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Santiago Chile Hotel recommendations


bobby303

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We are arriving in Valparaiso on the Star Princess on March 2nd. Have a tour lined up for that day but now find that our airline, Air Canada, has canceled our flight for that night and we will fly out the night of the 3rd at 9:15 pm. Sooooooooo now need to find accommodations for two couples for the night of the 3rd and maybe some tour info and transfer info to the airport for the 3rd.

Wondered if anyone had tried to stay at something like a Bed and Breakfast or a small reasonably priced boutique hotel in an interesting part of town. Other hotel suggestions are fine also just need to be moderately priced if possible. Both couples are in their sixties, interested in exploring, touring, but only short walks would be best.

Any suggestions on any of these would be welcomed.

 

Thanks

Bobby303

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We are arriving in Valparaiso on the Star Princess on March 2nd. Have a tour lined up for that day but now find that our airline, Air Canada, has canceled our flight for that night and we will fly out the night of the 3rd at 9:15 pm. Sooooooooo now need to find accommodations for two couples for the night of the 3rd and maybe some tour info and transfer info to the airport for the 3rd.

Wondered if anyone had tried to stay at something like a Bed and Breakfast or a small reasonably priced boutique hotel in an interesting part of town. Other hotel suggestions are fine also just need to be moderately priced if possible. Both couples are in their sixties, interested in exploring, touring, but only short walks would be best.

Any suggestions on any of these would be welcomed.

 

Thanks

Bobby303

 

If it was my trip, I would rearrange your trip slightly. Disembark in Valpo and spend the night in Vina del Mar. Lots of relatively inexpensive hotels in the area-my favorite is the Cap du Cal. Usually http://www.chile-hotels.com/ has the cheapest prices for that hotel. VERY unique hotel on the sea wall. Here's a great picture of the hotel. http://www.travelpod.com/travel-photo/johnniemorrow/globetrotting06/1166110860/seaside_restaurant.jpg/tpod.html

 

Don't expect fancy and glitzy. In fact, kind of old but VERY clean. But the most unique hotel in the area. Plenty to do for a day in Vina-take the carriage ride through town, go up into the hills in Valpo and ride the funiculars, etc., etc. Have a lovely seaside dinner that night.

 

Then the following day-take a LATE (like 10:00AM) tour through the wine country and then a tour through Santiago. Try to time it so you go up on San Cristobal hill about sunset. Then head to the airport by no later than 6:00PM. The Santiago airport can be a real zoo most days. Enjoy!!!

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  • 3 weeks later...
I'm curious, I see many posts that suggest seeing this area. As my DH and I aren't into wine tasting is there another reason for wanting to go to Vina del Mar other than for the wine?

 

Vina is not the wine area. In fact, Vina and Valpo (the cruise port) are adjacent towns-if you don't look at the signs, you have a hard time knowing when you left Vina and entered Valpo. Vina hotels are $15-20 cab fare from the cruise port. Vina is the beach, with all the beach offers. I much prefer it to Santiago for the unusual hotels (Cap Ducal, Oceanic), the seaside restaurants, the old castle, the sea lions, the horse drawn carriages, the flower clock, the funiculars up the hills, the fantastic scenery from up the hills. Not much into casinos but there is also a nice casino there. Lots to do for a couple of days.

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Hi there,

 

It is worth spending a night or two in Santiago.

 

We used www.portcompass.com to get from the port in Valparaiso to Santiago with a tour of Valpa, Vina del Mar, the wine areas and a brief tour of Santiago including an excursion up San Cristobal hill. Vina del Mar is a pretty unimpressive beach resort town. Valparaiso is really, really interesting. It is approximately 100 kilometres from the port to Santiago. The wine area is between in Valparaiso and Santiago in the Casablanca Valley - very picturesque. They also took us to a really interesting Chilean country restaurant for lunch.

 

As for hotels in Santiago, I'd strongly recommend the Santiago Park Plaza in Providencia. Providencia is a nice area of the city. Although it is very central, it is in a quieter side street, a real boon in noisy Santiago. www.parkplaza.cl. It is also just a few minutes walk from a subway station. The subway is very efficient and safe to travel on.

 

 

I stayed there two years ago and am staying there again in March 2010 for $USD109 for two including a lovely buffet breakfast. They will also pick you up at SCL airport for an additional $USD37.

 

I have also stayed at the Hotel Orly which is highly recommended on travel sites like http://www.tripadvisor.com. It is about $10 - $15 cheaper than the Park Plaza. Its a nicer looking building from the outside but that's where it stops. Rooms are small & cramped and there is just one tiny lift in the building. If on a top floor in summer, it is HOT. There is a split system airconditioner in each room but they have taken the remote controls so you have limited ability to regulate the temperature/fan speed. The breakfast area is minute - get six people in it and you cant turn around. It is also well located in Providencia but on a street that is so insanely busy that it is difficult to even get a cab to stop. You have to leap out of the cab very quickly before it has to take off again when the lights change! The Orly also wasnt a patch on the Park Plaza for quality, comfort, value and quality of breakfast.

 

If you feel like a really good night out (not cheap but not too expensive), I recommend the lovely seafood restaurant called Azul Profundo in Bellavista which is just a short taxi ride from Providencia. The hotel concierge would make a reservation for you. I had a fantastic dish of Chilean Sea bass on a corn paste. Recommend it!

 

Have a wonderful time

 

Julie

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We stayed in Santiago at http://www.bed-and-breakfast-santiago.cl You will not find better hospitality anywhere. They have renovated an old house that was vacant for 25 years. It has the original arched doorways, mosaic tiles and parquet floors. Very clean and neat but not fancy. Bedrooms are upstairs but they take your luggage up. They each have their own bathroom. If Walter asks to cook for you, take him up on it because he is an excellent cook and ask for his scones for breakfast! He will take you to the airport (for a fee) and also can take you on some tours if they are not busy. He took us to Valparaiso to catch the ship. Rooms vary about $67-90 this past February. He was nice enough to take us to the grocery store to buy wine for the cruise. The B&B is located on a side street so it is not noisy at night and is only 3-4 blocks from the President's House. Walter speaks perfect English since he lived in the US for 13 years. As you can see, we thoroughly enjoyed our one night there and wish we had stayed longer. Good luck!

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After disembarking the NCL Sun in Valparaiso on 12/20 (maybe 9am or so) we have only till our 4am 12/21 Santiago (SCL) departure time to do"something." A little sleep at other than the SCL airport would be nice. Should we head for a Santiago B&B? Would they accept us at 11am? We cannot change our schedule. Suggestions ? TKS, AwayatSea

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Tks Palmettogirl. I have spoken with Walter and confirmed a one night(well until he takes us to SCL for a 4am dpt)stay. Did you use his friend Nicole for pick-up in Valpo and a tour before drop off at Casa Moro. Walter is on top of things and it looks like a nice,quaint B&B. AwayatSea

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  • 2 months later...
I went on the internet and the price I got for Santiago Park Plaza was $209 not $109. Where did you get that great price?

 

Yes, it looks like their popularity has driven the price up. I tried to book it this week for March 2010 and got a similar price to yourself. When I booked @ $109 two years ago, I booked direct with the hotel

 

I've now made a booking at the Sheraton for March, but will keep monitoring the Park Plaza closer to the date to see if the price comes down. Last time, I only booked it a couple of weeks before the stay. I'd like to stay there again!

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We stayed in Dec at the Holiday Inn Express. We could see the American Embassy from our room. Excellent selection of restaurants in the residental neighborhood two blocks from hotel. Our price was $99.00 with an excellent breakfast.

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Check the Four Points Sheraton. Great location and good prices. I booked thru sheraton.com where they also show any specials for the dates you are going.

 

Thanks but I have been told the Four Points is very noisy as it is next to night clubs. As we will be there on a Friday nite, that's not a good prospect. A Trip Advisor review said they hand out ear plugs so guests can sleep. Eeeeeeeeek, I'm a country girl - I like peace and quiet to sleep!

 

Santiago is a VERY noisy city to start with so something on a quiet back street is more my scene. That is why the Park Plaza is great - in the heart of Providencia, steps from all the shops etc but on a quiet street.

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  • 2 weeks later...

We stayed at the Park Plaza two years ago, and it was great. They allowed us to check in early from an overnight flight! The Breakfast Buffet was great, included in the price, and it really made for a good start to the day! The area is great as we were able to walk to the San Cristobal area, took the Gondola to the top of San Cristobal Hill, walked about and enjoyed the view, and then took the funicular back down. Had a great day on our own. I also booked directly with the hotel, and got all my information from the Tripadvisor web site. Good luck with the pricing, I hope it didn't go up that much! :eek: The hotel made arrangements for transportation to the cruise port for us, and it was a good price!

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We just returned from Santiago and stayed at the Hotel Orly which I would recommend highly. Reasonably priced, hotel staff very helpful, beautiful rooms, free internet, breakfast included. Located in Providencia which is a very nice area and close to subway, restaurants, sites. Hotel will recommend a tour company for you. Ask for Francisco or Pablo they were extremely helpful to us. Our flight did not depart until 10 pm and they held our luggage and after touring the city during the day we were able to come back and relax until our transfer arrived at 7pm.

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We just stayed at the Orly Hotel. Very courteous staff. We had a king room which was very spacious. Highly recommended. The price with breakfast with a senior discount was $113.

 

For Transport I do NOT recommend Christian the Vanman unless you want to gamble if someone shows up for you!

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  • 2 years later...

We had a great time at CASA MORO with Walter and Marcelo. The breakfasts were always awesome and the "lunch/dinner" experience worth skipping dinner out in town. Great hosts with plenty of suggestions for entertainment, experiences and food.

There are a number of "critters" but they were all quiet, polite, as friendly as you wanted them to be or left you alone if you wanted. We had free reign to roam the public areas and were even able to keep some extra wine or beer around for late night.

Most of the time, Walter and Marcelo joined us for an afternoon or evening drink.

The walk to the subway/bus was about 4 blocks. Far enough to not hear all the noise but close enough to walk.

Decorated wonderfully, very artsy. Everything is clean neat and everyone friendly and conscientious to please.

Great value/experience for the price. It was a busy place, full almost each night. Plan ahead.

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We checked-in at the Radisson Plaza Santiago two nights ago using the Carlson Hotels (Radisson) Family & Friends Rate. There is a nice breakfast buffet, free wi-fi and our room is a small suite. There is no tax for foreign visitors, so I paid in US dollars using my US credit card and not only saved the taxes, but any currency conversion fee that the card might charge. One more thing - coupons for a free welcome drink of your choice. Not a bad deal for USD$80.

 

Details: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hotel-deals/1006932-carlson-hotels-radisson-family-friends-rate.html?

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