HOTEL REVIEW: DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel in Santiago, Chile
HOTEL REVIEW: DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel in Santiago-Vitacura Chile
Over Columbus Day Weekend last year, my husband and I went to Chile. As we typically like to stay with Hilton over other hotel brands, we decided to stay at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Santiago Vitacura located in the commercial and financial district. Overall, the hotel was very nice and was more in line with what you might expect of a regular Hilton rather than a DoubleTree. We would definitely consider staying here again.
Check-In
The check-in was pretty smooth. During our stay, there were times when the check-in desk was busy, but this was largely because of an APEC Summit and an INTERPOL conference. The check-in staff was friendly and very helpful.
Parking
A positive for this property is that parking is free, and no pass is required. The downside is that every time you want to leave with the car, you have to go to the front desk and get a validated ticket. This can sometimes take a couple minutes if there is an influx of people checking in or out, so make sure to plan accordingly if you’re heading somewhere on a timeline.
One issue we had was the directions given for the parking garage (we rented a car) were rather unclear. This wasn’t a language barrier, due to the fact my husband’s first language is Spanish and the directions were in Spanish. Because of that, it took us about 15 minutes to find the parking garage. For reference, the parking garage is on the side street to the right of the hotel when you face the main entrance. I’ve highlighted the general area of the garage in the map below.
Location
The hotel is located in the commercial and financial district, about a 30-minute drive from Airport Comodoro Arturo Merino Benitez. Given the location, there were a lot of businessmen at the property. The location is great if you are traveling on business, but not as great if you’re looking to explore the more cultural areas of Santiago (i.e. Plaza de Armas and surrounding area).
While the central part of Santiago is only a few miles away, it took us 45 minutes to get there in an Uber. Traffic was terrible going to that part of town, as well as when we returned. Scooters are not available because you cannot park them in the area surrounding Plaza de Armas.
It’s also well located to visit the Casablanca Valley wine region, which we took a day to explore and go on a self-guided wine tour.
That being said, there was a number of good restaurants and bars within walking distance (less than 1 mile) from the hotel. You can read more about that in our trip report from Chile.
Room
We booked a King Room, but were upgraded to the King Junior Suite because of our Hilton Diamond Status. The room was very nice and spacious. The bathroom was very large, though I’m always disappointed when there isn’t a bathtub! There was a sitting area with a chair and couch and desk, which was separated from a partial wall where the bedroom was located. There was a refrigerator in the room, which was stocked with minibar items.
The room had amazing blackout curtains, and the windows also kept out most noise. We slept very well with no disturbance at all, despite the fact the hotel is located on a main street in the financial district.
Breakfast
My biggest criticism for the hotel was the breakfast. Breakfast for Diamond Members is in the Executive Lounge (more on that below). There was very little to choose from aside from salmon, bagels, cereal, bacon, eggs (scrambled and boiled). The eggs were completely unappetizing and very watered down, and the bacon looked very discolored and unappetizing. We actually chose to cross the street and get Dunkin Donuts instead one morning due to the lack of options for a good quality breakfast at the lounge.
Restaurants/Bars
At check-in, we received two drink tickets redeemable for a selection at the bar, Bar 2727. The drink ticket allowed you to choose between a pisco sour, beer, or white or red wine. It was disappointing that the pisco sour was not available because they ran out of limes that day. It was disappointing that one of the four choices was unavailable due to a lack of limes.
We did not eat at the restaurant and only spent a limited time in the bar.
Room Service
Room service was prompt and regularly priced for a Hilton’s room service menu. I tried the spaghetti Bolognese, and my husband had the cheeseburger. The portion size of the spaghetti was smaller than I’d like, but the taste was good. The burger was edible and filling, but nothing to write home about.
Executive Lounge
The lounge at the hotel is probably my favorite part of the stay. I’ve never seen a lounge at a Hilton that has access to drinks 24/7. The beer, liquor, and wine were all available any time the lounge was open. They also allowed us to stay at the lounge after we checked out as we waited to head to the airport. The lounge was large and spacious with a great deal of seating. It was also regularly empty, even during happy hour. This made it a quiet spot to just hang out and relax before heading to dinner or while waiting to head to the airport.
They did have a happy hour every day, which included some finger foods like salad, shrimp, cheese, meats, and crackers.
Overall Impression
Overall, I’d definitely stay at DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel in Santiago-Vitacura again. The hotel was clean, and the staff was friendly. The location wasn’t perfect if you’re traveling to spend every day in the central part of Santiago, but we spent two of the three days there outside of Santiago so it worked for us. There was also great bars and restaurants located in proximity to the hotel.
Stayed here Early March 2020. Beautiful, new, styling hotel. Also upgraded to Jr suite King as Diamond. I had choice for breakfast of restaurant or lounge (perhaps choice was because it was winter slow season and not a lot of diamond guests–not sure). Great breakfast selection in the restaurant except no plain greek yogurt which is the main event for my breakfast. I think greek yogurt is not very popular in Chile as I had hard time finding it in supermarkets and it was very expensive. Executive lounge was lovely, great space however i was very disappointed in the happy hour spread as well as the staff service. Wine and water is available all day long but when they ran out it was not replace. Even asking attendant for replacement of wine or water took them hours to replace even though i think they just had to go to another storeroom on the floor-sometimes replaced not until the following day. Lounge attendants seems very nice but not interesting in working. Some barely spoke any english which seemed strange. Happy hour spread was almost the same every day and boring. I don’t remember anything hot. Too many items with pork/meat and I am vegetarian so there were a few cold choices but not much variety (eg, always small sandwiches and they changed the insides but they always seemed to taste the same). I liked the neighborhood feel. Very different areas if you walk north to vitacura or if you walk south to providencia. There is a metro nearby but I didn’t want to venture on it because it was the beginning of coronavirus fears. I would probably stay there again but i do like trying different neighborhoods of a city. Good value for price I paid (less than $100US per night). A (probably very popular) Chilean sports team arrived when i was there and cause a big rucus in the hotel and outside. My room faced the front and there were crowds outside day and night. Particularly the first night (arrival) they were screaming into the night. The hotel did nothing to quiet them down even after i called to complain of the noise. I wasn’t able to fall asleep until around 2am. Very inconsiderate of guests on the hotel’s part. They only seemed concerned about the team. Guess it’s a big revenue generator for them but I paid for a good nights sleep and the hotel really couldn’t have cared less to provide that.
Wow! Sounds like a little difference experience than we had. Sorry to hear, but thanks so much for sharing your thoughts so people can read it and get another opinion!
Stayed there in January this year. Great experience.Breakfast in the restaurant was comp due to my diamond status.