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Santiago has emerged from the smog with restored historic buildings, freshly landscaped green spaces and some 28 miles of extra line on its clean and efficient metro system. New hotels and restaurants have opened and once dilapidated barrios are being reborn as artsy enclaves.
Sleeping
| Hotel Ritz Carlton. This well-located, elegant hotel is our readers’ favorite. Rooms feature large marble bathrooms, complemented by the hotel’s bath butler service. Choose one of five bath preparations from the menu. The Chilean herbal bath is one of our favorites. The Adrá restaurant takes Chilean fish and seafood as a starting point for sublime Mediterranean style dishes. The bar, Wine 365, serves 365 white and red varieties from more than 100 Chilean vineyards. If you make it though that far, the Bloody Mary Oyster Shooters are rumored to be rather good. Average room rates from $270. www.ritzcarlton.com |
Grand Hyatt. Sleek modern rooms come equipped with Bang & Olufsen TVs, Yamaha hi-fi, and broadband internet. The hotel has Thai and Italian restaurants and is also probably the best place to eat Japanese in Santiago. Twenty minutes from the city center, the hotel has space for a spa, 1,000-square-metre lagoon-style swimming pool, two floodlit clay tennis courts and a jogging track in landscaped gardens. Average room rate is from $295 for a grand king. www.santiago.grand.hyatt.com
Marriott. Views of the snow-capped Andes and close to the tree-lined suburb and business district of Las Condes. This is a top-notch business hotel. Average room rates from $226. www.marriott.com
Eating
Puerto Fuy. Elegant and highly-regarded, the menu is built around Chilean fish and seafood. Try the abalone ravioli with concase of tomatoes and a champagne sauce. Reservations are recommended. (Nueva Costanera, 3969. Tel: 56 2 208 8908).
Agua. Fashionable, minimalist, concrete and glass, Chilean-fusion: think Patagonian lamb with plum puree. Like many of the best Chilean restaurants seafood is a specialty – tuna, king crab, shrimp, squid, Patagonian tooth-fish (or Chilean Sea Bass, if that makes you more comfortable). (Nueva Costanera, 3467. Tel: 56 2 263 0008).
Restobar Ky. An atmospheric restaurant scattered with antiques and sprinkled with beautiful people. The menu comprises competent, well-presented Thai standards and South East Asian inspired inventions. (Avenida Peru, 631. Tel: 56 2 777 7245).
Drinking
Among the many options in Providencia, the slightly bohemian Bar Liguria (Luis Thayer Ojeda, 019) attracts an eclectic crowd with top-notch food and a boisterous vibe. Or try modernist Mucca (Avenida Italia 830). Elsewhere, there is the stylish Ébano in the up-and-coming Nuñoa quarter (Manuel de Salas, 123). In the largely passé Bellavista bar scene, El Toro (Loreto, 33) remains a reliable evening choice and a prime spot for Sunday brunch.
| Downtime |
| With a couple of hours to kill, have a classic Swedish massage to or try the “chocolate therapy” at the AKO Spa in the Grand Hyatt. (Kennedy Avenue, 4601. Tel: 56 2 950 1234). Then soak up some culture at the Palacio de Bellas Artes, which houses both the Fine Arts – a variable permanent collection, often complemented by visiting exhibitions – and the Contemporary Arts Museum’s 2, by well-known Latin-American artists. Closed Mondays. (Parque Forestal. Tel: 56 2 632 7760).
Wine Tasting. An hour away from the city in the Colchagua and Maipo Valley, Concha Y Toro is an easy day excursion from Santiago. Tour the Don Melchor Concha y Toro Casona park, check out the wine barrels and sample the reds and whites, then take a few bottles with you. www.conchaytoro.com
Hacienda Los Lingues. A charming 18-room hacienda filled with antique furniture and ancestral paintings just an hour south of Santiago in Chile’s wine country. Los Lingues is a working ranch offering endless activities, from fly-fishing to rafting. Rooms start at $228 for the main house. www.loslingues.cl
Lake District – Southern Lakes. Fly from Santiago to Puerto Montt and make your way to Petrohue, at the heart of the Vincente Perez Rosales National Park. Located between the Lagos Todos los Santos and the Volcan Osorno, the Hotel Petrohue offers fishing, kayaking, rafting, hiking, riding, canyoning and much more. Avoid November, December and March to escape the holiday crowds. www.hotelpetrohue.cl
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Useful Information
Time Difference (from EST and GMT): +1/-4
Exchange Rate: $1=540 pesos (March 2007)
Voltage: 220
Public Holidays:
January 1 – New Year’s Day
April 6 – Good Friday
May 1 – Labor Day
May 21 – Glorias Navales (Navy Day)
May 30 – Corpus Christie
June 29 – St Peter and St Paul’s
August 15 – Assumption
1st Monday in September – Day of National Unity
September 18 – National Independence Day.
September 19 – Armed Forces Day
October 12 – Columbus Day
November 1 – All Saints’ Day
December 8 – Immaculate Conception
December 25 – Christmas Day
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