Casa Newen Bed and Breakfast has been operating for around 8 years and in that time we have seen a rapid increase in both the number of tourists who visit Chile and the accommodations that are available in Santiago.
I mention this because over the last couple of years, we have received a number of guests at Casa Newen Bed and Breakfast who where in need of last minute accommodation because the departments, hotels and bed and breakfasts that they booked in Santiago was nothing like the photos they saw or the location was not close to the city.
Recently a very nice lady from Canada, knocked on our door asking if we had any rooms available, luckily a couple from San Francisco had just left that morning, we told her that we did and she sighed with relief and sat down to enjoy some tea that we had offered her. After some friendly chit chat she explained that she had booked to stay at a bed and breakfast in Santiago that was very close to the city and was offered a great rate, to be sure she quickly did a google search and found great reviews in tripadvisor.
Well after arriving in Santiago and waiting 1hr for her transfer to pick her up she decided to catch a taxi to her bed and breakfast. When she arrived at the address that was given to her, she found a non nondescript apartment building, puzzled she asked the taxi driver to wait as she rang the button of the complex, A nice lady appeared, and she tried to explain the situation to her.
She was shocked to learn that the “bed and breakfast” that she had booked was nothing more then a rented apartment, were a gentleman asks that they make no noise when they arrive or depart so as not to raise the suspicion of his nieghbours! Their had been various tourists that had left annoyed at the lack of services and the general lack of interest of the “host”
To Luis and my self these stories are becoming more common, we would advice anybody who is thinking of visiting Chile and more specifically Santiago to ask the bed and breakfast which there thinking of staying; how long have they been registered and licenced with the national tourism office SERNATUR and with their local town as a bed and breakfast in Santiago.
If they are not licenced or can not give you a specific answer, STAY AWAY. Of course you can always check this information at the sernatur.cl website.
Casa Newen Bed and Breakfast in Santiago de Chile, was one of the first bed and breakfasts in Santiago. We are a registered and licenced bed and breakfast for the last 8 years and apply the international bed and breakfast standards to all our services.
Adda & Luis Carvajal
Casa Newen Bed and Breakfast
contact@casanewen.com
www.casanewen.com
Our Bed and Breakfast in Santiago de Chile offers it´s winter special promo package for 2010 which includes two (2) night accommodation with continental breakfast and full day wine tour with bilingual guide for $320 USD. To Book visit www.casanewen.com or contact(at)casanewen.com and mention our promo coupon WINE320.
Casa Newen Bed and Breakfast located in Santiago de Chile is offering 10% OFF of their winter accommodation including double rooms with en-suite from May to August 2010. To book your room at our bed and breakfast in Santiago visit casanewen.com or email us at contact(at)casanewen.com and quote our promo coupon WINTER10
Casa Newen offers travelers and tourists our fun santiago tours for the summer of 2010! We organize and arrange private and group tours to the must see attractions that Santiago and Chile has to offer. The tours are with experienced bilingual guides and can be personalized to fit your needs.
There are 10 tours throughout Santiago and central Chile catering to every want imaginable! If you fancy the beach and coastline we offer tours to the iconic port city of Valparaiso and the resort city of Vina del Mar as well as the enchanting fishing town of Zapallar. The Isla Negra and Pomaire tour will take you on a journey into the life of Chile’s Nobel Prize Winner Pablo Neruda, visiting the poets home and Pomaire, the traditional potters village known for it’s handmade arts and crafts.
If you love Chilean wine then the tours in Chile offer a smorgasbord of lush green valleys and vineyards. The Wine Train Tour is a popular tour in Santiago and features an original steam train and a trip to the Colchagua valley. There are also wine tours to the Maipo Valley featuring the vineyards of Concha y Toro, Undurraga. The Colchagua Ranch Tour is a unique experience of Chilean wine and culture with a traditional folklore dance and rodeo as well as visit to the Colchagua Museum.
If you are the outdoors type then a tour of Cajon del Maipo and San jose is a sure bet. Here you will find various activities at your disposal. Trekking El Morado National Park to the San Fransisco Glacier is unforgettable as well as a visit to Colina Thermal Baths, a natural wonderland with the Andes Mountain range as your backdrop.
And finally the Dinner and Show tour highlights the best attractions that Santiago has to offer! The cultural center that is Santiago’s main square, the majestic Cathedral of Santiago and the resilience of the Presidential Palace. Finally a traditional restaurant of Santiago will introduce you to Chile’s typical dances, wines and gastronomy.
Visit our website at www.casanewen.com and view our Tours section for more info. You can also book a tour by clicking on “bookings and enquiries” or by Clicking Here you can also reach us by sending an email at contact@casanewen.com or by Tel:+56 02 716 9007 (Santiago de Chile)
We pride ourselves on providing travelers, guests and tourists our renowned personal service and friendly advice so we hope you discover Chile with our Santiago tours
Newen Craft Shop - Traditional Chilean Craft Shop by Native Artists at Casa Newen. By Adda
Quite a few years ago while living in Australia, I felt home sick and yearned to create something that reminded me of the beauty of Chile. I started to play with clay and made a rosary that is now decorating one of our guest rooms at our bed and breakfast in Santiago. My second piece was an original Mapuche women which has started to crack, as at the time I did not know that it needed to go to the kiln!
Since then, I have been interested in making ethnic - native chilean themed pottery / gres pieces as gifts or souvenirs. As I have created quite a few, the idea for our “Newen Craft Shop” was born. The purpose is to highlight the beauty and culture that Chile has to offer to all the tourists that come to Casa Newen Bed and Breakfast.
Most of the pieces that are available at our “Newen Craft Shop” including the collection of “Mates” (a mug to have “yerba mate” a herbal tea with a “bombilla”) are inspired by pre-columbian “Mapuches” and “Atacameños” (Native Chilean’s) designs. The striking miniature pre-columbian masks and other pieces are made by the well known artists Jorge Vallejos and Bernardita Vallejos.
The Newen Craft Shop is located at our bed and breakfast in Santiago and is open to all our guests and travelers all year round. If you are visiting Santiago de Chile and would like to see our unique Chilean gifts or souvenirs please do not hesitate to visit our craft shop in Providencia to take a little piece of Chile back home!
the International Jazz Festival of Providencia was first held in 2002 by the Cultural Institute of Providencia replacing the “Music by the River” festival of years past, since then it has grown into an important international date for Jazz lovers around the world. If you are fortunate enough to be traveling to Santiago de Chile in the summer months or thinking of visiting Santiago, Here is a little information about the festival of 2010.
This year the International Jazz Festival of Providencia has invited world class artist from the diverse world of Jazz to celebrate the first grand event that celebrates Chile’s Bicentenary. The festival will be held from the 5th to the 7th of January at the “Park of Sculptures” along side the “Rio Mapucho” in Providencia. The list of artist’s who are already confirmed include Joey de Francesco, Héctor Martignon, Gato Barbieri, Ray Barreto, Joao Bosco, Richard Bona, Yosvany Terry and Cristián Cuturrufo. Tickets to this wonderful Jazz event for 2010 start from $3000 CLP ($6 USD) to $15000 CLP ($30 USD)
Our bed and breakfast in Santiago is located in the same “Barrio” as the Jazz Festival and can highly recommend it as a great way to spend a night or two in Santiago de Chile. If you would like more information about Santiago or our bed and breakfast in Santiago we invite you to visit our website at www.casanewenbedandbreakfast.com or casanewen.com by Tel: +56 02 7169007 or by emailing us at contact@casanewen.com
Luis & Adda
Casa Newen Bed and Breakfast Santiago Chile
Another year is gone… we have meet so many nice people from all over the world and the most important thing is that we have learned from each other, sharing our culture differences, the languages and even sharing some political point of views! What we really like is for guests to leave Casa Newen and Chile with great memories and new friends.
One of the great things that happened last year was related to the wine industry in our country. One of our wines was awarded by the Magazine “Wine Spectator” as being amongst 100 top wines from all over the world, our “Clos Apalta 2005” from “Casa Lapostelle - Colchagua Valley” won 1st Prize.
The Colchagua region is located about 128km southwest of Santiago. It enjoys a balmy, Mediterranean climate matched in only a few other places on earth. Currently the Colchagua Valley has about 50,000 acres of vineyards. The predominant varietals are Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Carmenère, Malbec, and Syrah, with lesser amounts of Chardonnay, Sémillon, and Sauvignon Blanc. Most of our guests visit the picturesque town of Santa Cruz, located in this region.
Talking about wine we would like to rise our glasses with a nice Chilean Carmenère and say SALUD! and wish all our guests from the past years and the future, a very Happy and rewarding 2009!!
After being spectators to the magnificent fireworks in Viña del Mar, we are ready to welcome the New Year and of course our new guest!
Hi everyone,
This year we went down to the local park Inez de Suarez, Providencia, Santiago, to celebrate Independence day and took some photos. We had some ¨churros¨ which are doughy sweet sticks covered with icing sugar, tried some Chicha (sweet fermented wine) and had a dance to ¨La Cueca¨ under the Chilean Flags.
Right now in Chile we are celebrating our “Semana Santa”. Casa Newen would like to wish all Chileans and travellers to our beautiful South American country a happy “Semana Santa”.
With Chile ushering in a new bus transport system in february 2007, travellers to Santiago as well as our own guests to Casa Newen Bed and Breakfast are having to learn about the new system called “Transantiago” which replaces the old choatic yellow buses that plagued Santiago with excessive noise, pollution and wild bus drivers!
With the majority of people happy to get rid of the old bus system, there are know new routes and bus stops to get where your going, There is also a new “bip!” transport card, which is the only way to board the new buses using their card swipe system.
Once you have located a “bip!” card seller (usually at your closest Metro station) you can purchase the new card for $1000 Chilean pesos. Each ride costs $370 Chilean pesos and lasts for 1hr and 30 minutes. Now you can use the new transport system which includes access to the Metro using your “bip!” card.
But how do you know where you are going? Well Transantiago has each area of Santiago in a different bus colour, which will only travel inside that specific area. For example you know you are in Providencia if you see an orange bus.
If you wish to travel to another area of Santiago you must board the special green buses which work as connections to other routes
Below i have printed all the colored routes and hopefully the next time you are in Santiago you will know how to get around!
Area “A” Color “White” Section “Santiago”
Area “B” Color “Red” Section “Independencia, Huechuraba, Quilicura, Recoleta, Conchali y Renca”
Area “C” Color “Orange” Section “Lo Barnechea, Providencia, Las Condes y Vitacura”
Area “D” Color “Yellow” Section “Penalolen, La Reina, Macul y Nunoa”
Area “E” Color “Light Blue” Section “La Florida y La Granja”
Area “F” Color “Purple” Section “Puente Alto”
Area “G” Color “Blue” Section “San Bernardo, La Cisterna, San Ramon, La Pintana y El Bosque”
Area “H” Color “Pink” Section “Pedro Aguirre Cerda, San Joaquin, San Miguel y Lo Espejo”
Area “I” Color “Green” Section “Estacion Central, Cerrillos y Maipu”
Area “J” Color “Silver” Section “Quinta Normal, Cerro Navia, Pudahuel y Lo Prado”
If you read spanish you can get further information at the official Transantiago site at www.transantiago.cl
