Maison Italia 1029 - Santiago, Chile
Let’s start this review differently this time. I prepared the longest one-way journey of my life in the most comfortable way: an elegant stay in Milan, Italy followed by a great flight in Alitalia’s exclusive business class. No wonder I arrived in Santiago totally relaxed and fit. Since my colleague Lukas and me needed to get to Casablanca on my arrival day, we rented a car with Europecar and so did not need to arrange any hotel car. With nearly 42 degrees celsius we arrived in the boiling Santiago. One has to mention that it really depends in which Barrio you end up. While Bellavista is for the young party-seeker and Vitacura for the upscale shops and business centers, Italia is for the insiders seeking for antique shops, young designers and small nice coffee shops and restaurants. From the moment we arrived I fell in love with this area and was happy to have selected this place.
In the heart of Barrio Italia was the Maison Italia 1029, a brand new boutique hotel with just 5 rooms. While all rooms are located on the first floor, the bar and main hub of the hotel is located on the second floor with balcony and views over the city and San Cristobal hill. A small front desk with lounge corner, a radio station and a few handicraft shops make out the ground floor and fit into this district perfectly. The kind attendant at the front desk took care of our luggage and delivered it to our room while he also showed us the way and introduced the room briefly. While I only expect that from luxury hotels, I really appreciate the effort the staff of Maison Italia 1029 made. Overall the guy in suit, the elegant lobby as well as the chic servers and hostesses in the bar gave this hotel a very very chic altitude and I have to admit I did never have the feeling not to be in a luxury hotel. While I thought the rooms are very small - given the indication on the website says the room is only 19 square meters - they still looked bigger than Parisian luxury hotel rooms. I loved the spacious bathrooms with windows and daylight, new fluffy towels and spacious walk-in shower. While the toiletries were actual dispensers on the wall, they smelled amazing.
Highlight number two was the cool terrace just outside the room that actually expanded the room surface by another 4 square meters. I mean which luxury hotel in Santiago has terraces with views of the green alleys? Me and my colleague Lukas were celebrating the hustle and bustle of the 7-million metropolis with a bottle of red wine purchased earlier that day at the winery Casas del Bosque in Casablanca. Accompanied by two small Cohibas - generously lit by a fire provided by the front desk attendant. Honestly the evening couldn’t have been more relaxing but at one point one of the two of us convinced us to join the party in the bar on the second floor.
So there were we, having got the pole position table of the bar being served one of the best Pisco Sours in entire Santiago along with an excellent Roast Beef Sandwich. The service was very good and we had a truly enjoyable accompany which later lead to partying in Bellavista with an early wake-up call at 5am. Well, sleep wasn‘t our primary goal during the stay in Santiago. However you can already make a conclusion: we ended up being rebooked to the 11 am flight instead the booked one at 8am.
Other than that, Santiago is an amazing city and has a wide array of accommodations and places to eat, however having only a very limited time in this city, I felt Maison Italia 1029 was the best option for me as it represents Barrio Italia‘s lifestyle combined with the coolness of Chile‘s capital. I would have missed this feeling if I would have stayed in one of the huge luxury hotels. Considering the amazing beds, cool terraces, lovely vibe and chic design, I would definitely stay at Maison Italia 1029 again.
