobby have just returned from filming the final episode in the second series - but where have they been?

The answer, it would seem, is Chile, a country that stretches more than 2,500 miles from north to south, and which has long been a favourite among intrepid travellers attracted to its extraordinarily diverse mix of landscapes, from the rugged plains of Patagonia to the arid flats of the Atacama Desert.

However, the programme’s producers, along with presenters Monica Galetti and Giles Coren, appear to have set their sights on a hotel in the country's verdant Lake District, to round off filming of the second series.

Posts to Galetti's social media accounts showing pisco sours, a vegetable garden, a helicopter and lush mountain scenery suggest the ‘amazing’ property is Hacienda Hotel Vira Vira, a Relais & Chateaux property just outside the small city of Pucón and a short distance from Villarrica, one of Chile’s most active volcanoes.

Pisco sour time ����#AmazingHotels

A post shared by Monica Galetti (@galettigram) on Jan 15, 2018 at 3:43pm PST

One of the hacienda's chief selling points is its farm-to-table ethic, exemplified by an extensive vegetable garden that bears a striking similarity to the one photographed by Galetti and posted to her Instagram page (particularly the fence in the background, which is virtually, if not actually, identical).

The 18-room luxury hideaway is also renowned for the extraordinary range of adventurous activities it offers, including flights over Villarrica Volcano in a helicopter with the same markings as those in another of Galetti's Instagram posts.

And in case there's any further doubt (which admittedly there is), the decking furniture in the above post looks awfully similar to that in the image below.

With its South American setting, contemporary style and adventurous ethos, there are clear parallels with Mashpi Lodge in Ecuador's, which featured in the first season.

Vira Vira is set within 57 acres of parkland and has been styled along the lines of a luxurious country retreat, albeit with a distinctive interior design influenced largely by the culture of the indigenous Mapuche people.

Regional artworks and artefacts adorn the hotel’s public areas and guest rooms, the latter of which are divided between the main hacienda and several Villa Suites on the bank of the passing Liucura River.

The more exclusive suites, where all-inclusive three-night stays start from £1,750 per person, also come equipped with an outdoor hot tub and wood-burning fireplace apiece.

hacienda hotel vira vira, chile
One of the hotel's riverside Villa Suites: does that decking furniture look familiar?

But it's the wide range of activities that really puts Vira Vira on the map. These include excursions by helicopter, as well as foot, bike, horseback, river raft and - in winter - snowshoe; trips to explore Villarrica, including the volcano's labyrinthine cave network; numerous self-improvement classes are also on offer, covering everything from Mapuche craftsmanship to cheesemaking.

Food is also a major draw. Virtually all meals served in the hotel’s restaurant have been sourced from both the hacienda’s vegetable garden and its own livestock herds - something that will surely appeal to the presenters' respective culinary backgrounds.

BBC Two have yet to confirm the episode listings for Amazing Hotels' second seasons, but it would seeem Vira Vira will join a lineup comprising The Brando in Tahiti, Schauenstein Schloss in the Swiss Alps, Anantara Al Jabal Al Akhdar in Oman’s Hajar Mountains, Ashford Castle in Ireland, and a dual feature of The Silo in Cape Town and La Residence in Franschhoek.

• Read the full expert review: Hacienda Hotel Vira Vira, Chile