Bahia Valparaiso Hotel ~ Valparaiso Chile

Where to stay near Bus Terminal in Valparaiso

I stayed one night at Bahia Valparaiso Hotel at Victoria, 2816, only a few blocks from the bus terminal in the port city of Valapraiso, Chile. This is across from back of the National Congress of Chile and Plaza O'Higgins, a large city park. See googlemap for location. The staff was friendly and helpful, internet free, breakfast included in room rate.

Victoria Street View Bahia Valparaiso Hotel

I took this picture of the hotel from across Victoria Street at the entance to Plaza O'Higgins park.

The Bahia Valparaiso building is over a hundred years old,  an amazing heritage building that unfortunately sustained damage in the February 2010 quake.

The hotel entrance is near the trees, lower let.

Inside, the 20-foot-high lobby ceiling was supported by large temporary beams on poles, to stabilize and support the guest rooms.

Permanent repairs may be completed by now, but had not begun at the time of my stay, nor were any dates set.

Hotel Bahia Vaparaiso Chile view from Almirante Barroso

Walking up Almirante Barroso, the side street north from Victoria, I got a better look at the damage that occured in February.

The damaged rooms on this side had been closed off, and not used for guests.

Pigeons were perched on the roof and ledges, and I could hear their soft cooing in my room at night.

The hotel resataurant is located next door, and accessed from outside on Victoria Street.

It's worth a mention that the Bahia Valparaiso restaurant is where I was served the best salad I have ever had in my life!

The chef at the time - and I hope he's still there - can cook! (and spoke English well!) I arrived to an empty restaurant around 3 p.m. (i.e. between the usual lunch and dinner times). Though he was beginning his dinner service prep, he offered to make me a large salad.

I was by this time so hungry I didn't even take a photo that would show how artfully it was arranged, but I did make notes: Avocado, hearts of palm, fresh cheese cubes, black olives, tomatoes, lettuce, dressed with fresh lemon wedges and olive oil. Add an excellent french bread and a glass of white wine: Bliss!

Upper Lounge Hotel Bahia Valparaiso Chile 

This is the bright and airy guest lounge on the second floor.

The open door in the center of the photo is my room door, as is the curtained window to the right one of my room window.

There are no elevators to guest rooms, which are located on the second and third floors.

Other guest rooms face onto this corridor. Note the lovely wood floors and high ceiling. Throughout Chile, Argentina and Uruguay, most hotels used wood or laminate flooring, not carpet.

Breakfast was included in the room rate (I paid about $70 for a single for one night), and served from 7:30 a.m.to 10 a..m. on the mezzanine level overlooking the the main floor lobby.

My room at Hotel Bahia Valparaiso

The online photos for this hotel must have been submitted some time ago as they look nothing like the room I was assigned.

Some rooms overlook the street, and have windows and a balcony. But the only windows in my room, disconcertingly, only opened onto the hallway.

The room door opened with a skeleton key, a nice heritage touch but not the most secure.

The ensuite bathroom, like the room, was clean, and had a tub with a hand shower.

Overall, I found the Hotel Bahia Valparaiso clean, safe, and good value in a good location for intercity bus terminal.

Chile Journey continues . . .

That night, I met friends to tour Plaza Sotomayor ( a half hour walk from this hotel) then take the funicular up the hills to have dinner at Jaiba y Cordero. The next day, I moved to the Puerta de Alcala hotel, took in Idomita winery tour and Pablo Neruda house, then had lunch at Los Cordoveses at El Quisco.