Review: W Santiago, Chile

Ben, I noticed people swimming in the pool in that pic, is that because its heated well or was it actually warm enough this time of year? That roof deck is incredible, though based on the review of the bathroom alone I think not worth it.

I tend to think anyone who says "I will never return to Property X" after one stay is off base. A stay anywhere can have issues. I've heard great things about W Santiago.

@ Ra -- Oddly enough they were. I touched the water and it was cold, so not sure how/why they were in there.

@ Jackson -- Fair enough, though in this case my issue with the hotel wasn't the service or some other snafu, but rather the overall design. I'm writing the hotel off because I didn't like the rooms and found there to be much more style than substance. No matter how many times I return that won't change, unless they decide to put trash cans in the room. 😉

@lucky what compensation did you end up getting? aka service recovery points... You can DM me on twitter if you want

@ Jamison -- I didn't complain (and didn't get anything).

Unfortunately I have to agree with you. I've always liked the W brand but as I travel more, I like the brand less.

I live at the W Residences in New York because I like the hotel-like lifestyle that it provides but more and more I'm peeved with the design. The bathroom is terrible (although beautiful). I can't turn the shower on without being soaked with cold water, the tile/grout is black (even housekeeping can't keep it clean), and there's no way to use the bathroom without disturbing someone in the bedroom due to a glass cut-through that spills light/noise into the bedroom. Also the AC systems are terrible; they're noisy and can't keep the room cool. It's unfortunate that such a cool brand has really slipped. I think they need to find another designer. They used Graft in Germany for this interior design, they're a well known reputable design firm but apparently they've never used one of their own bathroom designs. . .

I find the trash can issue to be a problem everywhere, across many chains.

If the bathroom setup was going to be such an issue for you, you shouldn't have stayed there in the first place IMO. The hotel's website has at least 4 pictures of bathtubs in the room, including the Marvelous Suite. It is also mentioned on Tripadvisor. That you weren't aware of this going in is not a knock against the hotel.

The wife and i ran into a similar bath/shower situation at W Montreal. But we knew it going in, and frankly, kinda
Iked it ;).

What exactly is the W's solution for folks who are traveling with non-intimate friends or family members? Plunk down another $300 per person per night so each person can use the bathroom in private? Sorry if this is a silly question, but I honestly don't understand how this is supposed to work.

"“Cool Coroner Room” on website"

That must have been an interesting room!

Not off base when it comes to your expectations given the price / what W advertises.
However there's a huge gap between what the W hotels brand sells and what it really delivers. They try to brand themselves as a luxury provider but :
. their Wherever / Whenever service is just a marketing toy in order to cut costs when it comes to delivering an efficient and valuable concierge service (which usually differentiates the "luxury hotels" from the 4 star hotels)
. their room design is usually horrible (like your inroom shower, and you just have to pray that you're not staying with your sister in the same room, otherwise you'll be forced to vacate it everytime a shower / bath needs to be taken) and their standart room is cramped if you're not a single traveler (dont expect more than 20 sqm)
. the scale of the hotel (always a few hundred rooms at least) makes it impossible to provide a "tailored" service which defines the luxury experience.

Funny you should mention Andaz. Though their inroom breakfast sounds awesome for Diamond members, they actually sell quite the same product as W. Not upperscale, not luxury at all (a "host" should not be your pal, it should be, at least in a luxury hotel, someone whose only aim is to make your stay more comfortable, mainly because you chose, as a consumer, to pay more for having to not care about the details).
And these two brands have developed a bad habit of calling "suites" what common sense would call regular rooms.
Power of marketing ... But I'd rather stay at a Westin, knowing what to expect, and being happy with it .

Having stayed at the W Santiago, I agree that it is not worth a return stay. Other issues:
SMOKE (from cigarettes) everywhere- I know it is SA but common, can we not keep the air clean somewhere in the restaurant??
Front desk- inept vs indifferent- doesn't matter if I am not feeling like a guest. Lost bags, misplaced passports (that need to be photocopied out of sight) and archaic billing codes

I completely agree with your assessment that the W brand is more style than substance. The rooms always have some annoying quirk and more chipped particle board furniture than an Ikea showroom. In the last few months I've seen the same sort of problems at W's in Seattle, D.C., and San Diego.

And I don't think you ever need to apologize for "whining". Just seems like you're stating the facts to me.

The whole open concept shower can be very annoying. The Sofitel in Munich was the same way and it literally floods the bathroom. It has to be done right - the St Regis outside San Juan, PR had an awesome "open" shower.

Not a W fan myself although I'm very loyal to Starwood. I did like the w hong kong though; room was great and access to subway to airport fantastic- very valuable if you are staying only one night.

I also like W design over most le merediens I've been in which seem to me even more style over substance than W.

Is there a story behind changing from a 2 night stay to only 1 night?

Completely agree with the review. We stayed at the W Santiago for 3 nights last month. One positive thing about this hotel is the area surrounding it is really nice and safe.

We just came back from Santiago and stayed at the W for 2 nights. We were assigned the worst possible room (lower floor, no view/no balcony) and didn't get any upgrade on first night even being a Platinum member. I have to fight for a upper floor room with a large balcony on the second night as they only have the "wow" suits available and they won't upgrade us to...pretty mediocre stay compared to our amazing stay at Westin Lima with a huge suite upgrade.

I had the very same impression from the W Chile. I felt it was downright chaotic.
I tried the W Walkerhill Seoul and was equelly disappointed. Lesson learned - I will avoid the W brand hotels whenever possible.

Totally agree about W Lucky. The employees think they are too cool to be there and it has a cheap finish to it. I much prefer the Andaz brand myself.

This is why I kind of prefer staying in Hyatt Place, HIX, etc. They tend to be newly built, very comfortable beds, nice TV setups, plenty of outlets where I need them, and it doesn't take half an hour to get to my room.

A fancy hotel is great if it's still convenient. But convenience is #1.

The W used to be something special, then someone got their hands on it and decided it can be just "cool", and not a functional hotel room. I just had my first stay at a St. Regis, and it renewed my faith in the Starwood brand. They need to really take a look at the W's, close the clubs in them (or at least remove them from the hotel utilities, elevator, bathrooms, etc)and make it back into a young, luxury brand.

Lucky,

I just returned from a trip to Lima(Sheraton Lima in a junior suite), Sao Paolo(Sheraton WTC in a design suite) and Santiago(Sheraton Santiago standard room, San Cristobal Tower suite and the W Santiago in the same level suite as you). I would have to say that the W suite was the nicest of all of them. Our bathrooms had doors which the Sao Paolo WTC design suite didnt have. Also the people at the W were great. It sounds like my experience was the opposite of yours.

I just had a 2 night stay at the W Santiago in Feb 2017. It was actually quite great. The staff were all helpful, no attitude.... So maybe it's improved over the years?

The rooms are still odd, but entertaining. And I really like the toiletries.

The (commercial) gym connected to the hotel is also good, although I wish it were open earlier.

I'll go back when I return to Santiago.

My wife and I stayed at the W Santiago for 3 nights in mid February 2026 and had a wonderful time. We quite enjoyed the hotel, the room, and the staff. Every employee we encountered was friendly and greeted us with warmth and a smile.

The open shower isn't great in terms of heating up the whole bathroom but in the year's since this first review article that has become pretty standard. I found the tub protruding into the room from the bathroom is actually quite sexy, or at least could be.

Sure some parts of the hotel showed signs of it's age but it wasn't too bad and happens sometimes.

All in all we enjoyed it and would return in a heartbeat.