W Santiago [Master Thread]
Jul 13, 2018 | 4:47 am
In short, the W has by far the best location (followed by the FP, and then she Sheraton/San Cristobal). However, Plat treatment was below average, or even downright disappointing.
The WW team reached out a few days prior to the stay, saying they would try to get me an upgrade, but couldn't guarantee one, and asked for time of arrival and whether I needed any additional help. I mentioned a 4pm check in and requested reservations for Osaka, which I was told was full. We checked in around 3pm, and the room wasn't ready: they wanted to give us an upgrade to a room which was only a category higher (Wonderful to Spectacular) but the room wasn't ready. As it transpires, the only difference is the latter has a balcony. No suites were offered. As we had flown in from AKL, it was only after I probed them that they offered to give us the original room right away.
Five minutes after checking in, two associates knocked on my door to replenish the minibar (couldn't they have done it before I checked in?) and the replenished items were charged to my credit card after checkout. Other unauthorized charges included a restaurant bill, which I suspect is for breakfast which was included in my rate.
As others mentioned, the room is already dated (in style) and worn, with tears to the net curtains, scuffs on the walls, etc. TV had only sound, no image and no obvious fix (didn't bother calling to get it fixed, but explained at checkout so issue could be sorted for following guests). Bathroom is huge and very nice, as is the massive bathtub.
No other Plat amenities are offered (they tried to charge me for breakfast twice, despite being included in the rate), no welcome, or thank you for being a Platinum. At least the Platinum breakfast includes the whole buffet which has eggs made to order, nice juices, and even champagne and a self service Bloody Mary station.
Contrary to some reports, no drink vouchers were offered (even when we were told to wait at the bar for our room), no explanation of the facilities or services was given.
In short, it was a very underwhelming experience. To be fair, they never promised anything above and beyond, but I really didn't feel very welcome. The cherry on the cake was after checkout, when I stopped on the driveway for 30 seconds to set up my destination on Waze and was promptly shooshed away by one of the security guards (I wasn't blocking anyone, and no other cars were coming). For half the price, I will stick to the Sheraton for future stays, which at least has a lounge, better views, comfortable rooms and more welcoming staff.
The only saving grace was Maria at the front desk, who was very helpful and comped the parking without me even asking.
Thanks!!
Dec 28, 2019 | 5:36 pm
First stay: booked Wonderful room via AMEX FHR, applied Suite Night Award. SNA denied (two suites categories still available for booking), upgraded to Spectacular King (corner). Early check-in at 7a, room ready.
Second stay: booked Spectacular room via AMEX FHR, applied Suite Night Award, SNA denied (one suite category still available for booking), no upgrade at all. Check in at 1pm, room not ready.
Welcome gift: full bottle of Casa de Silva Cabernet Sauvignon, both stays. Don't know whether this is a general Plat benefit or Titanium only given RafKa's experience.
Even though the hotel is playing games with Titanium upgrades and SNAs, I really enjoy this property. The staff is excellent and enthusiastic, the balconies are great given Santiago's weather, and the public spaces (pools, bars, restaurant, and big lounging area) are terrific for creative working. Other than upgrades, I've been quite happy with the excellent full breakfast and top-line welcome gift as Titanium/Platinum treatment. The Spectacular rooms have very large balconies; not suites, but not bad. And the hotel contracts with the O2 gym downstairs, so the fitness center is unparalleled. The restaurants are pretty damn good, and not radically unreasonable in price. Tried a couple of the other Santiago options. If it weren't for the upgrade shenanigans, I'd stay here every time.
Dec 29, 2019 | 8:11 am
Dec 29, 2019 | 12:07 pm
Or I could just treat both situations as the transactions that they are according to the terms and conditions of the programs and that neither I nor the property can unilaterally suspend on-the-fly because we should just both feel grateful for one another's loyalty and good spirit.
Dec 31, 2019 | 7:44 am
Or I could just treat both situations as the transactions that they are according to the terms and conditions of the programs and that neither I nor the property can unilaterally suspend on-the-fly because we should just both feel grateful for one another's loyalty and good spirit.
Enjoy your frustrated travels...
Regards
Nov 27, 2022 | 1:37 pm
Edit: to add almost 2 hours now in the lobby lounge now. Guess it doesn't matter that I couldn't get anyone to respond to my email to get a reservation for the rooftop bar to grab a drink before dinner because at this rate I'll be lucky to have my room in time to shower and change into my suit in time for dinner reservations elsewhere. Sigh.
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Not a good start at the moment. Still waiting for my room 2.5 hours after check in and over an hour after i arrived (as an Ambassador). A small apology and one comped drink at the lobby lounge. No valet for the car. No bellman for all of my bags. W Insider and Whatever/Wherever desks unstaffed.
Should have taken the hint when I received an email from the whatever/wherever team that had 2 hotel employees emails on it and when I replied 10 minutes later requesting a reservation at the rooftop bar I heard nothing back from any employee.
I enjoyed my stay at the AC two weeks ago. Limited Service sure, but you expect that at an AC. Actually staff was amazing and the rooftop bar was awesome, they made sure as a hotel guest that i could get a seat and because of its location - and popularity - the bar serves real food for lunch and dinner!
Last edited by dcstudent; Nov 27, 2022 at 2:39 pm
Nov 27, 2022 | 4:26 pm
Dec 21, 2022 | 7:50 pm
W Santiago
W Santiago = Fits Well the W Brand (19 Photos)
W Santiago
In my previous couple of stays in Santiago, I considered W but in the end I booked at a DoubleTree nearby; DT was very solid but quite boring.This month it was time for something more exciting and we finally stayed at W.
Room
We were proactively upgraded to a Fantastic Suite on the top floor (11th) with good views including the mountains in the background. The design of the suite was interesting and fitting for the W brand.In my opinion, top luxury hotels in cities (not resorts) should have 1.5 bath in their suites (not only one bathroom), and W checked the box in that regard.
I was somewhat surprised that they did not have the MoMo toiletries in the bathroom but rather some local brand for shampoo and body wash, and the dreaded Le Grand Bain for soap which is normally used at Sheraton hotels, not W hotels.
Dining
The restaurant for breakfast was a good venue with very high ceilings and some seating indoors and some outdoors with the doors left wide open.The buffet had many interesting options such as quinoa salad, avocadoes, banana chips, roasted veggies, baked salmon, cherries, etc. I thought that made the breakfast significantly above average.
Service
The staff was the strong point of this hotel all around - at reception, in the restaurant, the whatever/whenever folks, etc. Before we arrived they asked via e-mail some info about our stay like time of arrival, where we are flying from etc. I simply mentioned that we were flying back from Punta Arenas after visiting Antarctica with our 19-month old daughter so we would do a bit of a celebration in Santiago. To our surprise the hotel prepared a nice certificate of accomplishment in a frame which was a nice touch!
Later during the stay I dropped off a letter at the concierge on a Saturday which needed to be mailed.He said he would handle it on Monday when the post office was open and that we could discuss before my check-out that day.I completely forgot when we left but thankfully he posted it nonetheless which was very appreciated.
There were only a couple of minor slip ups in service.One morning we asked for housekeeping to come clean the room during our breakfast but when we came back it was not done at all.Someone said they would follow up to find out what happened but we never heard back anything.
At check-out since our stay was split into different Bonvoy accounts to maximize bonuses I asked if the points would post correctly because they had combined the spend for all nights into a single invoice marked for the final night only, rather than produce different invoices for each reservation.They assured me it would be done as I wanted, but sure enough after check-out all points were lumped into a single night credit for the last night and there was nothing at all for previous nights / previous reservations.
Overall
Overall I was quite pleased with our stay at W and I can recommend this hotel which has excellent staff with a positive attitude and energy, a very good match for the W brand.The price tag wont even break the bank, W being far cheaper than Ritz Carlton, for people who would focus exclusively on the Marriott chain in Santiago.
Apr 29, 2023 | 6:06 am
Pros:
- Upgraded to a Fantastic Suite, which while it was only on the 6th floor (rooms from 5-11 of the tower, residences above, pool on 21, lobby and restaurants on 4), is a full suite with separation and 1.5 bathrooms
- The furniture was generally comfortable, including the couch
- The bed was quite comfortable - the pillows seemed a tad lumpy but were pretty comfortable with 2 stacked, the mattress was plush, the covers were decent - this was probably the best night sleep I had in Santiago
- The shower sans doors and walls was actually really nice - very good water flow with relaxing yet effective pressure - the bedroom gets quite steamy (perhaps, that is the point)
- Useful work desk
- Absolutely amazing views from the rooftop pool - take the residence elevators to 21 from the hotel lobby - you won't be disappointed
- Asked proactively about late checkout - no issue with 4 PM
- The staff here obviously cares a lot
- Pablo and Daniela checked me in and asked lots of questions about my travels
- They remembered the details and left a very sweet personalized note in a journal as a welcome gift (Chile is my 17th country)
- Offered a glass of sparkling wine while I waited to check in
- Elite breakfast is a buffet - I wasn't impressed with the buffet items, but the made to order omelet and french toast were both quite good - funny that folks were having a professional photo shoot at 7 AM on a Thursday...
- 6th floor view is blocked by overhang from balconies above
- Rooms seem a tad worn - nothing serious, but it is a party hotel, after all
- My bill came out to about $2 to $3 higher than expected - not sure why - didn't question as my Ritz bill the last time was lower than expected
Photos:
Aug 12, 2023 | 8:09 am
Would you guys pay $283 or send 44,000 points?
Last edited by lsquare; Aug 12, 2023 at 8:23 am
Aug 12, 2023 | 11:12 am
Would you guys pay $283 or send 44,000 points?