Hotel recs in Santiago, Chile

[emilyinchile]

The W is pretty luxe, new and very hip, but I wouldn't pay $500 for it either. I'd say it's worth $300.

The Aubrey (http://www.theaubrey.com/) gets a lot of good press. I haven't stayed there for obvious reasons, but I liked the look of it when I went to the restaurant. The location is good, in the Bellavista neighborhood which puts you close to a lot of nightlife. The location is safe and fun but not the fancier part of town, if that's important to you. Personally I would prefer this location to that of the W, but it really just depends on what kind of neighborhood you like. The W is in El Golf, which is nicknamed Sanhattan for the tall office buildings and US chain restaurants.

I have heard good things about these two as well www.lastarriahotel.com/ and www.lerevehotel.cl/. The former is in Lastarria, which is sort of the bohemian area of town, lots of cafes and small shops, about 10 min walking from The Aubrey. The latter is in Providencia, right in the heart of a lot of restaurants, stores, etc. This area is a little more polished, if that's what you're looking for. Everything is relatively close - Le Reve is a 10-15 min taxi ride (US$6 or so) from the other two hotels - and equally good for sightseeing.

The only luxury chain hotel I'd suggest is the Ritz. They have great service as you'd expect, but the decor is very dark wood, boys' club which is not so much my thing. The Grand Hyatt is nice with a great pool, but the location isn't the best as it's out by the mall and a 20 min taxi ride to anything interesting.

[frlcb]

We stayed at the Grand Hyatt and it was really nice, but it was only a night at the front and back end of a trip to Atacama and Easter Island

[emilyinchile]

I just looked, and Transvip is $18.000 (US$36) to Providencia, $16.000 to downtown. You can book either at the Transvip desk just before you come out of baggage claim or just take one of the guys holding taxi signs just after coming out. The taxi sign guys are all legit and will probably do it for $1.000 less if you speak decent Spanish and insist on it. All the cars are perfectly nice and safe, your tour company is just hoping you don't know that.

[vampsterdam]

I wanted to add that I also used Transvip (shared it with a few other random people, but that's normal for the service) and had no problems.

I stayed at a small B&B style hotel in Providencia. It was very affordable and cute, but also a no frills place. We choose something more affordable because we knew we'd be spending more money in Buenos Aires. Sadly, the name is escaping me, but if I remember I will come back.

I've heard good things about Le Rêve Hotel Boutique, Lastarria Boutique Hotel, and The Aubrey.

Have fun!

[emilyinchile]

Transvip is a company that offers both shared shuttles and private taxis. The private taxis are $18.000, a shared shuttle would be less, but for two people the price is almost the same, and the time/hassle aren't worth it.

[vampsterdam]

Nov 28, 2012 15:08:40 GMT -5 emilyinchile said:

Transvip is a company that offers both shared shuttles and private taxis. The private taxis are $18.000, a shared shuttle would be less, but for two people the price is almost the same, and the time/hassle aren't worth it.

Interesting. When we were there, we had no other option. My friend who lives told me there was only a shared option. Oh well.