I arrived in Santiago from Auckland in January 2012 as an exhausted 'round the world trip' traveller on route to Brazil. I was very much looking forward to getting home asap since i'd run very low on cash, energy and general interest in the whole traveling environment. I didn't speak a word of Spanish, I was alone (for the first time in my travels) and this was my first time in Chile. I just wanted to lay low, in a safe inexpensive place while I waited for my connecting flight to Brazil, and onwards home to Ireland.

THIS TURNED OUT TO BE ONE OF MY FAVORITE EXPERIENCES FROM THE ENTIRE 8 MONTH TRIP.

The staff at La Chimba are fantastic. They all speak excellent English and go out of their way to make you feel welcome. The atmosphere is mature (no drunken 18 year old rich kids), chilled (great music being played in the reception area constantly) and comfortable. I was welcomed by Simon (a legend of a Kiwi) at reception. He remembered my name throughout my stay, and every time I passed he stopped me to check that I was OK and see if he could help.

The beds are absolutely fine, clean and comfortable. I stayed in a 6 bed mixed dorm- it was spacious and cleaned every morning(from 11.30). The breakfast was good. Fruit, Cereal, Tea, Coffe, Bread and spreads. Great value for money.

The location is excellent. There are restaurants, bars and bottle shops surrounding the Hostel. You can get hot food easily at any time of day, eat in or take away. Walking into the city takes 10 mins along very safe routes. The atmosphere in Bella Vista gets busy on the weekend, but the Hostel is secluded from the street with a large security fence, which opens into a really cool atmospheric beer garden (BYOB that is).

This area is not silent at night. Now this is not a problem really and won't bother even the newest of travelers. But it's fair to mention that from most parts of the hostel you'll hear music playing from some bar nearby. But that's because you are in Bella Vista, and Latin American music is everywhere, it's part of the character. I'm a light sleeper and honestly, it doesn't matter, you get over it after a few minutes.

I highly recommend La Chimba as a safe, comfortable, and fun hostel. I met great people there and really felt at home...SO glad I experienced Santiago in this way, it was such a pleasant stay. I can genuinely say it was my favorite hostel of my entire trip. Thank you Simon, Bridget, Joe, Diego, Andy...and everyone else there for taking care of me and giving me a fantastic climax to my trip.

Arriving on a late night flight all I wanted was to sleep. Which was impossible since the noise coming from the night club next door made it seem like I was sleeping next to the speaker. Turned on the fan to drown the outside noise but it burned out in a few minutes. Oh, and there were hairs under the pillows when I first checked in.

Breakfast did not help much in their rating. Staff was ok.

A deserved a highly rated place. Just nice - plenty of communal and outdoor space, rooms good sized, overall a friendly and quiet place.

Recommended.

This place is clean, cooperative and courteous. We dropped in last-minute and they found a great room for the 3 of us. The Bella Vista neighborhood is centrally located and has the best selection of bars & restaurants. It is very walkable and tourist friendly.