Hotel Foresta — Hotel in Santiago

This place is a total joke. After booking 2 months in advance, I messaged them 5 times w/questions-no response. When I arrived, the front desk clerk stated that the wifi worked well. Lie. I went to my room on the 3rd floor & tried to connect-nothing. Came back down to the lobby. Was able to connect but ran a speedtest on line and was getting barely a handful of mbps. And that was RIGHT by the router/wifi receiver! Clerk FINALLY admitted it didn't really work-naturally after he had already run my CC. I looked up another hotel using my phone which had data, had the clerk call them, confirmed their wifi was sufficient then booked them. Then it took the clerk almost an hour to get a taxi that I demanded Foresta pay for (about $2.50 US was the TOTAL fare!) so I could get to my new hotel. I sent a message via hotels.com to management the next day-of course, no response. I then e-mailed Foresta directly 3 weeks later-no response of course. Finally, I had to chat online w/hotels.com & then have hotels.com call them using a rep offshore since the front desk claimed they don't speak English (they do) since Filipinos speak Spanish. Foresta said they would only give me 1 of 2 nights back & then lied again saying they had NO IDEA how to refund my payment back to my CC. In the end, hotels.com decided to provide actual customer service by crediting back my payment...

I stumbled into it upon my second day in Santiago when I knew I had to change neighborhoods from the party-zone Bella Vista to a quieter more suitable location and after reviewing four or five on the streets, directly by walking in and asking to be shown around decided that this was my place for the next two nights, the length of my stay in Santiago before leaving for Rapa Nui. I believe this neighborhood is the Zona Artiste where in some weird way, as an actor, I fit right in. The staff was patient, competent and kind, upgraded me the second night to a front facing suite and were as helpful and understanding as possible, my Spanish is limited but we made ourselves understood. I am usually a two or star traveler, it's my "comfort zone" when I'm paying and this cozy, castle by the park off a main drag was exactly my speed. If I ever return to Santiago (I could do without the Nazi memorabilia at the flea market) I'd come right back to Hotelara...

The location is convenient for arriving by car and is centrally located, at the foot of the hill with a park. The place is fairly quiet and offers a good place to rest. Parking is available for free within a 5-minute walk, thanks to a special agreement. The Chilean breakfast was good and modest, with ham, cheese, scrambled eggs, and coffee. There were few issues with the cold; there's air conditioning, though it's a bit dated, like the decor, which takes you back in time. The staff is helpful, although not all speak English. Although the neighborhood isn't well-known, we didn't have any problems or feel unsafe. Santiago is all particular, it is an experience. The price was good, and the hotel is discreet, secure and unique. The room comfortable because large...