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Santiago's accommodations range from luxurious hoteles to comfortable residenciales, which can be homey bed-and-breakfasts or simple hotel-style accommodations. All the construction in the past decade means competition between hotels is steep, but they still fill in the high summer season and when large trade fair or business conventions occur (March is a peak month). Outside these dates, you can often find a room for up to 20% less than the advertised rack rates, particularly if you stay for more than a couple of days. Call several hotels and ask for the best possible rate. It's a good idea to reserve in advance during the peak seasons (January, February, July, and August).
Some hotels, particularly more expensive ones, quote prices in U.S. dollars rather than pesos. Visitors from abroad are exempt from the 19% sales tax, provided they pay in foreign currency or with an overseas credit card.
This classic 20th-century French house is a charming boutique hotel with comfortable rooms that all but guarantee a good night of sleep—after all, the name in French means "the dream." It's big enough not to feel closed in, and there are garden and street views from the spacious and stylish three floors. Take breakfast from the terrace in the sun or under the shade of fruit trees; there's also an honesty bar with self-serve liquor. It's all very proper and French.
One of the city's favorite luxury boutique hotels, this hotel was formed in 2009 when two 1920s mansions next to Cerro San Cristóbal were joined together, giving it ample outdoor space, including a pool and an indoor-outdoor patio bar. The exterior is impressive, built in a revival of the Spanish Colonial Mission style, with arches and columns throughout, while contemporary touches inside include designer Valdes chairs on private terraces in the lobby. Most rooms enjoy an airy open plan concept and are bespoke designed, sporting vibrant hues and textiles.
This well-placed and well-run design hotel with a personal touch has expansive views over Parque Forestal and a rooftop pool from which to enjoy it. Chairs designed by Cristian Valdes are parked at the desks in the minimalist but comfortable rooms with high-end furnishings, and throughout the property, walls are adorned in native materials such as wood and textiles. There's a 3-D map of the city's comunas (districts), which you might mistake for abstract art. It's worth the extra expenditure to get a park view. The one suite on hand makes you want to move in forever, if you could afford the rates long-term.
This sweet and economical treasure in such a convenient location in the middle of Providencia is a real find. It has shiny wood floors, country-manor furnishings that gleam with careful polishing, and a glass-domed breakfast room (buffet breakfast is included in your stay); warm shades of terra-cotta are predominant. Rooms come in all shapes and sizes, with various bed sizes available; ask to see a few before deciding. There are apartments as well. Cafetto, the downstairs café, owned by the hotel but open to the public, serves some of the finest coffee in town.
Across from Iglesia San Francisco, this sophisticated business hotel has everything traveling executives need: spacious rooms with large beds and double-paned windows to keep out the downtown noise, a sparkling indoor pool, a fitness club, and even an art gallery. With its wood paneling and brass details, the hotel has a more regal, traditional flavor than some of the other downtown hotels.
This historic house nestled between Bellavista and Recoleta neighborhoods has a great location and yet isn't close enough to hear any of the noise. The bright, airy hotel has 24 rooms, several public lounges, and a great rooftop deck with comfy furniture and a grill. The hotel has simple design elements, with mostly wood detailing. Four suites are available. Ask for a room with a balcony looking over the patio with orange trees.
This luxury lodging in Lastarria is a smart spot that's well furnished, with a modern, mainly European style. The rooftop bar and deck (with a pool) are the envy of all who spy it from Cerro San Cristóbal, and the suite is particularly large, at more than 800 square feet. You can enjoy homemade breakfast on the outdoor patio or in a comfortable dining room, where lunch and dinner are also served. Treat yourself with a spa session.
Following a substantial redesign accompanied by a name change, this Chilean hotel chain is appealing to a trendier and younger clientele, offering perks like an iPad to control blinds. Suites are spacious, very comfortable, and well illuminated, while service is friendly and efficient. It also has a great location near the center of the El Golf entertainment district.
In an airy house on a quiet street, this eco-friendly B&B evokes a country house in southern Chile. Rooms are simple, bright, and tidy, and breakfast is a huge hit, with jams made of local fruits, fresh-baked cakes, organic juice, and free-range eggs. Shared spaces include a living room and lovely outdoor garden with fruit trees and grape arbor, ideal for breakfast on warmer days. It does what it can to minimize its impact: all cleaning products are organic and biodegradable, rainwater is collected for plants, and on-grid electricity and heat are supplemented by solar.
Good midrange hotels are few and far between in Santiago, and this small, family-owned, funky old house set on a quiet side street is one of them. For about the cost of a dinner for two, you get a room that's clean and comfortable. No two rooms are alike, so see a few before you decide; rooms overlooking the palm-shaded courtyard in back are especially lovely. Dozens of restaurants and bars are just steps away. The hotel also has some apartments just across the street that are available for a minimum three-day stay.
This boutique hotel in a red castle just off the beaten path in Bellavista is a step back in time, in all the right ways. Constructed in 1907, it has ornate fixtures, art, and original pieces from the building's 1920s heyday throughout the rooms and breakfast lounge. Adjoining family rooms are available as well as some with views of Cerro San Cristóbal.
The heart of Providencia's shopping district is just steps away from this hotel, which is a favorite with savvy business visitors to the city. Rooms are a generous size (plus there are 16 suites), and, like the rest of the hotel, they have most of the comforts and facilities of a more expensive establishment. The cool rooftop terrace, with a small pool, is a real pleasure in summer; relax with a pisco sour and take in the city views.
From the gorgeous baroque facade with balconies to the original ceiling medallion from which the chandelier in the giant salon and living room hangs, it's clear that Happy House Hostel is something special. Spacious and clean, the remodeled mansion with wooden floors has loads of comfortable common space and a pool in the back with a waterfall. Three dorm-style rooms have six and eight beds each, but the remaining 23 rooms, named for different parts of Chile, are private, with or without bathrooms. A dorm bed costs 12,600 pesos and a private room just 75,000. The real prize is the private double with private bathroom for just 40,500.
Staying in this seven-story hotel across the street from Cerro Santa Lucía is like visiting an elegant old home that has seen better days. Even though the decor is dated and tired, staying here is still a good deal, and if you want a view, the best rooms are those on the upper floors overlooking Santa Lucía Hill, while rooms at the back are quieter. The rooftop restaurant and bar is also a great place to enjoy the view. Most rooms are small, but matrimonial rooms (suites)—those with a sitting area and a double bed instead of two twins—are just a few thousand pesos extra.
On the edge of the quaint Barrio París-Londres, this hotel has rooms that, although small, are airy and attractive. Amenities include a small indoor pool and a spacious café with checkered floors, wrought iron, and a glass roof. This hotel also has business on its mind, so there are plenty of meeting rooms with the latest equipment. Make sure to take a stroll on the iron bridge across Calle Londres that links the hotel's two halves.
Located on the main road out to the mountains, Hotel Kennedy with its glass tower is popular with skiers who prefer to make the 45-minute journey each day rather than pay higher hotel prices up by the slopes. Ask for the quieter rooms, which are comfy and spacious if a little tired around the edges, design-wise, on the side away from Avenida Kennedy. There also are 10 suites.
This colonial-style building, adorned with a bullet-shaped turret, sits in the heart of the charming Barrio París-Londres. Rooms here are spacious, filled with comfortable modern furnishings, and have plenty of windows—ask for one of the two double rooms with a sitting room inside the turret, for a view of gently curving Calle Londres. The hotel also rents apartments, for a maximum of three people and minimum of three nights, in a newer nearby building.
Stay in one of Santiago's most interesting design neighborhoods at this cozy B&B in Barrio Italia, a vibrant subsection of Providencia known for its design shops and antique stores. Run by Viviana and her husband, Felipe, this inn is set in an old brick house with polished wood floors and airy rooms with comfortable beds and tasteful furnishings. One two-room suite sleeps three. There are loads of shopping and restaurant options nearby, and it is five blocks from the closest metro.
The soaring spire of the Mandarin Oriental resembles a rocket, and you might feel like an astronaut when you're shooting up a glass elevator through a 24-story atrium. Modern, luminous decor and large windows give a spacious feel to actually quite small rooms, which wrap around the cylindrical lobby and provide panoramic views of the Andes. Dine in at one of the three restaurants featuring Thai, Japanese, and Tuscan cuisine.
It's hard to beat the location of this business traveler--minded hotel, which is close to Cerro Santa Lucía. Rooms, which vary in quality (the top floors have renovated rooms), are sleek and somewhat minimalist looking, and a 2014 face-lift refurbished the hotel's terrace, pool area, and other common areas. There are conference rooms and Wi-Fi throughout. Great discounts are sometimes available for rooms booked more than 30 days in advance.
This "express" version of the larger MR Hotel (on Avenida Pedro de Valdivia) lacks the frills, but rooms are tastefully modern and bright with plenty of space. The hotel has a pool plus a restaurant with well-priced pizzas, sandwiches, and Chilean favorites.
Santiago's World Trade Center is also home to the NH, a combination that makes sense to many corporate travelers. Upholstered leather chairs and wood paneling in meeting rooms make it clear the hotel is serious in its attitude toward luxury, while updated rooms have a great view of the city and the Andes beyond; even standard rooms have nice touches like wooden writing desks and small sitting areas with plush sofas. Reserve online in advance (prepaid) for considerable discounts. There are 20 suites.
The rather bland brick exterior of this 15-story hotel, the first Ritz-Carlton in South America, belies the luxurious appointments within, such as the mahogany-paneled walls, cream marble floors, and enormous windows characterizing the splendid two-story lobby. Elegant furnishings upholstered in brocade and silk floral fabrics dominate the spacious guest rooms. Under a magnificent glass dome on the top floor you can swim or work out while pondering the panorama, smog permitting, of the Andes and the Santiago skyline. There is high tea in the bar, with reservations, and four restaurants to dine in. There are 16 suites.
Attendants wearing top hats usher you into the two-story marble lobby of one of the city's top hotels. Beyond the reception desk is a string of comfortable lounge areas, including a bar next to an indoor waterfall. In the rear is the excellent Pasta e Basta restaurant. Catering mainly to business travelers who appreciate free Wi-Fi, the hotel has a separate executive tower, with express check-in and a sleek private dining area with open bar and an elegant meeting room on the 11th floor. There are 15 suites.
The first 25 floors of this gleaming copper tower house the Marriott, which welcomes guests into its impressive two-story, cream marble lobby with full-grown palm trees in and around comfortable seating areas. Visitors who opt for an executive room can breakfast in a private lounge while marveling at the snow-capped Andes. Standard rooms and suites are spacious, although each category could benefit from a makeover. There's no need to venture out for entertainment either, as there are wine tastings in the Latin Grill restaurant and theme evenings, with live music, in Café Med.
Although this hotel bills itself as English in style, it's removed the formerly oppressive dark furnishings, making the lobby and restaurant larger and airier. Rooms are spacious though dated. The restaurant serves French and Chilean cuisine and has an abundant buffet. The glass-covered pool on the top floor is tiny but has a great view.
Popular with business executives who value its efficiency, elegance, and impeccable service, the modern rooms at the Sheraton have elegant linens and are decorated with rich fabrics; ask for one overlooking the San Cristóbal Hill. Amenities include a top-of-the-range 24-hour fitness center and swimming pool.
Located in the heart of the fashionable El Golf business and restaurant district, South America's first W Hotel set a new standard of luxury and service in Santiago when it opened, and its smart, contemporary decoration still makes the city's other five-star hotels look staid. The rooms may be too minimalist for some people's taste, but they are certainly comfortable and stylish, with many refurbished quarters offering a vista of the cityscape backed by the Andes. You have several dining options; choose the Nikkei fusion restaurant called Karai, helmed by one of Latin America's best chefs, Mitsuharu Tsumura.
