The Aubrey

We’re glad we chose the Aubrey for our last 5 nights in Chile. Super staff (thank you to Will, Kevin, Sebastian and everyone else) and a location so central to everything we wanted to see with a super relaxing pool area we enjoyed each afternoon. A large comfortable bed, and effective air-con meant we slept well. We had one of the Pavilion rooms at the rear of the hotel which also had a little rear patio including a jacuzzi bath which was a nice touch. Breakfast on one of the many outside terraces was lovely, everything you wanted was available and brought to your table, and we had a real feast every morning with cappuccinos, orange juice, fried eggs and bacon, bread, yoghurt, granola etc, with nothing ever too much trouble. The Bellavista area may not be for everyone, but we wanted to see the real Santiago and deliberately avoided the big corporate RitzCarlton type hotels in the quieter and more “upmarket” areas, and were very pleased with our choice of the Aubrey. However you do need to be prepared for the gritty, noisy, lively district that Bellavista is (and in which the Aubrey is a diamond in the rough) and at night, particularly towards weekends it is loud and crazy! However the roads parallel to the main thoroughfare are calmer so you just need to get the lie of the land. We ate locally or within 20 mins walk most nights, with Sevardo a particular highlight, plus Bocanariz, and also the rooftop bar/restaurant at the Singular hotel in an adjacent district. We weren’t so keen on Peumayen Ancestral Food as it’s very touristy but each to their own. We made a taxi trip to Michelin starred Borago which was well worth it. We also liked Avenue/Bario Italia for mooching around lovely little shops and lots of coffee shops and restaurants (think Shoreditch) and enjoyed getting the shuttle bus up Caterina (funicular undergoing maintenance) although were too woosy for the cable car! The Aubrey does hold wedding receptions/functions at weekends (it is such a lovely setting for it) and on our last night, after being out for dinner, we sat with a bottle of wine watching a lovely couple and their friends and family celebrating (and in fact the bride and groom were happy to chat to us which made us feel very honoured). Music (which is great by the way, we loved all the DJ type music played in the afternoons and evenings) was turned down at midnight, so no real disturbance to hotel guests. We’d highly recommend the Aubrey and would definitely return :)