Park Plaza Santiago

The location was brilliant and felt safe, with shops and lots of restaurants around and the metro a five-minute walk away. The lobby was really nice, and doormen quickly opened the door, though they could have been friendlier and more welcoming. The rooms were spacious, with a nice bathroom, small fridge, and kettle. It's odd they provide a kettle but no tea or coffee. Breakfast was good, but the food was the same each day, so over my seven nights it got repetitive. I tried the fish and chips at dinner, which was tasty and a massive portion. Reception staff were good. Restaurant service was more mixed. Staff seemed to spend time standing around on their phones reading or texting while guests were there, when they could have been clearing tables or interacting with people. The pool is small, much smaller than the photos suggest, and really only good for dipping in to cool off. The sauna is tiny. The fitness centre is just four very old machines, and they were all switched off, so I guess nobody uses them.

The rooms were elegant, clean, and well appointed, with housekeeping every day. Breakfast had a huge range, including fresh fruit and freshly squeezed juices. Calling this a five-star stay hardly does justice to the elegance and professionalism. It felt like at least fifteen stars. Don Roberto made a remarkable first impression when our cab driver's portable card reader failed and we couldn't pay by credit card. He calmly came up with a reasonable way to settle the fare and put all three of us and the driver at ease. That was only the beginning. The staff held doors open as we came and went and asked with real enthusiasm about our daily travels in Chile. Senoritas Suyay and Daniza spent half an hour navigating the online bus ticket process to help us arrange a once-in-a-lifetime beach trip. Then Don Roberto reserved a private ride to the airport and, dressed to the nines, carried our luggage out to it in the rain, looking like he'd stepped out of the most expensive and popular Telanovela. You'd be making a serious mistake choosing somewhere else.

The Park Plaza Hotel was good value, and we enjoyed our time in downtown Santiago with so much to see and do. It's close to a large park, museums, an art gallery, restaurants, grocery and other stores, plus public buses and trains. We walked to many sights and took the trains a few times. Check-in took less than five minutes. They scanned both passports, we paid, got our key cards, and took the elevator to the third floor. Our room overlooked apartments and walkways, but was quiet at night. It had tiled floors throughout, blackout curtains, a safe, and what we needed for four days, except condiments. We asked the front desk for salt and they got some for us.

The hotel was beautiful and really clean, and the breakfast buffet was amazing. On our first trip to Santiago, we appreciated how kind the staff were and how good the service was. Too bad we only had one night, I'd come back.