I was fortunate to have chosen this particular hostel. It happens that there can be an apartment available. They will be the judge. Be it apartment or the excellent hostel itself, with a great atrium and comfortable seating area, breakfast, a couple of dogs and a very kind and caring staff, you can hardly go wrong. They are artfully decorated, clean, and reasonable - naturally, the apartment will come a little more costly, but well worth it. Knowing some Spanish (which I don't) is highly recommended. Otherwise, get the old phrasebook out.

NOTE:

There are of tours of the city and environment and usually more activities than there is time. Walking to the city center or the not too distant supermarket is not a problem at all. However, there is a dense public transportation network in place, above ground and beneath. Even a non-Spanish speaker like myself can get around easy enough. All I can say is that I had a wonderful stay in Santiago. Were I to return, this is where I would stay.

Since I took the overnight bus from Santiago, I arrived at a bus terminal outside of the city. However, no problem. A taxi took me to the hostal without problems for a reasonable amount. When I left for Punta Arenas, the ladies who ran the hostal ordered a cab for me to take me to the airport. Another excellent choice of hostel. The very nice ladies ran the place and a breakfast and a kitchen were included. The hostal, and you're looking down the street in the picture right above, was not that far from the city center, past a well-stocked supermarket. The weather was not particularly good, but there are some excellent tours that can be taken from here. Unfortunately, I took sick - food poisioning, and had to miss out on those great excursions. I figured something I ate at the fishermen's warf did not agree with me and had me toss everything I ate for a couple of days. I just moved around locally to enjoy whatever was possible. One of the women had a photo on her phone, taken from the exact spot I took the one of the same volcano from the hostel, except, in her's it was erupting. Pretty cool. To sum it up, were I to redo this one, I would not mind staying here again. I was quite comfortable. Just so you know, I did this booking through Hostelworld.

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There are a number of supermarkets in town, and in one of them, near the end of the main shopping street, on the right side, I found several ATMs that worked for me.

It didn't look like much from the outside, but then, not much in Punta Arenas does, once winter has passed. Nearly all houses are in dire need of a coat of paint by then. The room was nice and large and the bathroom very functional. Also, a nice large TV was on hand. There is a nicebreakfast included. The owner is friendly and helpful and will happily get your tours arranged. There is a kitchen that is available to use at certain times. The Hostel is about a 10 minute walk from the center of town, where you will find just about anything you may need, including a very large supermarked, where, on the second floor, you can buy hot meals each day. They're excellent and not expensive. Take-out, naturally. A 10-15 minute walk in the other direction, you can't miss it, will take you to the waterfront of the Strait of Magellan. Pretty cool, all of that. I got there in the off-season, early spring, and not much tourist traffic was going on.

NOTE:

I flew in from Puerto Mondtt. At the airport inquire about the bus into town. It stops at all of the hotels and hostels and will drop you off right in front of Hostal Parediso. Since I left by bus, there are two long-distance bus terminals in town, I just walked to the one I was leaving from. It is close enough (for me, at least) that I did not need a taxi.

Not that it means anything, since you probably have your own way of reserving your hostels, B&Bs, or Hotels, I reserved this one through Booking.com.