Plaza de Armas Hostel — Local services in Santiago

It's the view from the balcony which for me was really a "never tiring" one, specifically that of Plaza de Armas down below with plenty of people & also some "live performances" on the big square almost entirely covered by big trees and surrounded by beautiful heritage buildings on all four sides (including the one on the south side with this hostel on the 6th floor). As for the place itself, on the plus side were very friendly & helpful staff (one young lady took a nice pic of me at the outdoor part of the balcony with a great background of Plaza de Armas), nice breakfast including "plenty of" hard-boiled eggs, lockers located outside the rooms (which I guess makes it convenient not to have to take your stuff right away after checking out) and an "in-suite" bathroom (not for shower though) right in my 8-bed dorm room. But yes, on the minus side, there were "a few issues" of the showers being not warm enough, some noises in the early parts of the night coming up from the Plaza and having to wait for the elevator (which is kind of an "ancient one" that is slow & can fit in only about 6 people at a time). ||||Then there's the "convenience of location" for: food with just "a whole bunch" of places to eat directly down below on the first floor of this building and also a nice KFC just outside the southeast corner of the Plaza (by turning right after coming down the building & taking a short walk); shopping with about 4 mid-sized shopping malls all in a "close proximity" around the Plaza including the one directly down below (alongside the eateries as just mentioned on the first floor of this building) and also some "pedestrian streets" where apart from indoor shops are also outdoor vendors of souvenirs & such; sightseeing with two great sites directly around the Plaza (Museo Historico Nacional with great displays of Chile's colonial & liberation periods on the north side of the Plaza & Metropolitan Cathedral with an "ornate ceiling" & plenty of saint statues on the west side of the Plaza), Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino with pre-Columbian artifacts not just from Chile but from various parts of the continent just shortly outside the southwest corner of the Plaza (at just a very short walk to the left after coming down the building) and La Moneda Presidential Palace where I saw a great guard-change ceremony with "horses & music" at about 11 am on a Sunday (a 10-to-15-minute walk in total, first to the left after coming down the building, another left at the end of the building, then to the right after 3 blocks along that "pedestrian street" followed by a straight walk to the Palace's front grounds); and transportation with Plaza de Armas metro station directly on the Plaza although it's not a direct line from the bus terminals if you're arriving at the city by bus (where you'll have to change from Line 1 to Line 5 at Baquedano Station to get to Plaza de...

It's the view from the balcony which for me was really a "never tiring" one, specifically that of Plaza de Armas down below with plenty of people & also some "live performances" on the big square almost entirely covered by big trees and surrounded by beautiful heritage buildings on all four sides (including the one on the south side with this hostel on the 6th floor). As for the place itself, on the plus side were very friendly & helpful staff (one young lady took a nice pic of me at the outdoor part of the balcony with a great background of Plaza de Armas), nice breakfast including "plenty of" hard-boiled eggs, lockers located outside the rooms (which I guess makes it convenient not to have to take your stuff right away after checking out) and an "in-suite" bathroom (not for shower though) right in my 8-bed dorm room. But yes, on the minus side, there were "a few issues" of the showers being not warm enough, some noises in the early parts of the night coming up from the Plaza and having to wait for the elevator (which is kind of an "ancient one" that is slow & can fit in only about 6 people at a time). ||||Then there's the "convenience of location" for: food with just "a whole bunch" of places to eat directly down below on the first floor of this building and also a nice KFC just outside the southeast corner of the Plaza (by turning right after coming down the building & taking a short walk); shopping with about 4 mid-sized shopping malls all in a "close proximity" around the Plaza including the one directly down below (alongside the eateries as just mentioned on the first floor of this building) and also some "pedestrian streets" where apart from indoor shops are also outdoor vendors of souvenirs & such; sightseeing with two great sites directly around the Plaza (Museo Historico Nacional with great displays of Chile's colonial & liberation periods on the north side of the Plaza & Metropolitan Cathedral with an "ornate ceiling" & plenty of saint statues on the west side of the Plaza), Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino with pre-Columbian artifacts not just from Chile but from various parts of the continent just shortly outside the southwest corner of the Plaza (at just a very short walk to the left after coming down the building) and La Moneda Presidential Palace where I saw a great guard-change ceremony with "horses & music" at about 11 am on a Sunday (a 10-to-15-minute walk in total, first to the left after coming down the building, another left at the end of the building, then to the right after 3 blocks along that "pedestrian street" followed by a straight walk to the Palace's front grounds); and transportation with Plaza de Armas metro station directly on the Plaza although it's not a direct line from the bus terminals if you're arriving at the city by bus (where you'll have to change from Line 1 to Line 5 at Baquedano Station to get to Plaza de...

First of the place was difficult to find. The staircase entrance is hidden inside a shopping alley, so we did a few laps with heavy backpacks looking around Plaza Des Armas square. The lobby is on a high floor and there is no signage at ground level. The entrance to the stairs to get to the lobby is inside a strip of food outlets so its easy to miss. There were no signs on the outside of the building to indicate the hostel is in that particular building as it appears to mostly be residential apartments for locals. ||Once inside the check in was smooth and easy enough, the lift is very slow & old and the stairs were easier in this building (just to note if you have suitcases). The room was basic as most hostels, but it was clean and comfortable and a good price for middle of the city. We asked for a view of the Plaza and we got a stunning one among the palm trees we we were appreciative of. ||So the hostel has a strange set up, with the main shared dorms, kitchen, lockers, lounge ect on the same floor as the check in lobby, yet all the private rooms are rented in amongst the general population in the same apartment complex. So if you want to use the lockers you need to keep going up/down the stairs to access. Also as the private rooms within the complex are all rented separately some to the hostel others to locals, security can't really be established for your particular room. Lots of people coming and going and there was alot of noise and partying at night in the corridors. With an old school lock and key, there were a few times I reconsidered leaving my valuables behind in the room.||||My main concern - and while this is not the hotels fault by any means - but it would appear alot of unsavoury activity goes on in the Plaza De Armas right outside. We witnessed alot of what we assumed was a prostitution ring. Girls would hang out in the plaza touting potential clients all day, with many clients heading up into the different rooms to do business. The 2 big burley guys in leather at the foot of the stairs, kind of gave away what they were up to awsell. ||||While nothing interfered with our stay, and not alot the hostel can do about it, it is probably a big thing to note this isn't the safest place to stay or roam around at night. All in all we never felt completely unsafe, and your always going to have crime in these big cities, I would just watch your things and keep your wits about you. Location & size of the room was what made it...