Hotel Almasur Providencia — Hotel in Providencia

On the last night of our holiday, 300924, my travel companion and I both had our backpacks stolen from the hotels Reception area of the Almasur Hotel, Santiago, Chile.||The Hotel did have Security staff onsite, but there was no security manning the front door.|When I made a formal complaint, the General Mgr of the hotel needed to check the CCTV footage for any theft.|He seemed very put out by the fact that he had to do the checks of the CCTV footage.|He did locate someone suspicious in the Hotel Reception area, who we suspect was the thief of our backpacks. I did see the footage but the footage wasn’t shared with me.||My issues for complaint are:|| There was no security staff on the front door – people not staying at the hotel were free to come and go without checks;| The General Manager, who was in the building and at the front desk when we were standing there, made no effort to approach us and / or apologise for any inconvenience caused by the theft;| To date we have received nothing from the hotel acknowledging the theft, even though I reported it to the front desk within 30 minutes of it happening.||Another interesting fact is that one of our tour companions had something removed from her room in the same hotel – this was an item she had purchased to take home to Australia. The item was clearly packaged in the room to show it was not rubbish / refuse however the hotel claimed it was taken and disposed of as rubbish.|The item had to be repurchased.||Beautiful hotel and location, but something needs to be done about security in the hotels...

We arrived after 12 hrs driving to be informed our $283 booking, on Bookings.com which included taxes and fees, had increased by $50 dollars. We asked Jaime the desk clerk the reason and received several nonsensical explanations: a mystery Bookings.com fee, a room upgrade, though we didn’t ask for or receive one, a “hotel is very busy”charge, and breakfast which we’d already declined. Asking for a detailed invoice showing the VAT hadn’t been charged as we were paying by foreign credit card, my wife waited over an hour while Jaime ignored her and served other guests. Finally she got an invoice, with no details, just a total. During our stay I asked to see a manager. Franco claimed he didn’t know why the price had increased and wasted time discussing irrelevant charges like room upgrades, Bookings.com commissions and unknown taxes. He said he’d investigate and let us know. He never did. In fairness, he did refund the overcharge of $50. It was a most unpleasant welcome to Chile. A change in price from the one advertised, a contemptuous receptionist and a lengthy check-in process because he is unable to produce a proper invoice, all are a disgrace for a hotel of that size and price. The hotel’s own paperwork showed the taxes and fees were in included in the original price. The refusal to deduct a VAT that’s only for residents leaves the guest with no option but to assume he’s been charged that extra amount. We’ve received ten times better service in hotels costing...

The room was modern and very comfortable, and service was incredibly helpful at all times. For water, there is a multi-function water fountain in the lobby where you can get hot water, sparkling water, regular water, warm water, etc., allowing you to freely refill your bottles according to your preference. It's a great feature I'd never seen before.

The view from my room wasn't great, but since I kept my blinds shut at all times to hide my electronic equipment from view, it wasn't a big deal. The bed was comfortable and the amenities were excellent. In terms of location, the nearest metro was about half a kilometer away, so that was the only downside for me. Most of the time, though, we either walked or took an Uber (which are incredibly cheap compared to North American taxis), so moving around wasn't a big deal.

I'd definitely go there again if I ever return...