SANTIAGO
Santiago - Luxury Travel Magazine
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Santiago Swings | |||||
| By: Jane O’Sullivan, Issue 42 – Autumn 2010 | |||||
| (Santiago, Chile) | |||||
| WHETHER YOUR PREFERENCE IS COOL OR CLASSIC, THE CHILEAN CAPITAL CAN HOST YOU IN STYLE WRITES JANE O’SULLIVAN. | |||||
| Santiago has long had a reputation as one of the most cultural and historically significant metropolises of South America, rivalled perhaps only by Buenos Aires. While it doesn’t have quite the wealth of colonial architecture as its Argentinian counterpart – thanks in part to a history of earthquakes – it has no shortage of grandeur with high lights including the dramatic main square Plaza de Armas, the Palacio de la Moneda presidential residence and the ornate Cerro Santa Lucía complex. Present day Santiago still bears the scars of the coup that saw General Pinochet rise to power, a period that saw many artists and writers flee the city. In the 20 years since Chile returned to democratic rule, this cultural life has been slowly rebuilding, particularly in barrios like Bellavista. Bellavista was once Santiago’s most famous bohemian district and while it now caters to a much wider array of tastes, it hasn’t lost its original artistic feel. Among the calles of French-influenced buildings are some of the city’s best jazz bars, bistros and restaurants. Try a tabla smorgasbord of nibbles with a good bottle of red to really get into the Santiago swing of things. Santiago is a city split between gleaming modern skyscrapers and colonial charm, and nowhere is this more apparent than in choosing a place to stay. Tapping into the city’s colonial heritage is the elegant San Cristobel Tower in Providencia. The 139-room hotel is furnished in a modern and comfortable blend of colonial and regency decor. Carved mahogany chairs, oriental carpets, crystal chandeliers, draped curtains and gilt framed mirrors all hint of the glory days of old. Another colonial touch at San Cristobel Tower is the exclusive butler service, which is widely praised for considerate attention to detail. Like other hotels in Starwood’s Luxury Hotel Collection, San Cristobel Tower also provides a “Luggage Liaison” service for guests, which will see luggage forwarded to the hotel ahead of time and unpacked for you. The personalised service at the hotel will also see guests wake up to a complimentary local newspaper, coffee and juice. And for those who plan to enjoy Santiago’s contemporary side, the newly opened W Santiago in the upmarket El Golf district represents the best in modern design. For W Santiago, Chilean designer Sergio Echeverria partnered with Tony Chi, a New York-based designer with luxury credits to his name including the InterContinental Geneva, Park Hyatt Shanghai and Park Hyatt Washington DC. While modern design, if done poorly, can sometimes leave guests thinking cold instead of cool, Chi & Echeverria have infused the interior design of W Santiago with a colour palette taken from the Chilean desert. Oranges, blues and vibrant hues are placed alongside the warmth of natural materials like copper (Chile’s biggest export), sheepskin, wood and contemporary Indian tapestries. “When designing, you have to start with the location and its people, and what I noticed here is that friends and family congregate frequently and in large groups. Chilean culture is about crossing generations and bridging differences,” says Chi. The lounges, restaurants and bars – including nightclub Whiskey Blue and bars Red2One and W Lounge – are clearly designed with this in mind. Also on the entertainment menu are restaurants Noso, Terraza and Osaka, led by chefs specialising in modern French and Asian-Peruvian fusion cuisines. Guests can also make an appointment at W’s Wine Tasting Room to sample Chilean and international wine while surrounded by a 1,600-bottle stack, or visit the Tea Library to sample loose leaf tea collections from Chile, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and Brazil. Of the 196 rooms at W Santiago, the Extreme WOW Suite is the most stunning (and the most enthusiastically named). Relax with a pisco sour on the 400 square foot private terrace, looking out over the city to the snowcapped Andes beyond. A ceiling-to-floor rainforest downpour shower, high ceilings and a glass-tile mosaic in the living room are other stand-out features of the suite. Despite the glitz of Santiago’s wealthier business and financial districts like El Golf, there is still a vast chasm between the have and have-nots in the city, as throughout much of South America. Many travellers negotiate this by choosing a charity to support before they travel. The benefit to this sort of approach is that, by making a concerted decision to support a local community or cause of particular interest, travellers have peace of mind that their support is going where they feel it’s most needed. It can be difficult to find the time to properly consider and assess different needs once landed. Presently, much of Chile is facing the expensive and lengthy task of rebuilding homes and infrastructure following the earthquake on 27 February. Charities such as Cruz Roja Chilena (Red Cross Chile), World Vision and Habitat for Humanity are among those coordinating disaster relief. | |||||
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