Silversea celebrates the opening of the 150-room hotel in Puerto Williams, Chile, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony featuring performances by local children and artists

MIAMI – November 6, 2026 – Silversea, the leading experiential luxury and expedition travel brand, has officially opened The Cormorant at 55 South, a new 150-room hotel in Puerto Williams, Chile, the southernmost city on Earth. Marking a historic moment for the brand and a first-of-its-kind venture for Silversea and Royal Caribbean Group, the hotel opened with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on November 5, featuring Silversea executive leadership, Chilean national and regional authorities, and members of the local community. Developed in partnership with a consortium of Chilean investors, the hotel reflects the region it calls home while acting as the new gateway to Silversea’s Antarctica Fly Cruise program. Every guest on the Antarctica Fly Cruise expedition will now arrive in Puerto Williams on a Silversea-branded charter flight and stay at The Cormorant, before continuing their journey to the Last Continent.

“Today marks a defining moment for Silversea,” said Bert Hernandez, president, Silversea. “We opened The Cormorant at 55 South to make the journey to Antarctica easier and more comfortable for our guests. Now the expedition begins here, in a hotel designed around Puerto Williams, with the same service our guests expect while on board our ships. Silversea has always been about going further, and this is another example of how we are continuing to invest in the guest experience.”

A FIRST FOR SILVERSEA AT THE SOUTHERN EDGE OF THE WORLD

The Cormorant carries on the leadership Silversea established in 2008, when it pioneered luxury expedition cruising, from the ship to the shore. Staffed by a team trained through The Silversea Way, Silversea’s service culture, the hotel brings the brand’s personalized service to the first welcome in Puerto Williams, and it was built to the standard guests expect on board. Built using modular construction, each of the 150 rooms were built in Mendoza, Argentina, and transported across the Andes and Patagonia to its place at 55 degrees south.

Its architecture and interiors draw on the landscape, local traditions, and regional materials, and that sense of place extends through the experience. Three large-scale works by Chilean artists bring the landscape, geology, and ecology of the far south into the hotel, while food and beverage begin with the destination itself and are built around local ingredients.

THE START OF THE ANTARCTICA FLY CRUISE JOURNEY

Guests on an Antarctica Fly Cruise expedition fly non-stop from Silversea’s private terminal in Santiago to Puerto Williams on Silversea-branded charter flights and stay at The Cormorant before and after their voyage. Inside, the design moves guests from water and darkness toward warmth, wood, and fire.

Each space is designed to bring the region to life, making the destination the very heart of the experience.

  • Latitude 55: Rooted in Chilean flavors, regional ingredients, and local culinary traditions – like the asado – The Cormorant’s restaurant, Latitude 55, brings Chilean Patagonia, Tierra del Fuego, and Puerto Williams to the table. Menus start with what grows, grazes, and swims in the region, and dinner is served family-style, with large platters at the center of the table.

  • Bar Sur: The hotel’s social center serves teas and small bites by day and Chilean wines and spirits in the evening, with a wine list that tours Chile from north to south. Calafate, a deep indigo native berry, anchors the cocktails alongside Chilean Pisco, a national spirit, in flavors that are tart, herbal, and warm, with a hint of smoke that echoes the asado fire. Other experiences include a guided Pisco journey led by the Bar Sur team and wine tastings led by the hotel’s sommelier.

  • Fireplace: Inspired by the regional tradition of fire as a place for hospitality and storytelling, the Fireplace offers plush seating and expansive windows overlooking the Patagonian landscape.

  • Art and Design: Three large-scale works by Chilean artists anchor the interiors: Navarino, a steel sculpture by Paola Vezzani suspended in the main lobby; Dientes de Navarino, a bar mural by Cata Flaño; and La Memoria de las Piedras, an installation of seventy handcrafted ceramic stones by Javier Canales.

  • Outdoor Experiences: Guests can kayak the sheltered waters of the Beagle Channel, hike the shoreline trails of Seno Lauta, and explore the landscape on horseback, with plenty of chances to spot cormorants, dolphin gulls, and upland geese along the way.

OPENING DAY: A CEREMONY SHAPED BY PUERTO WILLIAMS

The grand opening of The Cormorant drew on the music, history, and community of Chile’s far south. Los Chamames de la Patagonia, a folk ensemble founded in Punta Arenas in 2015, performed a Patagonian chamamé with children from the local Grupo Folklorico. The musical tradition has Guaraní roots in northeastern Argentina and traveled south with seasonal workers, shepherds, and families. Local schoolchildren sang the Chilean national anthem, accompanied by young musicians.

The ribbon, featuring natural junco fibers handwoven by local artisans, featured a chain of interconnected circles that symbolize the connections between people, cultures, and territories, and a meeting point between Patagonia, its communities, and travelers from around the world. Specially designed links allowed the hotel’s leaders and Chilean authorities to cut it together while the woven circles remained intact.

STARTING WITH 29 ANTARCTICA FLY CRUISE VOYAGES

The Cormorant represents a long-term investment in how Silversea delivers the Antarctica experience. Through March 2027, Silver Endeavour, Silver Wind, and Silver Cloud will operate 40 voyages, including 29 Antarctica Fly Cruise voyages, each featuring a stay at The Cormorant at 55 South. The season’s itineraries range from six to 21 nights and extend beyond the Antarctic Peninsula to South Georgia and the Falkland Islands.