Walking into my guestroom at at the Grand Hyatt Santiago was a rather impressive experience. The gently curved windows provide a wide-open, sky-high view of the soaring modern towers that populate the upscale Las Condes district in Santiago de Chile.
The Grand Hyatt Santiago is, in fact, one of the areas most recognizable modern towers in its own right. A shiny glass confection with a potentially vertigo-inducing atrium (which, as you can see below, inspired me to create a few Hitchcockian black and white architectural portraits), the hotel is something like a business-oriented resort, an urban oasis marked by a large outdoor garden area, complete with a gigantic swimming pool that’s topped off with a large circular sun deck from which a waterfall plunges. There is also a large spa and plenty of on-site dining.
My room, 910, featured a rather cool sunken living area, making the room feel more like a studio apartment. An overly large number of intimidating-looking, black-suited security guards had me wondering if someone rich and famous was staying here, but other than their glares, this is a comfortable — if businesslike — place to stay. It’s also walking distance to Parque Arauco, the largest upscale shopping mall and dining complex in the city. (One word of warning: as with m any higher-end hotels, prepare to spend extra for Internet access — in this case, a heftier-than-usual U.S.$24 per day). Rack rates start at about U.S.$299 and up.
The view from room 910.
The atrium is especially artistic in black and white!