As you can see from earlier posts in this thread, the suites are magnificent: they are huge, have two completely separate rooms with a sliding wooden door and a large marble bathroom. The staff are great. The breakfast upstairs is very elegantly served. In my opinion, this is one of Starwood's very best hotels.

I could not agree more regarding the suites. They are really fantastic. Try to get up high on the tower, great views. The staff is also great. Very friendly and helpful. My wife and I stayed here for the first few days of our honeymoon before heading to Valle Nevado in August and loved it.

That said, the hotel is lacking in a few minor areas. The location could be better and the indoor pool area is in need of an overhaul. The staff in the areas of the hotel that are shared with the Sheraton are not nearly as good as at the Tower, and you won't be able to avoid working with them.

Even still, the staff at the Sheraton were certainly above average as far as service in Chile goes. Lovely country, lovely people but generally slow and uninterested service.

While I am in this thread I should post a couple of lessons learned from my recent trip to Chile.

(1) Chile has thousands of miles of coast, and a cuisine that almost neglects seafood in favor of beef. Its amazing how little emphasis the majority of restaurants place on seafood given the bounty they have at their disposal. If you go to the Cental Market in Santiago you will be overwhelmed by what is available compared to what most restaurants offer up. Holy cow these people know their beef though.

(2) Santiago doesn't offer a lot to vacationers, but it has massive potential.

We did some wine touring, and found that the Vineyards have a lot to offer in the way of quality wine. That said, they could all benefit from sending a couple managers to Nappa to learn how wine tasting and touring is done. They didn't really understand what a U.S. wine tourist is looking for.

The Museums are nothing special, though Pablo Naruta's house was pretty neat.

(3) Skiing in Chile is peculiar. The mountains have immense potential however the ski areas are not very well conceived. This seems to be largely due to the fact that Chileans are bad skiers, and the mountains cater to their desire for non-challenging terrain. If you are an NA skier that seeks any sort of challenge, off-piste is essential. Get skins and a guide. You can hire a taxi to pick you up on the road side. Heli Skiing in the Andes: worth EVERY penny. Best day of my life.

(4) Service in Chile is generally friendly, but inept. No more so then at Hotel Valle Nevado which claims to be 5 stars, but is really a very expensive 3 star. If it wasn't at 9k feet amongst the stunning Andes, I would have been raging mad at the bill.

In summary, Santiago is a fun city if you happen to be in the area or on the way to the mountains. If you are going skiing in Chile be prepared to be unimpressed by the on-piste terrain. Splurge on the Heli- its worth it.

We hit Astrid & Gaston. There were one or two impressive dishes on the tasting menu, but overall we left unimpressed. I really got the impression that the kitchin was taming some of the bolder Peruvian flavors and spices in order to cater to what I found to be a rather restrained Chilean pallet.

I would add Tierra Noble to this list. We really enjoyed our meal here. My memory could be unfairly weight to the positive because of one amazing dish though. The Wild Boar ribs. Best pork I have ever had. Very simple grill preparation, but the meat was more flavorful then any pork I have had in the U.S.

Sheraton Santiago
 

I have a 3 night points stay booked at the Sheraton in a few weeks. I am Plat SPG and hear that you can get upgraded to a "normal" room at the SCT. Is it worth it to have move to the SCT vs getting a larger room at the Sheraton?

What are the "must dos" when in Santiago? We are heading out to Valparaiso for a day, but other than that we don't have anything specific planned. I've read that the bike tours are nice, any recent experiences there?

I'm currently staying at the Sheraton in Santiago as a Plat. The offer you refer to (ie re movement to a SCT room) was not one I was given, so would not get your hopes up. Am currently in a nice room at the end of the hall on the club floor level overlooking the pool area. Believe my room is larger than normal but not sure by how much. If you don't speak Spanish you'll no doubt find the staff's command of English here to be somewhat less than what you might be used to at other Starwood properties outside of N. America.

Need to check out Plaza de Armas (Town Square) Very lively; The city's historic centre with each side bouded by historical buildings including the main post office, town centre, Metropolitan Cathedral, National Museum.

Also enjoyed the Mercato Central (good if you're into seafood) and the La Vega Market which is a non-touristy hyper-market of about 3-4 blocks directly across the river from the Mercato (can't miss it). Tons of stuff for sale; Where real Chileans go to shop;

The Presidential (le Moneda) Palace is about a 3 block walk from the Plaza de Armas has a changing of the guard every 2nd day. This is where Allende allegedly committed suicide, while the airforce bombed the place and led into the Pinochet coup.

You can get to all of the above very easily by subway if you're so inclined. The subway system here works very well.

A 10 - 15 minute walk from the hotel are the cable cars going up St Christopher's Hill. Great views of Santiago.

Will find this city to be one of the safest in S.America. Have never been at all apprehensive about walking around by myself here (even at night) Mind you at 6 ft in height I'm somewhat taller than you're average Chilean.

Keep in mind that with high temps currently in the 30 degree celsius range (likely to be warmer as summer grows closer), bike touring in the heat of the day or at all may not be as comfortable as you'd like. May be a great option, but I'd suggest you play it by ear when you get here.

Has anyone heard any updates re: the W? It still shows a March 1 opening date, but is not accepting any reservations. Perhaps a Lurker knows something?

Internal sources indicate that the opening has been delayed to April 15, 2009.

Best regards,

William R. Sanders
Online Guest Feedback Coordinator
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide

[email protected]

I will have to suffer at one of the other fine Starwood properties at the end of March, then. Usually, the San Cristobal Tower forces me to have either juice or sparkling wine when checking in, before escorting me to one of their Torture Chamber Suites. :) But I thought I'd try something new for a night. :(

Now pushed back to May 1. Does anyone know if that date is realistic? (We're headed to Santiago in mid June and are considering a stay at the W, if it opens in time.)

Sheraton Santiago
 

Our room was modest, as expected, but had what one needed (safe, hairdryer, alarm clock and air conditioning). 2 single beds (both broken down), windows so dirty you could barely see out of them. Water pressure was good.(room 503). The common areas were quite nice, with the exception of some closed stores.. The pool area was very nice, some shaded seating was available in the area. Food and beverages were served by the pool. This area became our choice for dining a couple times. The hamburger tasted a bit off, but the fries were great. The tomato was mushy, as were the ones at breakfast. Burgers were 7,200 pesos and beer started at 3,800 pesos. Another night we split a chicken Caesar salad out by the pool along with a couple glasses of beer. Breakfast was served in a covered, but open area beyond the pool. It was buffet. Language was a problem. “Raw” bacon and eggs were often on the menu. A large assortment of fruit was accompanied by a large group of bees daily. Always enough “stuff” to get ones fill. The hotel is 12 minute drive from the airport. High speed internet is available. An ATM is available down stairs. For those with status, there is a Club level and lounge. Staff was very good, with a couple exceptions.

We stayed in the San Cristobal Tower (Luxury Collection -- connected to the Sheraton) in February, and really enjoyed drinks and light meals on several occasions in the Sheraton's large pool area.

(Our room in the San Cristobal Tower was fine in all respects, if just a bit dated or traditional for my own personal taste--but no complaints!)

While relaxing in the Sheraton's pool area, we noticed that it also was popular with a number of Chilean and/or international businessmen and women, many conducting business (suit jackets sometimes off, ties sometimes loosened) while enjoying drinks and light meals.

While there may be grander and more impressive pool areas at other hotels, the Sheraton grounds are nonetheless a very pleasant and popular place.

Now July 1. I wonder what is going on.

Great to hear. I'm staying there on Monday and Tuesday night. Las Condes is much more convenient for me than the San Cristobal Towers. The traffic crossing the river can be a pain.

The San Cristobal Tower seems to have been thoroughly reviewed, so I think I'll just add in some photos I took from a stay over July 4 Weekend. I was originally placed in a standard Tower room on a high floor, but they were able to have a suite ready for me within an hour of check-in (I checked in early in the morning, after having just arrived at SCL from the U.S.). Great service, staff, and hotel all-around. I will split this into two posts, so that the Standard Room and Suite photos are separated...