Winebox Valparaíso - How a Kiwi Winemaker Built Chile's Coolest Container Hotel

On Cerro Mariposa in Chile's bohemian port city, WineBox Valparaíso is a hotel that stopped caring what traditional hospitality thinks. Built from 25 repurposed shipping containers stacked like an architectural experiment gone wonderfully right, this place opened in February 2018 as something between a boutique hotel and a statement about what's possible when you combine urban winemaking, street art, and radical recycling.

The story starts in 2013 when New Zealand winemaker Grant Phelps visited Christchurch after its devastating earthquake and saw how the city had rebuilt its center using shipping containers. He returned to Valparaíso, where he'd lived for 13 years, with an idea. Partnering with Chilean architect Camila Ulloa, Phelps set out to create South America's first shipping container hotel on a 500-square-meter plot that wasn't even for sale until they convinced the owners otherwise. The result is 21 rooms wrapped in bold greens, purples, and teals, each guaranteeing an ocean view, and a working urban winery in the parking garage below.

Twenty-Five Containers Stacked Against Convention

The building's design embraces the sloping hillside rather than fighting it. Containers are stacked across multiple levels, creating private balconies where the metal doors swing open at 90-degree angles. It's one of the few structures anywhere that uses more than 20 shipping containers cohesively in a single building, and the configuration makes it work.

Sustainability isn't just branding here. The hotel was insulated with projected cellulose made from recycled newspaper, keeping the noise down inside what could otherwise feel like living in a metal box. Around 70 percent of the materials used throughout the property were recycled or repurposed. Wine bottles became lamps, shipping container doors transformed into tables, pallet wood appeared everywhere from bed frames to bathroom mats, and truck wheels were converted into barbecue grills. Even the outdoor furniture on the terraces follows this philosophy, with bathtubs sawed into chairs and wine barrels fashioned into seating.

The commitment extends to operations. You'll find reusable bottles of natural rosemary grapefruit shampoo and lemon-honey soap in the bathrooms, along with signs encouraging "navy showers" to conserve water. There are no plastic key cards; the hotel uses fingerprint scanner entry instead.

Cerro Mariposa: The Hill Tourists Haven't Overrun Yet

Most visitors to Valparaíso stick to the colorful hills of Cerro Alegre and Cerro Concepción, which are saturated with street art and tourists. WineBox sits on the adjacent Cerro Mariposa, a previously residential hill that the hotel has helped open to tourism.

It's a 10-minute walk to La Sebastiana, poet Pablo Neruda's whimsical former home that rises like a ship's prow from neighboring Cerro Bellavista. The open-air museum on Cerro Bellavista and the Mirador Camogli viewpoint are both nearby, and you're five minutes from the city's flat plan area where the port operates.

The location is quieter than the main tourist zones but still connected. Avenida Alemania provides a walking route from Cerro Mariposa to Cerro Concepción's restaurants and galleries. Restaurants remain somewhat scarce in the immediate vicinity, though the hotel's rooftop space compensates with its own food service during sunset hours.

Commissioned Murals Everywhere

Valparaíso ranks as South America's second-largest graffiti art city after São Paulo, and WineBox treats this seriously. Every room and common space features original graffiti art commissioned from local and international artists. The hotel worked with Un Kolor Distinto, Fielday, Lina Arias, Anis, Marimarte, and Daniel Marcelli to create murals throughout the property. Paintings by Giovanna and Rafael Ruz and photographs by Mat Willson add to the visual landscape.

Local artist Anis painted the mural in at least one of the superior rooms, and you'll encounter her work scattered across the city if you take a street art walking tour. The hotel's owners understand that income in the arts is precarious, so commissioning these works serves a dual purpose: it reinforces the property's connection to Valparaíso's creative identity while providing paid work to artists who define the city's aesthetic.

The murals aren't decorative afterthoughts. They're integrated into the design concept, acknowledging that street art shapes how people experience and understand Valparaíso. The graffiti-covered exterior announces what the hotel represents before you even check in.

Standard Room: Ground Level Access to Shared Terrace

These ground-floor units use a complete 40-foot high-cube container converted into a 312-square-foot studio apartment. You'll have a standard double bed, a sofa bed that converts into additional sleeping space, and a small table with two metal chairs. The kitchen comes fully equipped with a full-size oven, two-element stovetop, sink, mini-fridge stocked with Chilean wine and beer, electric kettle, and Italian stovetop coffee maker. Condiments include olive oil, salt, pepper, and merkén, Chile's beloved smoked chili pepper.

The ground-floor placement means easy access to reception and the lower terrace, which you'll share with the four other standard rooms on this level. The terrace offers panoramic views across Valparaíso Bay and the surrounding hills, and it's open from 8am until 10:30pm. The binoculars provided in each room make sense once you're out there scanning the hillsides and port activity.

Twin Suite: Extra Space and Your Own Barbecue

At 387 square feet, the twin suite gives you more space through a modified 40-foot container design. The private balcony extends 86 square feet and includes a small barbecue. You can configure the sleeping arrangement as either one king bed or two singles, and there's a sofa bed for additional capacity.

The kitchen matches what you'll find in other categories: full oven, two-element stovetop, stocked mini-fridge, espresso machine, and the same condiment selection.

The terrace faces the ocean and hills, and the barbecue setup lets you cook your own meals while taking in the views. A table seats two for dining or working.

Panoramic Room: Expanded Windows Facing Ocean and Hills

Also built from a single 40-foot container at 312 square feet, panoramic rooms sit on the second floor or higher with private balconies. The defining feature is additional window space that captures views of both the ocean and the hills. You'll have a queen bed, the standard kitchen setup with espresso machine, and a sofa bed that converts for extra sleeping space.

The elevated position and expanded windows make these rooms feel more open than their square footage suggests.

The glass door leading to the balcony brings natural light deep into the container's interior, and the concrete floors and recycled pallet furniture maintain the industrial-meets-sustainable aesthetic throughout.

King Suite Petite Syrah: West-Facing Double Container with Afternoon Light

Two 40-foot containers joined together create these 646-square-foot suites with 322 square feet of private terrace space. The west-facing orientation delivers more afternoon and evening light, with wide views encompassing both hills and ocean. The outdoor space includes a large barbecue area plus separate living and dining zones.

Inside, you'll find a king bed, spacious bathroom, and significantly more kitchen capacity than smaller room categories: a full oven with four-element stovetop, large sink, full-size fridge stocked with drinks, espresso machine, and expanded counter space. The living and dining area offers views while you eat or work. One sofa bed provides additional sleeping capacity if needed.

The terrace setup suits longer stays or groups who want outdoor cooking and dining as part of their experience. The barbecue is substantial enough for proper meal preparation, not just token grilling.

King Suite Malbec: East-Facing Morning Sun with Larger Barbecue Area

These suites match the Petite Syrah configuration at 646 square feet plus 322 square feet of terrace, but face east to capture morning sun. The outdoor barbecue area is notably larger, and the living and dining spaces are designed for entertaining. Two sofa beds can convert into additional sleeping areas.

The kitchen rivals what you'd find in a small apartment: four-element stovetop, full oven, large sink, full-size fridge with the standard wine and beer selection, espresso machine, and complete condiment and utensil setup. The interior living and dining area frames ocean and city views through the container's glass end.

Both king suites work for families or groups who need more space and cooking capacity than the studio layouts provide. The private terrace square footage matters when you're spending multiple days in one place.

Rooftop Terrace: Where Wine Tastings Meet Valparaíso Sunsets

But the rooftop's real purpose emerges in the evening. Owner Grant Phelps leads daily wine tastings, pouring Chilean wines from independent vintners while sharing stories about the country's wine regions and winemaking culture. If you visit during harvest season (April through mid-June), you can participate in the actual winemaking process, stomping grapes in the parking garage below and sampling wines made by previous participants.

The 1,700-square-foot rooftop terrace is where the hotel's various elements converge. Breakfast arrives here as a substantial buffet featuring eggs, toast, grilled tomatoes, yogurt, fruit, cheese, olives, poached eggs, guacamole, and red wine bread for avocado toast. You'll eat surrounded by furniture built from bathtubs, wine barrels, and pallet wood, with Edison bulbs strung overhead and painted metal chairs arranged around recycled wood tables.

The tastings focus on smaller producers rather than the commercial operations most visitors encounter. Phelps highlights unusual varietals and unexpected blends from regions like the Itata Valley, explaining the stories behind wines that challenge conventional winemaking wisdom. The sessions create natural opportunities to meet other travelers while the sun drops into Valparaíso Bay and lights up the surrounding hills.

The views from up here explain why the hotel can make its "ocean view from every room" guarantee. The elevation combined with the building's stacked design means unobstructed sightlines across the bay and city. Sunsets are reliably spectacular, which is why the rooftop bar stays busy during those hours with wine, tapas, and pizzas available.

The space accommodates up to 80 people and hosts corporate events and private gatherings. A small meeting room with presentation screen sits adjacent to the main terrace. But most evenings, it's just travelers comparing notes about what they've discovered in Valparaíso's winding streets while working through another bottle of something they'd never heard of before arriving.