I spent a night at the Sheraton Miramar in Vina Del Mar during September 2006. I pretty much agree with what andrzej has posted. Also thanks to andrzej for mentioning the LAN bus... I used the service to return to the airport (90 minutes).
I checked in and was informed that the hotel usually tries to upgrade platinum guests to a suite, but since I came during a 4 day holiday weekend (Chilean independence day) I was out of luck as the hotel was 100% full. Rats, but at least that explained all the Chilean flags I saw everywhere. I asked about a platinum amenity and I was told that since the hotel “was new” they have not figured out how to do that yet. I said I though that was strange as an amenity is a standard worldwide benefit of platinum status… he said yes he knew that, and it was explained to them during training! However… they still don’t do it. Rather odd, but he said he could send up a bottle of champagne and chocolate. I said… ok. Oh… I also received a welcome drink (Pisco Sour… most enjoyable)
I was given room 515 which is one of the regular rectangular rooms andrzej mentions. About 10 minutes after I arrived in my room there was a knock on the door from room service. I answered and a young woman wheeled in a table with 2 drinks and two covered plates. My reaction was WOW! what an amenity. But after a moment I was presented with a bill that listed various lunch items. I explained I had just checked in and had not ordered lunch. She apologized and wheeled everything back out of my room. About 5 minutes later there was another knock… this time it was my bottle of champagne (Chilean) with 3 chocolate truffles.
I had some other strange service issues during my 1 night stay. I noticed there were no bathrobes in my room so I called housekeeping to ask if the hotel provided them. I was then transferred to room service. I explained I was not looking for food but wanted to know if they had bath robes. The person said… ah, yes I understand and said she would send someone right up. About 5 minutes later a service technician arrived to fix my bathroom. I called the front desk and explained I was looking for a bath robe… he said he really understood what I meant and would send one up. About 5 minutes later he called back and said he could not locate any. I said ok.
My impressions of the hotel:
Great modern design. Excellent public spaces with considerable attention to detail. Room has nice entry area (wood inlayed ceiling)
, fairly quiet A/C, dimmable halogen lighting ( ^ ^ ), great separate shower with plenty of umpf
, great view, still no patio furniture
. The builders could have spent another 5% and made this a Luxury Collection property. The soft goods in the room do not match the rest of the hotel – standard Sheraton towels and toiletries, no robes, so so bed. The Breakfast buffet was IMHO very disappointing, but YMMV.
My impressions of Vina Del Mar:
If you read the literature you might be picturing something like La Hoya, Miami Beach or Monaco. But I’d say it is half nice and half run down. You will find stray dogs running around everywhere, modest amounts of litter, tons of graffiti, etc. Don’t get me wrong it is an interesting place to visit in conjunction with Valparaiso, but it is not the sort of place you would want to fly to and spend your entire holiday (IMHO).
Caution: Be prepared for fog, fog and more fog.