Update: The Grand Hyatt Santiago is now a Mandarin Oriental.
I just got back from a weeklong trip to Chile. The main purpose of the trip was to hike the W trek in Torres del Paine National Park. We decided to spend the weekend in Santiago before heading to Patagonia for our trek. While the flight time for Boston to Santiago (via JFK) is about 12 hours, traveling to Patagonia from Santiago is another day’s worth of travel. I certainly recommend breaking this up with a stop in Santiago! Here’s a review of my two-night stay at the Grand Hyatt Santiago.
Location
The Grand Hyatt Santiago is located in the Las Condes neighborhood of Santiago. It’s a bit out of the way from the hustle and bustle of downtown. To get downtown, you can either walk 20 minutes to the nearest metro stop (Escuela Militar) or catch a taxi outside the hotel. We mainly used taxis since we were only there for a short time and the fare wasn’t too expensive.
The hotel is about 25-30 minutes from Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport (SCL). We paid 22,000 Chilean pesos (approximately 35 USD) for a cab to the Grand Hyatt Santiago. Our cab driver had a hard time reaching the hotel because it seemed like there was construction since the road was blocked. I was afraid this would be an issue for our whole stay. Lo and behold, the road was blocked for the arrival of the French president, François Hollande, who was staying at the Grand Hyatt! We didn’t have any transportation issues after this, but the lobby was filled with fancy looking security people for the entirety of our stay.
First Impressions
The lobby of the Grand Hyatt Santiago is, well, grand.
I stayed at a hotel in Saõ Paulo that had a similar feel with open hallways overlooking the lobby, a central elevator, and the same building materials. Is this architecture a South American thing?
In front of the elevator is a small piano lounge.
The backside of the elevators features more lounge space. Here they serve cocktails and afternoon tea.
The hotel has three restaurants on-site that serve Mediterranean, Thai, and Japanese cuisine. Given our short time in Santiago, we didn’t have a chance to try them.
The Best Perk for Early Arrivals
It’s usually a pleasant surprise when your room is available early and you can freshen up after a long flight. Having arrived at 8:30am, we knew there was little chance of our room being ready this early. Instead of the usual luggage room, the Grand Hyatt Santiago allows guests to use the locker room in the AKO Spa to store their bags and freshen up before the room is ready.
The lockers were a big plus because I always worry about the security of my belongings when I leave them at hotels. The staff assigned us each a locker located in the men and women’s locker rooms of the spa. We then were able to personalize the code…extra security for paranoid people like myself!
The best part was getting to use the facilities to shower, brush our teeth, and change our clothes. The showers were stocked with shampoo, conditioner, and body wash.
The counter had extra toiletries to help me feel rejuvenated after my flight. It’s also nice to find outlets to recharge your phone before sightseeing.
Pool Area
The grounds at the Grand Hyatt Santiago were beautiful with outdoor seating at one of the restaurants and a fabulous pool. The pool was massive! There was also a cool lounge spot on top of the waterfall. The water wasn’t heated but it felt good in the 90 degree heat.
Hotel Room
And now for the main event! I was pleased with the room; it was a good size, had plenty of storage and outlets, and had a nice view overlooking the pool. Hyatt provided us with a sparkling rosé as an anniversary gift. One of the things I love about Hyatt is that they are great about doing something extra for special occasions.
The bed was located on the main level of the room.
There was also a lounge area and desk located a few steps down from the bed. I especially liked the natural light from the large picture window.
The bathroom was a decent size. The sink was located in the main part of the bathroom.
The shower room was to the left of the sink.
And the toilet and bidet were in a room to the right of the sink.
More Hyatt Surprises
One of the things I loved about the Grand Hyatt Santiago was the amount of free water bottles. I feel like I’m constantly stopping to buy water when I’m on vacation but we had new waters each day when the cleaning service stopped by. Someone also came by in the evening with more water.
We went to dinner and came back to a surprise bottle of wine in our room (along with more water bottles!). I’m not sure if this was anniversary gift part two, but I’ll take it!
Final Thoughts
The Grand Hyatt Santiago was perfect for our weekend stay. While I was concerned about the location initially, it worked out nicely since cabs aren’t too expensive and there’s a great shopping center with restaurants about a five-minute walk from the hotel. I can officially say the Grand Hyatt Santiago is fit for a President, just ask Hollande!
This looks like a great place to stay!