NH Ciudad de Santiago

The location of the hotel is great, really near Salvador metro, but also close to downtown - areas to the west such as Barrio Lastarria, Bella Artes, it’s easy to walk south to Barrio Italia, and also to walk north across the bridge to Bella Vista, and on to Parque Metropolitano and San Cristobal Hill. I even walked through the park by the river to the commercial district to Gran Torre. The staff were fantastic - in particular, Victor, who helped me check in (I was able to check in a great 4 hours early which was perfect), so lovely and always asking if I needed anything. Housekeeping were great, let me borrow an iron without asking for it back, and the buffet restaurant staff were very sweet too. Buffet breakfast was good (I am vegan). They had a range of local breads, salsas, jams, fruits and sautéed vegetables. They have an omelette chef too (for non - vegans). I was staying in a suite which was a great size to spread out for a weeks stay, a walk in wardrobe and a writing desk. There was a sofa bed although had no need for this.

Unfortunately the view wasn’t great looking on to the courtyard of the neighbouring tower block. The suite was quite dark and the lighting was limited. Some of the reviews say the hotel is a little run down, it is a bit rough around the edges but still it is very clean. There wasn’t a bath unfortunately which I would have liked having done a lot of walking and cycling tours to cool down, but the shower was great. No tea/coffee making facilities, no kettle or cutlery. The sauna didn’t exist, I guess they are doing renovations, the gym had been moved to a small room on level 1 but I had to search around for it as it wasn’t pointed out. There was a lot of maintenance happening in the building, the lifts were being fixed a couple of times during the week. The current political climate in Santiago means that protests are happening in the nearby Plaza Italia, every day. Particularly Friday and Saturday are scary, the protests are violent with people raiding and looting buildings nearby, tear gas being thrown and a large police presence. On Saturday afternoon the protests spilled into Bella Vista district, while I was eating in a restaurant, so the restaurant staff had to lock us in with the shutters closed while the protestors and police passed. Fires were being started in the street, it is quite scary although the locals say you get used to it and no real violence comes of it, which is hard to believe. So the hotels proximity to these protest areas may be a bit concerning for some travellers, as protestors have been known to enter hotels and destroy them. Hopefully this doesn’t happen, Santiago is an incredibly beautiful lively friendly city and the hotel is a great place to stay.

Very convenient location

Air conditioning very weak but I was told entire hotel renovated soon. Hopefully room air I Gus too.

convenience location, good staff