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Hotel Review: Ritz-Carlton, Santiago (Renovated!)

This past December my wife and I had the pleasure of a two night stay at the mostly newly renovated Ritz-Carlton, Santiago… and this is our story… dun dun!

The Booking

As a part of my sign-up for the Chase issued Ritz-Carlton Rewards credit card (not subject to Chase 5/24 btw…), I received 2 free night certificates to be redeem at any Tier 1-4 Ritz-Carlton property. Rather than break my back seeking out the most valuable Tier 4 redemption on the planet (in order to maximize the certificate value),  I decided to use these certificates at a property I already planned to stay at during my trip to Santiago. And it ended up saving me the $300×2 nightly expense!

Note: If you do not have free night certificates and would like to pay cash, the average nightly rate for the Tier 2 property in The Ritz-Carlton Rewards property is about $250-$350. If it is a points redemption you seek, a room can be yours for just 40,000 Marriott Rewards points (or 14,000 Starpoints transferred into Marriott Rewards at a 1:3 ratio).

The Exterior/Entrance

The hotel building is located in the El Golf neighborhood of Santiago and is rectangular structure with a unique half-domed windowed roof.

We decided to rent a car for our time in Santiago, and had a pretty easy time locating the hotel ourselves. There is overnight parking near the hotel, but the hotel offers a complimentary valet service, which was super convenient and affordable… ya know… considering it was free and all!

Once inside, the lobby has a classic (aka dated) Ritz-Carlton feel… While the property has been undergoing renovations, they have not yet extended to the front lobby, though we were told it was one of the next projects in line…

The Check-in

Our flight into Santiago from Miami arrived around 8am, and by the time we arrived at the hotel to check-in, it was closer to about 10am morning.

My fear that a room would not be ready for our early arrival was realized, but we were granted access to the spa on the top floor where we could freshen up after the overnight flight!

After a quick shower, we checked our bags with the bellman and took off to explore the city!

The Remodeled Room

We were booked into a Club King room on the 10th floor with a view overlooking the Las Condes Municipal Theatre and Av. Apoquindo (street).

The Ritz-Carlton just completed the full redesign of 205 guest rooms & suites, meaning as of our check-in on December 27, 2017, we we guaranteed a brand new, refreshed and redesigned room!

Just for comparison sake, here is the BEFORE:

Check out Magic of Miles for more another review and more “BEFORE” shots of the guestrooms.

And here is the AFTER!

The look is modern, clean and a bit metallic. It is much improved from the look of the past and was a pleasant surprise as I expected to encounter the old dated rooms I saw during my research of previous hotel reviews on this property.

And the bathroom experienced a refresh as well!

The Fitness Center

Housed on the top floor near the pool and spa facilities, the fitness center area was small, but had enough equipment to get a good sweat going!

There were only two treadmills – one of which was out of service – so instead of the fitness center, we decided to head outside for a run down in the Balmaceda Park along the Mapocho River.

The Club Lounge

The remodeled lounge is located on the same floor as our room (the 10th floor), but our Marriott Gold status did not grant us access.

If this were a paid stay I would have been able to redeem one of my club level upgrades (a benefit of the Chase Ritz-Carlton Rewards Card), but since I redeemed free night certificates, we were on the outside looking in!

The Dining

Marriott Gold status did not provide us with any form of free breakfast, so we skipped the breakfast offering. I did happen to see the buffet spread as I grabbed coffee one morning, and it looked plentiful and delicious. But, it probably wasn’t not worth the price tag unless you are a big breakfast eater!

Final Thought

The Ritz-Carlton, Santiago is worth a visit – you will not be disappointed! The hotel did a fantastic job on the recent room renovations and it was just the refresh that the property needed! At $250-$300 a night (or 40,000 Marriott Rewards, or Ritz-Carlton free night certificates), the property provides a good value and I would recommend a stay next time you find yourself in Santiago!

Happy Travels!

DW

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