Some nights are for loud, extravagant dinners. But one night in the heart of Santiago de Chile, a slower, more intimate setting to sip refreshments and dine quietly was necessary. The setting? A luxury boutique hotel, on the rooftop terrace, surrounded by starry skies and a beautifully designed historic atmosphere. Hotel Debaines doesn’t just offer good food and pretty views; it offers an elegant oasis within the often unrefined city center of Santiago.
When it comes to rooftop dining, I’m a connoisseur. In Santiago, I’ve made it my mission over the past year to find the best spots to dine in the open air with a skyline view. And since it’s summertime now, what better time to explore a new place? With that in mind, I made reservations at the terrace of Hotel Debaines, not exactly knowing what to expect.
Arriving in Santiago Centro, Home to Hotel Debaines
In the center of Santiago, I learned long ago that it’s not considered safe to have your phone out or to leave your car on the street (at least not for too long). So, for safety reasons, my date and I parked in a secure, underground garage conveniently located just across the street from Hotel Debaines.
Though it was difficult for me to catch my bearings in the darkness of that night, I knew were in the Paris-Londres neighborhood. It’s a “barrio” of central Santiago known for its European-style architecture, and it looks quite charming in daylight. Cobblestone streets wind through French and English-style low-rise buildings, and you can usually find people seated outside small cafes. Crossing the street from our garage, we entered the hotel through gorgeous, floor-to-ceiling glass doors that showcased an artistic-looking, modern cafe, contrasting what I usually expect to see in this barrio.
From the moment we arrived, I noticed that the hotel felt polished and inviting. On the first floor of this hotel are the Gran Cafe and the Copper Room, the latter of which does, in fact, have a copper color scheme. I made a mental note to return to that restaurant one day to try its farm-to-table menu. Meanwhile, a polite receptionist guided us to the elevator, which took us all the way up to the rooftop terrace.
SLH Status (Small Luxury Hotels of the World)
As I learned that night, thanks to follow-up questions after I saw a plaque with this title, there’s a global, curated collection of hotels called the Small Luxury Hotels of the World—and Hotel Debaines is one of them. The other 600+ hotels in the collection, all branded as “independently minded,” are spread across 90 countries.
Since it’s a member of the SLH collection, Hotel Debaines is known for its independent flair, high design standards, and excellent service. From the moment we stepped in, I certainly appreciated the intentional designs. Each piece of art or decorative choice on the walls or on the lobby furniture was unique and flawlessly blended into the hotel’s atmosphere. The modern interiors and much of the artwork we saw, as I learned, were tributes to local Chilean artisans.
The Terrace: Santiago City Views
Entering the terrace, I was immediately in awe of the night sky glimmering above flowy tan umbrellas that covered the small dining tables on the rooftop. A modern bar with a friendly bartender was on one side, with the dining area on the other. We chose a cozy spot on a couch in front of a wooden table, facing the glass-paneled terrace edge and the cityscape beyond it.
The ambience was subdued and peaceful compared to my memories of visiting and living in central Santiago. At this hour on a Friday night, I expected a noisier scene, but I was relieved that there were only a couple of other occupied tables. And the city noise was faint, thanks to our height on the tenth floor. The surrounding buildings seemed residential, which only added to the tranquil vibe.
As it was my first night back in Santiago in quite some time, I went with a classic drink order: a pisco sour. However, the drink menu was extensive, offering beer, wine, classic cocktails, and signature drinks. And, just as I expected, my pisco sour arrived perfectly chilled, with that delicious frothy layer on top.
Beyond that, the menu was limited to small Chilean plates, appetizers, shareable pizzas, and desserts. We opted for meatballs (“pintxos”) and a margherita pizza, keeping it light and easy to share. Our waiter first brought out fresh slices of bread, perfectly balanced between crispiness and softness. Before this night, I’d been away from Chile for several weeks, and eating that fresh bread made me realize just how much I’d missed the bread in Chile. It’s truly on another level of quality—always airy and warm on the inside.
As the night went on, a few more parties trickled in, and the terrace hummed with easy conversations. I love how the nighttime temperature in Santiago is cool enough to enjoy sitting outside, despite blazing heat during the day. Finishing off our pizza and drinks, we settled up and walked past the bar area down a long hallway to a sundeck. Of course, at 11 pm, there was no sun to be had, but we enjoyed near-complete silence and a different angle of the low-rise skyline topped with twinkling stars.
A Peaceful & Elegant Night in the Big City
Standing there on the sundeck of Hotel Debaines, I concluded that perhaps the best rooftop panoramas aren’t the flashiest or even the most luxurious. They’re the ones that feel, ironically, the most grounded. That night, I was grounded once again in the Chilean city that I’d grown to love so much over the past year. I was reminded of just how diverse and unexpected every new place in Santiago really is. And in a city that often feels chaotic and overwhelming, La Terraza in Hotel Debaines felt like the perfect urban escape.
<p>The post Hotel Debaines Rooftop: Dining Above Santiago first appeared on Travelbinger.</p>