C[omp]ute

From: andrew cooke <andrew@...>

Date: Sun, 16 Oct 2011 16:56:35 -0300

I've just been checking out hotel prices for my parents.  Here in Chile
foreign visitors typically pay a price in US dollars that doesn't include tax
(it's pretty much the local price without tax, in a round dollar amount).

I am not covering every hotel - and not apart-hotels at all.  This is just
what I could think of nearby, and visited to have a look at.

At the top end, Hotel Neruda http://www.hotelneruda.cl/ and Hotel Providencia
http://www.panamericanahoteles.cl/providencia.html charge $200 for a night
(double room for two people).  Coming down slightly, Torremayor
http://www.hoteltorremayor.cl is $160.

Looking for somewhere a bit more reasonable, I found Hotel Alcala del Rio
(warning - noisy site) http://www.hotelalcala.cl/ which was $120, but gave me
a price of $95 (I didn't ask anywhere for lower prices, they were just
offered).  This seemed like a average city hotel (they were fully booked so I
couldn't see a room).

Hotel Orly http://www.orlyhotel.com/ is in a very good position on Pedro de
Valdivia N and was $110 a night.  I didn't check a room, but for the location
(20 seconds away from some good restaurants) that seems like good value.

I then started to consider hotels further away from the main road (Providencia
/ 11 de Septiembre).  Very close to where I live is Hotel Nogales
http://www.hotelnogales.cl/ which was clean and modern.  The receptionist told
me the price was $100, but also said that I could get a better price if I
returned during the week (actually, she gave me the email of the person who
handles bookings, but I don't want to share that here).  If it comes down to
$85-90 and the rooms are as clean as the reception area then this seems like
it would be good value - it's only 10min walk from the main area, but in a
much quieter neighbourhood (and particularly good for visiting me!).

Moving further South, Hotel Lyon http://www.hotellyon.cl/ was a refreshing
change - very much a family-run hotel / guesthouse with a proud German
tradition.  Whether you like this or not is going to depend on taste - the
rooms were very old-fashioned, but clean.  I think it would be a nice place to
stay, but don't expect much from the area where you might sit outside (the
photos on the site are qute flattering).  Price per night is $85 and it's 20
min walk north to the main road (there's not much nearby, but a block further
north is a decent cafe).

(There's also Hotel Bonaparte nearby, but by this time I was looking at places
below $100 so didn't check it out).

Also nearby is Hotel El Vergel - http://www.hotelelvergel.cl/ (noisy site but
has volume control) - which was fully booked, so I didn't get to see a room.
There didn't seem to be a common outside sitting area, but I was told some
ground floor rooms have terraces.  But worryingly, I was quoted a higher price
than on the web site ($92 v $79).

That's quite a range of prices within a fairly small area.  It looks like you
can get significantly better value for money by heading south away from
Providencia (and hotels that can survive down there, away from the walk-in
traffic, are probably decent...)

Andrew