Sensational Value in Santiago: A Review of Hyatt Place Santiago/Vitacura
Accessing Hyatt points means staying in a room with 2 Queen beds and a sofa for only 5,000 points a night! Photo by: Evan Berman
After spending 1 night at the W Santiago, we needed to find a place to stay for 2 more nights in Santiago, Chile. This is the review of the Hyatt Place Santiago/Vitacura, a Category 1 Hyatt hotel we booked using Hyatt points.
The review of the Hyatt Santiago is a part of the larger South American Adventure. For more on this trip, follow these links:
Flight: CHS-JFK in Delta Comfort+
Flight: JFK-SCL in LATAM Economy+
Hyatt Place Santiago/Vitacura (This Article)
Osaka Santiago, Chile Restaurant Review
Flight: SCL-AEP in Aerolíneas Argentinas Economy
Flight: AEP-FTE in Aerolíneas Argentinas Economy
Trekking on Perito Moreno Glacier, Argentine Patagonia
36 Hours in El Calafate, Argentina
Flight: FTE-USH in Aerolíneas Argentinas Economy
Flight: USH-AEP in Aerolíneas Argentinas Economy
2 Days in Buenos Aires, Argentina
Flight: AEP-SCL in Aerolíneas Argentinas Economy
Flight: SCL-MIA in LATAM Business Class
Hyatt Place Ft. Lauderdale/Plantation
Flight: FLL-CHS in Silver Airways Economy Class
Intro:
Hyatt is the only major chain that still maintains an award chart. As such, outsized value is the norm and to be expected. While the hotels on the lower end are not fancy, they provide consistent benefits such as free breakfast, decent housekeeping, and solid comfort and amenities. Don’t stay in a Hyatt Place looking for decadence and you will be pleased with the stay!
Review:
This hotel was located in Vitacura, next to the Financial District of Las Condes. This area is quite touristy, but the deal was too good to miss. Hyatt provides a solid experience in its lower category hotels and while I was not blown away, the experience was good and the value was incredible.
Booking:
The Hyatt Place Vitacura/Santiago is a Category 1 Hotel. For those who may not be familiar, here is the award chart:
| Hotel Category | Off-Peak | Standard | Peak Pricing |
| 1 | 3,500 points | 5,000 points | 6,500 points |
| 2 | 6,500 points | 8,000 points | 9,500 points |
| 3 | 9,000 points | 12,000 points | 15,000 points |
| 4 | 12,000 points | 15,000 points | 18,000 points |
| 5 | 17,000 points | 20,000 points | 23,000 points |
| 6 | 21,000 points | 25,000 points | 29,000 points |
| 7 | 25,000 points | 30,000 points | 35,000 points |
| 8 | 35,000 points | 40,000 points | 45,000 points |
These prices are for “standard rooms”– if you want a suite or access to the lounge, you will pay slightly more at each level. That being said, a standard room usually includes several different options such as 1 King, 2 Double beds, and sometimes as was the case here, 2 beds plus a sofa.
For a Category 1 standard room, we paid 5,000 points per night. I transferred 10,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards Points to Hyatt for our 2-night stay (1:1 transfer). Had we paid cash, these rooms would be $114 per night, non-refundable, booking directly through Hyatt. As such, we easily got 2.28 cents per point in value!
Booking.com prices this hotel at $120 (equivalent to the non-Member Rate at Hyatt) and hotels.com is $150 per night.
I booked a 2-night award stay after checking availability and the transfer process from Chase was instantaneous. As an added perk, I received a targeted offer of 3,000 points after completing 1 stay with Hyatt. In all, this trip cost me 10,000 points and produced an extra 3,000. 7,000 points for 2 nights is… ok value I guess 😉
Cost: 10,000 UR points transferred to Hyatt
Points Earned: 3,000 Hyatt Points (from bonus, no points earned usually on award stays)
Value:
As mentioned above, I paid 10,000 Hyatt Points (transferred from Chase) and received 3,000 back for 2 nights. 7,000 Points in any hotel is fantastic, and one in a relatively expensive city is a fantastic deal!
11/10, Above and Beyond.
View:
As we were just off of a busy street near the financial district, the view was nothing special. That being said, we were on the 2nd floor and could easily see the traffic, trees, and pedestrians.
Additionally, the view from the rooftop (10th floor) as seen above was sensational. Most of the city is visible from there and that is where the gym is also found. I was not blown away by the view, but it was solid.
8/10 Very Nice.
Service:
The front desk attendants were very friendly and happy to converse in Spanish or English. I was thanked for my membership (although I had not yet received elite status, in some countries, you are simply thanked for joining the free program) and asked if I’d ever stayed in this hotel before. Since I had not, I needed to provide my personal information and my Credit Card was charged $50 for incidentals (upon check-out, this was reversed).
My room key did not work after my friend arrived (he got his key separately) and the attendant was happy to re-code the card to work on our room. Overall, the service was what can be expected. Nothing spectacular, but what one hopes for at a hotel.
9/10, Great.
Location:
As usual, my disclaimer applies: this one is highly subjective. Was I blown away by the view and location? No, of course not. Did I get to stay in the heart of downtown? No. However, that being said, there were plenty of restaurants and bars to walk to, Uber was convenient and cheap, and I had no complaints.
If you prefer a nature view (as I generally do; in big cities that is rare to find) or need to be in the heart of downtown, you might not like this location. I view this as an 8 due to the benefit of the rooftop view of the city.
8/10, Very Nice.
Bathroom:
This hotel, like many chains, had a solid bathroom with the ability to call down and request any needed toiletries. While nothing stood out in particular, everything was solid. In short, the bathroom was nice but not memorable– the way it should be!
8/10, Very Nice.
Furnishings:
The beds were quite comfortable. Additionally, we had a small couch that could have easily slept another person and proved valuable for me to get work done. Again, not the most memorable of accommodations but more than adequate for 2 nights.
9/10, Great.
Electronics:
There was a normal ~40” TV in the room, though being on vacation, I did not feel the need to inspect it.
Unfortunately, the Wi-Fi in this hotel was the worst of any of our hotels. I had several video chats and was not able to get reliable service. 2 of the 3 Zoom meetings kicked me out at some point and when it was working, the service/video was slow. Once my friend and I disconnect all other devices, the speed improved slightly.
If I was simply on vacation– or even working but had no video calls– this would not have been a problem. However, the fact remains that the Wi-Fi was not strong enough to handle Zoom Meetings.
6/10, Below Average, though if you require a strong Wi-Fi connection to function, this may rate lower.
Housekeeping:
If I stay in a hotel, I almost always refuse housekeeping service. There does not seem to be much benefit (changing sheets or towels after 1-2 nights?) and needing to safeguard against potential items “disappearing” seems to outweigh any slight benefits.
As such, I declined Housekeeping when asked. I should note that the front desk attendant was courteous enough to ask if I wanted morning or afternoon service. If you want housekeeping, this could be valuable– you could easily schedule the service for when you are out of the room.
N/A, I did not experience the quality of the service.
Food and Drink:
Most Hyatt hotels offer free breakfast, and this was no exception. While the meal was nothing to write home about, it is nice to be able to enjoy a free meal in the morning. The hotel also offers a bar on the top floor where drinks can be enjoyed al fresco. While we did not enjoy drinks here, as mentioned previously, the views are incredible.
9/10, Great.
Overall:
9/10, Great. I enjoyed staying here and the value is impossible to beat. Nothing stood out in terms of accommodations, location, or experience, but the service was solid. I would definitely recommend staying here on points!
12 thoughts on “Sensational Value in Santiago: A Review of Hyatt Place Santiago/Vitacura”
Comments are closed.