Santiago's Hotel Singular: An exquisite refuge

Unlike many Latin American cities, Santiago de Chile is not known for its architectural beauty. There seems to have been little effort to preserve the city’s colonial atmosphere, or maintain any stylistic consistency in its edifices. It is common, while surveying the Santiago skyline, to spot a lovely, lone colonial building amidst a sea of mid-century cement blocks and glass towers.

Precisely because much of Santiago is so visually alienating, its pockets of quiet beauty are magical. Many of these places — restaurants, cafes, shops — are found in the city’s Lastarria neighborhood, whose tree-lined, cobblestone streets seem to belong to a different city. Among Lastarria’s most evocative places is Bar Merced, in the lobby of the the Singular Hotel.

This bar is a quiet refuge from Santiago’s visual chaos. The cool color scheme — brown dominates, with lounge chairs that match the wood-paneled walls, and only the tan sofas offering a subtle contrast — creates a sense of calm immediately upon entering. Lighting is perfectly judged: Not too dark, but soft and comforting enough for intimacy. The space’s relative smallness ensures noise is minimal, even when music plays in the background. (The music seems to be a natural part of the space, like air or sunlight — it doesn’t blare obtrusively, making one conscious of sound speakers. This was a blessed relief for someone used to New York’s deafening dining spaces.) One of my favorite touches is the bookshelf in the bar’s center: Its several handsome coffee-table books — including an impressive volume devoted to the great architect and stage designer Joseph Urban — encourage patrons to relax and linger.

The bar is proof that true elegance doesn’t proclaim itself. Rather, it makes itself felt through understatement and the perfect balance of lovely elements. The cool, brown interior, the subtle presence of music, the bright-yet-soft lights, the warm and welcoming staff — all of these combine to seduce and relax the senses.

Thankfully, the food is as exquisite as the atmosphere. The ceviche, featuring shrimp and salmon served in a lime sauce, is one of the freshest and most flavorful in my experience. If you feel like dessert, the tiramisu is also very fine: Soft in texture, sweet and subtle in flavor, and topped with a small scoop of coffee ice cream.

Bar Merced is not Hotel Singular’s only noteworthy food and drink venue: if the weather is pleasant, the rooftop bar is nearly as magical. From here, one can look right over Santiago’s underwhelming skyline, and appreciate the beauty of its natural setting. The peaks of the Andes loom directly over the bar, and the whole space is bathed in sunlight. The passageway from the elevator to the bar’s entrance features framed reproductions of vintage magazine covers (The New Yorker and Vogue are prominent). Like the lobby bar, this one seems to belong to a more relaxed, more beautiful world than the city around it.

I visited Hotel Singular with someone very dear to me, on Christmas Eve, just before departing Santiago. Bar Merced offered the perfect atmosphere for enjoying the gift of my significant other’s presence. After a year of uncertainty and political gloom, this visit was a true “exquisite hour” — a moment of perfect happiness and beauty.