Hotel Ilaia — Hotel in Punta Arenas

I am writing this review, based on all my travels and as a Hilton Honors Diamond member. For all Americans, who wants to get the most bang for their buck, you will appreciate this. For others, you’re not too picky…

For USD $170/night, this is what I got:

1star: No tv, no coffee maker, no fridge, no microwave (would be nice but optional), no iron, no facial bar of soap, (but they have shampoo and conditioner ) and no hand lotion. Maybe just to listen to internationals news? Sure I can use my iPhones, but tv would be nice. I have to buy my own coffee maker, although not expensive, but just inconvenient.

1star: Breakfast, not buffet style but you will have to let them know what time you want it to be ( this is acceptable). BUT, breakfast consists of chopped fruits, bread, butter, cheese, jam, avocado, honey, cream and sugar. As for drinks, they have OJ and unlimited coffee.

3 stars: Room is quaint (small), nicely decorated, hardwood floors, modern look but terrible sound proofing. I imagine nothing between walls, as I can clearly hear my next door neighbor. They have huge head showers and very hot water. Very clean, sheets smelled nice.

4 stars: Location: didn’t bother me at all, since I either walk or run it, or Uber it.

5 stars: Staff are extremely very nice, friendly, go out of their way to help you out, just big high five to all of them.

I stayed at this place, based on reviews on websites. Not sure how they can give them a 5 star, but very disappointing. I ran the Antarctic Ice marathon, and the hotels that were recommended were all sold out, Diego and Almasur. But talking to some teammates, they were shocked as to the amount I paid and what I got. For this price, I would have loved some hot meals for breakfast, like oatmeal and some eggs(hard boiled is good). Maybe some yogurt, bananas, some pastries? Not asking much.

So that is my honest review. Would I come back here, maybe not. Would I recommend this hotel? Well, based on the amenities or lack of, also depending on your priorities, you can...

Excellent room with excellent service!

When travelling to Punta Arenas, you must be flexible. The weather can affect your plans for outdoor outings, especially if they involve boats. In our case, we had two very windy days that meant we spent more time than intended at our hotel. Luckily, the Hotel Ilaia was a wonderful place to pass the time!

Our bedroom was very comfortable, with a clean and efficiently organized bathroom. There is a large common area where breakfast is served and coffee/tea is always available. But the best spot is what we call the "nest", a glass-enclosed room on the roof of the building with views all around Punta Arenas. Wine is always available, and that helped to ease the disappointment from our plans that were affected by windy weather.

The staff (Natalia, Juanita, and Ricardo) were all super nice and helpful. They all speak good English as well as Spanish, and they are good stewards for their town and the available outings. We received wonderful hospitality and helpful local advice from them. When we return someday (we must! to do the penguin and glacier tours!) we would definitely stay at Hotel...

This is a very nice, smaller hotel that has a bed and breakfast feel to it. Our hostess Katherine was phenomenal. She was very friendly, helpful, and provided good advice about local restaurants and the general neighborhood. The room size was just right for two people and there was ample space in the bathroom. The breakfast area has a garden view. There is also a separate coffee/tea area with snacks. We had an unfortunate event of power loss at 3a which lasted until about 7a. This was no fault of the hotel but breakfast was a little delayed. Juanita did a wonderful job of preparing warm and cold offerings. There is dedicated hotel parking at no charge, but it does require your full attention and a little maneuvering. While the hotel is very nice and well maintained, at first appearance the immediate surroundings appear a bit run down at in need of some TLC. We had absolutely no issues walking around the neighborhood which included early morning and late evening. The hotel is about a 10-15 minute walk to the harbor and...