Pros:

Tasty gourmet-level dinners. All meals were included with lunch typically being a sandwich and salad bar of sorts, so you could pack food for the hikes. We especially enjoyed the outdoor lamb feast and wine when we arrived.

Marcella and Pastor were our guides on the hikes. They were upbeat and fun to be with.

Gorgeous setting, away from the crowds of Calafate and Chalten. Well maintained, peaceful grounds.

Nice hiking trails – Includes the blue lagoon hike which was so diverse in weather for one hike. Great views. Guided hikes included. You have the option to ride a horse for most of the Blue Lagoon hike; the last part is too steep for horses.

Nicely sized somewhat basic room. Good water pressure. Glad we had a separate building (see cons below).

Cons:

This is probably not a con for most, but if you’re tired or not inclined to hike &/or ride a horse, there’s not that much else to do but hang out in the lodge or in your room or wander the pretty property which can be fine for a day or so. There's no spa for a massage or other upscale lodge features you might see back in the States. We enjoyed all the hikes we did.

Cost – I realize that they have to bring in everything from Calafate and be self-sustaining in terms of electricity, etc. (and that can’t be cheap) but $450 per day per person seemed excessive even given that.

Noise – There were some noisy guests hanging out in the main lobby area until 1 am on night. This didn’t impact us since were in a stand-alone building, but impacted guests I spoke to thought that one of the noisy folks was the owner of the Lodge.

No alcohol included (except for welcome lunch when we arrived) – This is not a big deal, but 1-2 drinks included would not have been asking much for $450/night. Decent Malbec at grocery stores in Calafate was less than $4 a bottle, so a “free” glass would cost ~ $1 per pour and would have made it feel like a better value. The only beer they had was Heineken, so I took a pass on that. We saw local beer at other places in Patagonia. We had brought our own wine from Calafate and had them pour it for us which worked out well.

They wanted to be paid only in US $. Pesos should have been happily accepted.

If you drive to the Lodge yourself, it was at the end of a 70-ish km bumpy gravel road. It was a bit brain rattling to be on the road for so long. You can have a ride arranged which might be a good idea.

Overall – Very nice place, but paying US $900 a night (per couple) was excessive in my opinion. Given that all meals and activities were included, and we paid in US currency, I think something like $500-600 per couple would have been more reasonable. I'm basing that on US expectations since we paid in US currency.

We stayed at Estancia Helsingfors in late February 2022. Our trip was deferred from early 2020 due to the pandemic border and facility closures. We are very, very happy to have finally done this trip. Helsingfors was one of the highlights of our trip to Patagonia.

This is a peaceful and quiet place, in a beautiful setting on Lago Viedma. The view across the lake to Fitzroy is spectacular, especially at sunrise and sunset. The hikes to Laguna Azul and west toward the head of the fjord are terrific. While we had some rain at the beginning of our stay (which is uncommon at this time of year) we were pretty lucky in that the normal windy conditions abated -- the lake was flat calm, with little icebergs from the Viedma glacier floating in front of us.

The entire staff was gracious and accommodating. The food was superb -- I think Chef Nico would be welcomed at any restaurant in the Americas or Europe. Our room was well-appointed and very comfortable. Relaxing in front of the fireplace in the library with a nice glass of Malbec after our hikes was a great way to forget the craziness of the outside world.

If you're looking for an escape from the hustle and bustle of the popular Patagonia hiking trails, you should really consider staying at Helfingfors for at least three or four nights. It was a great experience for us.

I don't know how anyone could give this place less than a five star review. The setting is out of a fairy tail. The staff is amazing. The guides are very warm and knowledgeable. The food was truly amazing. I will cherish the time I spent at Helsingfors and hope that I someday have the opportunity to return.