Any recs on hotels in Santiago, Chili. I haven't seen any Hilton or affiliates listed, unless I'm missing something.

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Always Alaska, Hilton and SWA (not by choice)

I have stayed at the Sheraton Santiago twice - and was very pleased (Im an SPG Plat.) Apparently the Four Points is very decent, too. People tend to like the Four Points location better, though the Sheraton is a very short cab ride from where you would want to be, generally an under $3 cab ride.

I stayed at the Radisson a few years ago and found it quite fine. Close to the metro, shopping and nightlife.

All three Starwoods are great, each an outstanding value in its respective category, with helpful and friendly staff. Santiago is also full of suite hotels (called apart hotels) there are cheap and quite practical (with breakfast and self catering facilities). I like the La Fayette, which is about US$70 per day and provides free transport from the airport. You can see it on the internet:

http://www.chile-hotels.com/lafayett.htm

I hope you aren't going right now - they are suffering the worst floods in nearly 100 years right now.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Eastbay1K:
[B]I have stayed at the Sheraton Santiago twice - and was very pleased </font>

I have stayed at the Sheraton on three different occasions each with no status and I found the hotel to be extremely pleasant and enjoyable. A lot of aircrews use this hotel (same with the Sheraton in Buenos Aires)

The great thing about the location is it is great for just getting our and going for a walk or run. It's in a very beautiful neighborhood. Don't forget to bring home some of Chile's Pisco Sour!

I could use some Santiago advice too.

A colleague of mine here at the office stayed at the Hotel Leonardo da Vinci last fall and says it was a great property. But he usually stays at freeway chain motels when vacationing so I take his advice with a grain of salt.

Does anyone have any experience with the Hotel Leonardo da Vinci? I'm also considering the La Fayette which was recommended in an earlier post. Is one location/property favorable over the other?

I'm also interested in hiring a driver and car for the day to go sightseeing. English speaking is not necessary as I'm bilingual. Any recommendations?

It seems that the more "popular" drives are to the viñas - you can also arrange for day tours (which I have yet to do). It is also a very nice drive out to the coast (Viña del Mar / Valparaiso). Although I was nervous about it in advance, it was a pleasant drive on a very nice ruta (con peaje). I wouldn't recommend driving in Santiago (I rented the car at SCL and drove right to the coast), although Santiago driving appears easy compared to much of Europe or Latin America. And if you need a quick lesson en "español chileno" - just make sure that you don't drink too much "schopp" with your "ave palta" or the "carabineros" will pull you over as you drive on "Calle 2 poniente".

Disfrutelo mucho - I'm hoping a return to Chile late this year.

Carabinero = police
Calle 2 Poniente = West 2nd Street

But I'm at a loss for the other words!

"Schopp" would mean "cerveza," wouldn't it?

Kathy

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by KathyWdrf:
"Schopp" would mean "cerveza," wouldn't it?

Kathy</font>

Yes, and Ave-Palta is a chicken-avocado sandwich.

Ok all this is making me want to plan the next trip down there (¿there are too many congrio in the sea anyway, no?) I know I'm drifting off-topic now (of Santiago) but would be interested in thoughts for other places to visit there? I have been to Santiago, Punta Arenas and Viña/Valparaiso. My thoughts for the next trip also include a couple days at the coast and in Santiago, but was pondering the other stop - Thoughts about Puerto Montt? or something up north?

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Eastbay1K:
My thoughts for the next trip also include a couple days at the coast and in Santiago, but was pondering the other stop - Thoughts about Puerto Montt? or something up north?</font>

Eastbay--

Puerto Montt is a great jumping off point for the Lake District. Mrs. South and I spent our honeymoon there, visiting a lodge in Ancud on Chiloe Island, and taking a boat trip across Lago Todos los Santos. Beautifal waterfalls, volcanoes, and pine forests. Ran across a group of Brazilian Japanese coming the other direction across the Andes from Argentina's Lake District. We also travelled to the Villarica resort, truly for ricos. And flew back to Santiago from Temuco, a reasonably large city. Great memories from that trip. http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttravel_forum/wink.gif

Best enjoyed in summertime. Beautiful blue skies in summers. Long days, cool nights like Seattle or Portland. http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttravel_forum/cool.gif

We've also done trips in SCL where we arrange a side trip to Argentina or a side trip to Brazil. We like cities and so we spent a week in Buenos Aires and in Rio de Janeiro. Each spectacular in their own way. However, both are much more humid than SCL in summer... http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttravel_forum/tongue.gif

If you are using a LanChile award, it's very easy to take a Santiago stopover, traveling to those other cities later. For something more complex or without an award, a Mercosur Pass is an affordable option. We're thinking Cuzco and Macchu Picchu next time...

Finally, a new and popular beach resort from Santiago is La Serena. As the name suggest, a very serene, small city, populated only by chilenos and argentinos.

Thanks, South. I will probably use another AS award for F tix on LA, giving me the stopover somewhere. I would want to stay in Chile. I'm tempted to check out Puerto Montt as the extra leg, but also to go north (except summer up there may be way too hot).