Santiago, Chile, Hotels and Accommodation
Introduction
There are hotels and there are hotels. Some hotels offer modest rooms in non-descript buildings and other hotels offer comfy, cosy rooms in modern, fresh, and clean buildings. Also, some hotels are large and impersonal others are smaller and “boutique” in style. Some are up-market, others are mid-level and then there are the ones that are low level.
In addition, some hotel accommodation is in run-down, “not so safe” areas and other hotels are in safer neighbourhoods close to transport, shops and restaurants.
Therefore, navigating the vast myriad of accommodation options can be a daunting task. This process is not reflected in any of the online hotel reservation sites either.
Experience and Local Knowledge
Here at Experience Chile, we have not only been based in Santiago, Chile for over thirty years, we have local, personal knowledge about what is what when it comes to hotels in the various neighbourhoods of the city. Particularly, we have invested considerable time and energy visiting numerous hotels in order to really know what they are like.
Within this section of our site, we show case only those hotels that we consider worthy to be our partners. That is not to say that “the rest” are not worthy, but it means that we have selected only a few establishments to work with based upon numerous factors. For example, location, security (if the area is considered “safe” or not, overall feeling of the hotel, room comfort, cleanliness, professionalism of staff and value for money, among other things.
The Suburbs and Neighbourhoods of Santiago
It should be noted that there are only a few areas of Santiago that the visitor will be interested to know. These are:
Eastern Downtown
There are two neighbourhoods on the eastern edge of the older, downtown area of Santiago that are of some interest to the visitor. One is called Lastarria, and the other is called Bellavista. Lastarria comprises of a few visually pleasing historic buildings. On the other hand, Bellavista is considered to be the “artistic” neighbourhood full of bars and restaurants but thronging with younger people. It can be quite noisy at night as well as a place for unscrupulous people, therefore one needs to be vigilant here.
Further East of Downtown and into Providencia
This suburb is a mix of older, large houses together with 1960’s apartment blocks and 1970’s commercial malls. However, there are also some modern and rather pleasant “bubble areas” of good restaurants. The metro line 2 also runs right through Providencia. Logistically, staying in Providencia is handy to get into downtown, and be in a relatively “safer” area as well as be well positioned to get over to Las Condes. In Providencia the main metro stops are: Baquedano, Salvador, Manuel Montt, Pedro de Valdivia, Los Leones and Tobalaba.
East of Providencia and into Las Condes
Considered to be one of the wealthy suburbs of Santiago, Las Condes is home to modern apartments blocks built in the 1980’s and 1990’s, state of the art tall office buildings, high-end boutiques, and large shopping malls. Key metro stops on the metro line two that are in Las Condes are: Tobalaba, El Golf, Alcantara, Escuela Militar and Apumanque.
Notably, within Las Condes is the high-end neighbourhood of El Golf where there are great restaurants and the largest shopping mall in South America: the Costanera Centre.
As far as staying overnight in Santiago is concerned, Las Condes is one of the best places to be.
East of Las Condes and into Vitacura
Moving further east, and therefore away from downtown, and a step east from Las Condes is the suburb of Vitacura.
This is, perhaps, the wealthiest are of Santiago, full of houses with gardens and modern office towers. Yes, there are still apartment blocks, but not as many as in the other suburbs.
We view Vitacura as being an excellent place to stay overnight because it is “safer” than the other suburbs and also quieter. However, there are currently no Metro stops that are located in Vitacura. On the other hand, access to the main Americo Vespucio and Costanera tunnel roads that lead to Santiago airport, is more direct from Vitacura than from other neighbourhoods.
