Oma

[Omakathie]

Any suggestions for a convenient hotel to stay the night before a cruise, since the airport is so far from the port?

[FredZiffle]

South America is a pretty big region.  Can you narrow this down a bit by naming the city?

[Omakathie]

Flying into Santiago, and I believe the airport is quite a distance from the port.  Wondering if we should stay in the city or close to the airport or port.

[pspercy]

Which port ?

Some cruiselines have moved to San Antonio but I believe some still use Valparaiso.

[Omakathie]

San Antonio

[FredZiffle]

I would stay at the Ibis Estacion Central in Santiago.  You can take a cheap bus (2 or 3 bucks)  from the airport to Alameda Terminal, which is literally 100 ft. away from the Ibis.  In the morning, catch another bus from Alameda to San Antonio.  The Ibis is surprisingly nice and modern.  I'm picky, but had no issues with that hotel.  The bus to San Antonio will be a standard motor coach - also nice and modern.  Buses should run about every half hour to San Antonio, and are also pretty cheap ($10 or so IIRC).

[Omakathie]

Thanks!  Really appreciate the advice!

[relaxatsea]

We stayed at the Hotel Mellatti in San Antonio before our cruise.  We also used their transportation service from Santiago Airport to the hotel, for a fee, and on the day of the cruise, they took us to the cruise terminal for free.  Our room overlooked the port, and the views were amazing.  It was easy to walk to the seaside promenade and to the large and modern shopping mall across the street where we ate lunch a the food court.  This is a small family owned hotel, and we have never had better customer service anywhere.  They were very warm, welcoming, and helpful.  The free breakfast in their dining room overlooking the port was delicious also.  After a long flight from the U.S., it was very nice to have someone waiting for us at the airport when we arrived.  This hotel reminded me of an old Michigan farmhouse, to give you a better idea.

Edited April 8, 2019 by relaxatsea