Apart Hotel San Marino

The hotel is located in Santiago downtown and it's really close to the main atractions like Plaza de Armas, Bellas Artes Museum, the Mercado Central, La Vega market and La Moneda Palace. However, I'd say that it's not that important since you can stay in any part of the city close to a subway station and you could also visit these attractions. The bad part about the location is that at night the streets are desert (but safe). It's hard to find an open restaurant at night. About the room: Heating: There's a electric heating system that shuts down automatically at 11pm. There's also a gas-based heating system but the gas canister was empty and the hotel administration did not have another one, so we coudn't use it. REALLY BAD. Internet: There's no free internet (wired or wireless) in the room. You have to make a reservation and rent a 3G-based USB modem, so you need a laptop to use it. Their website says it's wireless internet, but it's NOT wi-fi! It's wireless because it's a 3G modem. Parking: It's free, just make a reservation. TV: There's a 14 inch tube tv with local channels and also a DirecTV receiver with cable.

This hotel was an absolute nightmare to find. The address given to me when I booked it was incorrect, as they have moved down the street & next to the police station. The kind, Spanish-only speaking doorman had to escort me to the office at the new address, which was on one of the lower floors of an un-marked condo building. How they expect anyone to know where they are located is beyond me. It would have been nice if I would have been informed of this address change before I arrived, as my Spanish is mediocre at best. Also, I had 3 diff. people meeting me there, all of whom got lost (my Spanish-speaking husband, who couldn't locate the hotel, almost booked another hotel room). However, that said, the room was decent, the beds comfortable, price was really cheap, & there was enough room for all 4 of us. The shower was clean, warm, and powerful. I'm not too sure as to how often they change their bed linen, as we found hair on several of our pillows. We didn't even bother to complain, as we were just so happy to have found the place and each other at that point. I would NEVER recommend this hotel to anyone, as nothing's worse than traveling to another country (where you don't speak the language that well) and not being able to find your hotel room. And on a side note, we tried to use the space heater ( it was winter season) but the Spanish-English translation instructions they gave me made absolutely no sense & were soooo terrible that it gave us all something to laugh about at the end of our stressful day.

The room is very small and there is no living room, just a small kitchen, bathroom and bedroom. Apart from the very strong smoke smell (which desappeared when I left the windows open the whole day). It was a good value for the price. The bathroom was a little dark, but it was clean and the water was nice and hot. New towels and bed sheets. They also clean the room everyday. I stayed on the 9th floor, it was quiet, but it has no view (only to the next door building).