Chile’s WineBox Hotel a Hit with Tourists

An environmentally friendly container hotel owned by New Zealand-born winemaker Grant Phelps has become a popular tourist spot for visitors to the port of Valparaíso, Chile.

WineBox, a wine themed hotel, consists of 25 shipping containers which were salvaged from the nearby port.

Phelps got the idea of building a container hotel from a contemporary container shipping centre that was built in his hometown of Christchurch after the earthquake there in 2011.

Phelps was easily able to secure the needed containers from the nearby port. It took only one night to build the hotel, which he named ‘WineBox’.

From the low-cost, recycled building materials to the short construction period, the hotel is a model in eco-friendly tourism, with even the furniture made from recycled items.

At present, the hotel has two types of rooms, ranging in price between 100 to 300 US dollars per night.

“[The hotel is] something interesting, something different. This is quite unique,” said Mike, a hotel guest from Canada.

The hotel has become a popular tourist spot. Many visitors just stop by to snap photos and enjoy wine tastings.

Original article by News Americas, January 3, 2019.