Several boutique hotels have opened recently in Chile’s capital city of Santiago. Hotel Magnolia, in an elegant 1929 stone manor near the city center, began welcoming guests in mid-2016, catering to both business and upscale leisure travelers looking for an alternative to the city’s international hotel brands.
Here’s the scoop:
Facilities and Services
Built in 1929 as a private residence, Hotel Magnolia retains many of its original features, from its Neo-Gothic facade and diamond-paned windows to a gracious curving marble staircase.
Rather than a traditional lobby, there’s a library adjacent to the check-in desk. Guests can work or socialize at the long communal table or park in the leather armchairs. Contemporary industrial-style shelving, lined with books, frames the original brick wall.
On the opposite site of the lobby is the thoroughly modern bar with the same exposed bricks and black-metal shelving, but a totally contemporary feel.
Upstairs, the hotel has a small fitness room with a treadmill, elliptical trainer, and stationary bike.
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Guest Rooms and Amenities
Hotel Magnolia has 42 spare but sleek guest rooms with wooden floors and a Zen-like minimalist feel. The standard units are 325 square feet (30 square meters), while the larger junior suites, with a sitting area, measure 430 square feet (40 square meters).
Instead of traditional headboards, the beds are backed by fabric screens printed with serene designs. All rooms have flat-screen TVs, work desks, and complimentary Wi-Fi. Other features include one-cup coffeemakers, mini-bars, and in-room safes.
Throughout the property, the designers have created the effect of interior windows with photos of historic windows mounted on the wall, like this one in the bathroom (below). The sleek baths have beige stone walls and marble vanities.
Breakfast and Room Rates
Hotel Magnolia’s rates include a breakfast buffet, served in the atrium-style restaurant on the lobby level, where guests help themselves to fresh fruit, cold cuts, cheeses, breads, and pastries. I’d come back just for the croissant-like chocolate swirl pastry. The coffee was hot and freshly made, served with warm milk.
Double room rates at the Hotel Magnolia are US$220-260 per night. You can compare rates and also book through Booking.com, Hotels.com or other booking sites.
Hotel review by Vancouver-based travel, food, and feature writer Carolyn B. Heller. Photos © Carolyn B. Heller. Hotel Magnolia, in conjunction with Turismo Chile, hosted my stay for review purposes.
