Explora Quenches Guest Thirst with Reusable Bottles for Purified Water at Lodges across Chile

27 June 2012
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Adventure travel operator has a simple solution for sustaining fragile fresh water supplies in remote South America: stainless steel bottles

Santiago/Chile – Thirst comes on strong in pursuit of adventure in South America, but the high-end travel operator explora has simple-yet-effective solution for sustaining fragile fresh water supplies in the remote regions it explores: reusable stainless steel water bottles.

Upon check-in at explora’s three lodges across Chile – Hotel de Larache in the Atacama Desert; Hotel Salto Chico in Torres del Paine National Park in Patagonia; and Hotel Posada de Mike Rapu on Easter Island, the first LEED-certified lodge on the continent – travelers are offered water bottles for use throughout their stay. Handy for explorations, the bottles can be refilled repeatedly with purified water free-of-charge, assuring drinking water of equal or superior standard to what comes in gulp-and-toss bottles while helping to cut down on plastic waste.

Of the many amenities lavished upon travelers by the high-end hospitality industry, bottled drinking water is an indulgence all its own. Luxury hotels typically dress up guest rooms with designer water, with some – like Bling H20, served in bottles hand-decorated with Swarovski crystals – better suited for the jewelry case than the minibar. Container waste and expense be damned: The perceived purity of what comes in a bottle versus out the tap is hard for thirsty travelers to resist.

Efficient use of precious water has long been a priority for explora, which employs a purification plant at each lodge to treat water with ultraviolet light. In Patagonia, Hotel Salto Chico draws from the Pehoé River. On volcanic Easter Island, Hotel Posada de Mike Rapu taps an underground well. Water is a bit trickier in the bone-dry Atacama: water drawn from 200-meter well by Hotel de Larache goes through a triple purification process including demineralization and ultraviolet light. After treatment, it’s ready for consumption and tastes great.

Of course, explora lodges offer commercial bottled water as well, but most travelers prefer purified refreshment from the source. We’ll drink to that!

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