Maison Italia 1029

Too many travelers think of Santiago as just a waystation along the road to one of Chile’s many mind-blowing adventure destinations. The capital city’s hip Barrio Italia, however, is a delightful slice of creative-class urban life, and this is where you’ll find Maison Italia 1029, a small and stylish boutique hotel founded by a pair of local women, Camila and Marion De Prada, on the site of a classic early 20th-century house by architect Horacio Werth.

There’s not much left of the old house behind its Republican–style façade; the bulk of Maison Italia is a modernist building by Co2 Architects, and it’s a delight, marrying contemporary design with the textures of raw concrete and native materials. The five guest rooms — we told you it was a small hotel — are attractive, minimalist, though warmer than the word implies, and all of them are equipped with splendid little terraces.

It’s as much a social space as it is a private hideaway, however. Maison Italia 1029 is intended to be a meeting place for travelers and locals alike — the name of the restaurant/bar/events space, Cowork Bar, gives you an idea of the vibe they’re after. At this scale it’ll always be intimate, but it’s surprisingly lively for a five-room hotel — and you couldn’t ask for a better introduction to the Barrio Italia.