Guest User
October 28, 2023
I loved this hotel! The staff was really wonderful and accommodating. Juan was at the front desk each morning with a greeting of "Good Morning Madame." Nicolas was very helpful in arranging my stay prior to the visit, which was helpful. Every staff member was really friendly and accommodating. They served a small breakfast buffet in the main level each morning, even cooked eggs to order if you'd like. I went to this country traveling as a solo female. This was a nice location because it's walking distance to several restaurants and a lovely park. I felt completely safe in the area. My favorite was the Peruvian restaurant! I had this amazing seabass dish with scallops and calamari with a sauce on top. This was all on a bed of risotto. Chilian wine...fantastic! I wasn't familiar with this region's wine and was surprised at how good it was. My meal, paired with a lovely Chilian Sauvignon Blanc Reserve was so delicious that I went back and had the same thing the next night.
There is also a hill about a mile away that has the Christ statue, that is very walkable. There is a Japanese Garden on the hill. If you can't walk there, there is a funicular and the Uber car service worked just as it does in the US. One tip, if you're from the US or North, the maps will be backwards on Google. Just google directions to get them in the direction you're going. I got lost the first day until I did my Google search on how to fix.
The only problem I had was the language. Very few people speak English. I even went to a restaurant, fine dining at a park, quite lovely, but nobody spoke English and the menu was only in Spanish. To make matters worse, my phone died! Be prepared with how to use Google Translate, that will help, but if your phone dies, you're dead in the water. I found it very hard to communicate with people, which would not have been as bad had I not been traveling alone. I found it to be very isolating. I even took a tour with an English-speaking guide. I thought great, now I can chat with people, but NO! It was a guide who spoke Spanish, then translated to Portuguese, then English. I was the only English-speaking person on the bus. The museums, a few are only available in Spanish so no point going to those if you don't speak Spanish.
Other than the language barrier, I had a lovely time. My highlight was my hotel and the staff!
