Happy House Hostel — Local services in Santiago

I stayed at Happy House on a recent trip, for two stays of two nights each, passing through Santiago. This is an old colonial era converted mansion or embassy, we were so curious what it had been in the past. It is an amazing space, gigantic and with many extra wings. We really liked the back yard patio area although in August everything was closed, which was disappointing, as we thought the bar would be open in winter (clearly the pool was closed). In summer I'm sure those spaces are amazing. They did seem to be doing free walking tours or pub crawls, although I did not go. If that stuff is really important you might want to ask what is open. The staff are beyond helpful and eve went so far as to explain how to use the Santiago metro, which saved me money on cabs plus made getting around easy. I had zero issues with hot water. It is an old building and retains that flavor so if you want super modern you will not be happy. As a colonial building with 12+ foot ceilings it is chilly, but both rooms I had included space heaters, which kept it cozy enough. I stayed in private rooms with private bathroom, first on the 1st floor, and then on the 3rd floor. The 1st floor is quite noisy as you hear everything through the walls. The 3rd floor was much quieter but there is no elevator. Both rooms were spacious and had comfortable beds. It did take a while for the hot water to get to the 3rd floor but if you know anything about buildings especially those with older plumbing this is common, you just let the water run for a while until it gets hot. Breakfast was filling and they make eggs to order, plus have fruit, bread, yogurt, coffee, and many types of juice. I will also note that on our trip we ended up staying at another converted colonial mansion in Santiago, a bit on the higher end, and they had the exact same situation - stairs, hot water and plumbing idiosyncrasies. Happy House also had really fast and consistent Wifi which made communicating and looking up your trip very easy, which was not true on our trip as many places had broken or slow wifi. I would definitely recommend and would likely stay...

The hostel is very unclean, the bathrooms and the dorms. I went into the bathroom straight after there was someone in there cleaning and honestly couldn't tell the difference. The dorm picture looks nothing like what it is now. The beds are not the nice wooden ones your see with the nice white blanket on. In fact, upon checking in I was given a plastic bag with a sheet and a pillow in it to make my own bed - I can honestly say I've never had to do that and I've stayed in a lot of places! Not the best welcome to anyone staying here and not sure what I'm paying for. The beds are metal, the ladder is not attached to the bed therefore getting up to the top bunk is not only dangerous but noisy. There is a sink in the room but no mirror. There are personal plugs by each bed but no light shelf, safety railing or curtain. Meaning every time someone comes in or out of the room your are disturbed. Adding these small things would make the room a lot more pleasant. Breakfast is average, you get dished up some stone cold eggs that were probably cooked yesterday. Plus points: staff are very nice and all speak great English. Laundry on site that you can do yourself (and avoid stuff going in the dryer!). Close to metro but the area itself isn't that safe after dark at 8pm. Huge area with pool and tables to chill at but it was very dead as there are no social activities...

The location on Moneda not far from airport bus stop Los Heroes and the old town is good. There are supermarkets near by and the shared kitchen is well enough equipped to cook (missed spoons though). The rooms and premises are spacious and quiet! Facilities such as the hot showers and toilets worked well. WiFi could be better in the rooms, but overall good. Beds are comfortable and bunk frames are stable. Breakfast is substantial (eggs, white bread, jam, yoghurt, cereals, milk, coffee or tea). Staff is friendly and helpful.||Out of 12 hostels I stayed at in Chili, this one was the best. A major factor is this hostel is relaxed and quiet!||Difficult to extend your stay, as all the beds are online and often the place is fully booked. The neighbourhood is not safe after dark (the part between the hostel and the Human Rights museum is...