Santiago
If you don’t count the traffic, the Chilean capital is one of the easiest cities for doing business. Hotels are well-equipped. Work meetings are handled efficiently. Traveler’s Tip: Foreigners save 19% VAT tax if they pay for hotel rooms in US dollars (credit card is OK). Show your passport, airline ticket and insist at check-in. Even better, make sure the discount is noted when you make the reservation.
Sleeping
Hotel Ritz Carlton. Try Web reservations for deals under $150 a night; otherwise, rooms run about $240 a night here in the fashionable El Golf neighborhood. This classy design hotel has a cool pool and gym on the roof. There’s a wine bar with 365 varieties. And views of the Andes on clear days. www.ritzcarlton.com
InterContinental. The convenient location and easy access to the subway make this the hotel for executives who need to keep to a tight schedule in traffic-clogged Santiago. Rates begin around $150. Guest rooms have highspeed Internet and CD players; executive floor rooms have their own business center and valet service. www.ichotelsgroup.com
Hotel Bonaparte. In the tree-lined Providencia district, this hotel is about 10 minutes away from the action – making it a quiet neighborhood alternative to the standard business hotel. It’s also an economical choice: The spacious rooms begin at $65 a night. Breakfast is included. www.hotelbonaparte.com
Relaxing
Hotel Valdivia. This kitschy (and kinky) Santiago hotel bursts with exotica and is considered South America’s most offbeat retreat for couples. Erotic VIP suites feature lavish decorations ranging from remote-control waterfalls to Arabian palaces. Mirrors, champagne and breakfast included. www.hotelvaldivia.cl
Eating
Alma. The fusion food is prepared and presented as if on a movie set. The two-story design is modern and stark. Reservations are needed (you can book on the Web). www.almarestaurant.cl
Zully. Take one abandoned mansion, add $2 million, import world-class cooking and you have the coolest place for executive parties in Santiago. Unforgettable. At Concha y Toro 34; phone: 56-2-696-1378.
Barandiaran. This huge building – newly expanded – offers good pisco sours, fresh seafood, an outdoor patio with a pool in the summer and a fresh menu that combines Asian and Peruvian influences. The restaurant’s cookbook makes a great gift. www.barandiaran.cl
Enoteca. This wine museum/restaurant near the top of Cerro San Cristóbal offers a good menu (with an emphasis on local flavors), wine tasting and a fabulous view of the city – especially after sunset. Taste carmenere, the peppery wine from a grape that was believed all but lost until a few years ago. Chile is the only country in the world that produces it commercially; phone: 56-2-232-3381.
Pergola de la Plaza. This laid-back and artsy café – set in a cobblestoned courtyard – is open late. In the bohemian neighborhood of Lastarria, near Parque Forestal, it’s best for light fare and good coffee. On Plaza Mulato Gil de Castro; phone: 56-2-639-3604.
Drinking
Crowds of beautiful people come to Liguria in the Providencia neighborhood for top wines – as well as good food, which ranges from seafood to the occasional rabbit dish. www.liguria.cl Surfer chic defines Pargua, frequented by fanatic wave riders, the chilenas who chase them and inexpensive beer. The Pargua action unfolds in the up-and-coming bohemian quarter, Nuñoa, at Pedro de Valdivia 1764; phone: 56-2-225-1313. The Bellavista bar scene is mostly passé, except for classy El Toro on the far west side of the district. This is an outstanding spot for people-watching; at Loreto 33, phone: 56-2-737-5937.
Shopping
MarAzul Jewelry sells unusual hand-painted glass necklaces, cool glass trays for dinner parties and melted wine bottles, the ultimate companion for the Chilean wine you will also surely be planting in your suitcase. At Avenida Manquehue Sur 329 in Las Condes (corner with Avenida Apoquindo).