I would have liked to have given this apartment four stars as it was very clean, modern and situated in a good location. The apartment has a great balcony, good views and is very well equipped. The building is new, easy to find, and has free parking.

However, due to the very large construction project directly across the street, and the enormous (unbearable at times) amount of noise that it produces (from 08:00 hrs until 20:00 hrs on weekdays and from 08:00 hrs until 14:00 hrs on weekends), it is impossible to rate our stay above two stars. Coupled with the noise was the response from the owner when questioned/advised of the noise that we were experiencing. Upon informing our host in modest terms that we were displeased and that we should have been informed of the noise, the response was (these are all nearly direct quotations): (1) I am sorry you feel you should have been informed about the noise. (2) Construction is common in Santiago. (3) You should have read the one review left by a guest three months ago. (4) The noise is under control by the double glazed windows. (5) Normal people are out during the daytime anyhow. (6) If you don’t like it, you should cancel your reservation and find another place to stay.

First, all guests should be informed when there is noise of this magnitude. I live in the flight path of Congonhas Airport in São Paulo where airplanes start activity at 06:00 and pass overhead at an altitude of 300 meters until 22:00 hrs every day, so I am accustomed to noise. The noise in the apartment in Santiago was equal to or louder than this, but also non-stop, all day long. Second, this was my first time in Santiago so I was not aware of the construction this “quiet” neighborhood. Third, this type of situation should not be left for guests to discover upon arrival, nor should a guest have to rely on the reviews of others to find out about this sort of disturbance (construction projects pass through various phases over time). Forth, the double pained windows did cut the noise back by around 50%; however, due to the lack of A/C, the apartment quickly became an oven when the doors were left closed for longer than 15-20 minutes. Fifth, some normal people like to sleep in on their Christmas vacation without being awoken at 08:00 hrs by banging hammers, pile-drivers, metal-saws, concrete trucks and various clanging, whistling and shouting. Finally, cancelling a reservation and finding a new rental/hotel on last minute notice in a foreign country, during Christmas week, once you have already arrived and planned an itinerary is not as easy as it sounds (we tried), and the mere suggestion of this was simply infuriating. Our host’s response, coupled with the fact that we received an almost immediate 35% refund of the cost indicated that this was/is a known issue.

Summary: until the construction is over, beware.