As you may know, I hate writing negative reviews. I really wanted to give The Good a GOOD review,…read morebut my experience with them these past two weeks forces me to be honest and admit they won't be receiving my business anymore. For background, I own only one bike. It's not fancy but I've had it for a very long time and have put hundreds of miles on it, making great memories along the way. I have gotten it regularly maintenanced in Texas, Massachusetts, Nevada, Hawaii, and California and never had any issues until now. Two weeks ago, the hubs and I dropped off our bikes at The Good for tune-ups since they been sitting in a garage collecting dust for a while and we expect to be riding them a lot more here in Santiago. The Good took one look at my old bike and pronounced that mine would need a more extensive (and expensive) tune-up. No problem! I hadn't been having any issues with it, but it definitely needed a wash and I was glad they were going to be more thorough with my baby because 1) I love this bike and 2) road safety is REALLY important to me. When we went to pick up our bikes, I immediately noticed it was clean and sparkling, yay! I was a little surprised that The Good didn't offer to do any cosmetic work that my bike could have used (e.g., replace grips or seat cover), but no big deal, as long as the bike itself was working. I hopped on and gave it a little spin on front of the store. The first thing I noticed was how noisy the brakes were. They were really tight and the squeak was very distracting. But ok, that's minor and I was sure the noise would subside over time (or I'd get used to it). So I left and made a date with a friend to go riding in a couple of days during morning rush hour. Friday morning, my girl friend and I set out to ride however far we felt like going before turning around on the flat roads and paths. We left Las Condes and headed toward La Vega. On the ride, I heard some unusual noises that didn't sound related to my brakes. I also noticed that the noise became much worse when shifting gears and in certain gears it was particularly bad. At one point, as we were crossing a busy intersection, I suddenly realized my chain had broken completely. Ugh! We stopped in the median and I examined the chain. A pin had become detached from a side plate. Hmm... Unusual and definitely a first for me. Had The Good changed my chain during the tune-up? Or had they just lubricated the old one? Who knows? A kind park maintenance worker saw me in distress and brought some tools to help get the chain at least semi-reconnected. Thankfully I was able to call a friend to come pick me up during rush hour, but what a horrible start to my biking excursions in Santiago! My husband was kind enough to return my bike to The Good for repair the next day for me. Surprisingly, they charged him for the repair, which I thought was inappropriate considering we had just shelled out money for the "superior" tune-up that week and by my estimation, the chain breaking was likely either as a result of their poor workmanship or something they should have prevented during the tune-up. Fast forward to the next weekend--a different girl friend suggests a morning ride this time to Los Dominicos from Las Condes. We headed out but didn't get far before my bike began making that awful sound again--a loud click and clang. Uh oh. I knew that wasn't good, so again, I refrained from shifting gears hoping it would go away. Nope. Once again, I lost the ability to pedal but this time, upon inspection, it appeared it was not the chain but the back cassette (gears) that were completely broken. What the heck!? How was this not examined, noticed, and repaired in one of the two previous maintenance visits?! This is by no means a complicated bike! I was about to abandon my bike and call an Uber, but my friend insisted we walk it back in the heat. I felt so awful that The Good had now let two of my friends and me down on two separate occasions a week apart and not only inconvenienced us, but created what could have been a real safety emergency. When I arrived at the shop yesterday for the third time, I explained the situation and expressed my unhappiness that this should have been caught and very likely was the reason the chain broke last week. While the gentleman who greeted me was very kind and agreed to fix it right away, I was taken aback that they again charged me to repair what should never have broken in the first place. So for this reason, as much as I'd like to recommend this funky place with an identity crisis and unknown name, I can't because I can't trust them or give them any more of my money. Save yourself the headache and only come here for coffee and conversation, not bike repair.

Had a great afternoon bike ride to the winery and wonderful to say it was arranged for a day on…read morewhich the winery was closed to the public. That meant that the 10 of us had the tour and the garden all to ourselves for a wine tasting and picnic that included several of their proprietor's reserve wines. Now this Casablanca winery does not produce spectacular vintages, but their Carmenere, Pinot Noir and Tapihue are all well crafted reds worth well more than their price (averaging the equivalent of around $10/bottle or a bit more for the Tapihue blended red that has been rated highly in competitions). Bought several bottles that we carried on to our next vacation spot for our hotel-room-happy-hours. A great and seriously money-saving idea. Sign me, David "Bowery" M

A winery tasting tour on our way to Valparaiso, Chile!…read more THE AMBIANCE: William Cole Vineyards was very green and spacious. We were given a tour and history of the vineyard and then went inside the building to enjoy some wine and presentations (this was an attorney trip for MCLE credits). The room is beautiful and classy. There is a gift shop inside the wine tasting room, which sells bottles, clothing, and books. The restrooms are located right outside the wine tasting room and the women's bathroom had two (2) stalls. It is a small, narrow restroom. THE WINE: We were offered a variety of wines and I enjoyed them all. THE TIPS: Keep your eye on the weather. It was really cold on our visit! (November 2015)

I always check out the "free walking tours" when I travel because they're always full of great…read moreinformation and local tips. This tour didn't disappoint and I was overjoyed that they had two separate groups, one in English and one in Spanish. Our tour guide, Alonzo was amazing. He seemed very passionate about the history of his country while keeping the group engaged and entertained. He explained some of the cultural things we would see during our travels such as lots of public displays of affection especially in parks or the cafes with legs. I enjoyed the variety of neighborhoods and attractions we visited. The informative history and treatment of Chileans. He strongly recommended visiting the Museum of memory and human rights which I did and it was very eye opening. I loved that we took the subway and I was able to see how the underground transportation worked. I used the trains throughout my travels in Santiago which was very user-friendly. Our tour ended at a local bar where we had a small taste of local wine. Our guide hung around for a few minutes and answered questions. You always meet fellow travelers from all over the world including your home area. I always "tip" the suggested amount or more because their service is always worth that and more! If you're in that Santiago area, definitely check out their morning and/or afternoon tours. You won't be disappointed.

Both companies do an excellent job on these "Free Tours."…read more It is easy to tell them apart.....this company wears striped shirts, and their main competition ("Free Walking Tour") wears red shirts. We ended up using "Free Walking Tour Santiago" (red shirts) but would have gladly used this company also. Several times, we crossed paths and noticed they follow the same itinerary and both companies use guides with excellent English skills.

This hop on hop off bus was located very close to the Marriott hotel so it was very easy to buy a…read moreticket and get on board. The staff was super friendly and went out of their way to answer any and all questions. FYI, most tourist attractions are closed on Monday, you might be better served to plan something else than going to museums, and riding the gondola on a Monday. The buses were clean, the recording that you listen to, comes in a variety of languages and is extremely boring and useless. I've been on various bus tours in other cities with a live tour guides and it makes a world of difference, imho. We flew into town at 7:30 am and needed something to do until the hotel room was ready. Why not get the lay of the land, relatively cheaply with a hop on hop off bus tour, it drops you off at the most popular tourist spots. The overall length of bus tour without getting off is about 2 1/2 hours depending on traffic. Public Banos are few and far between, so take advantage when around one :-). Overall I give it 3.5 stars, but round it up to 4 because all 5 of the employees I interacted with, did an excellent job.

This is Santiago's hop-on-hop-off bus. Route has 13 stops from the North-east part of town at the…read moreParque Arauco to the western edge of the Centro district at Plaza de la Constitution. The entire loop takes about 2 hours if you dont get off. Frequency of busses is about 30 minutes. Cost $22,000 (US$33 at time of writing) for one day or $30,000 (US$45) for two day pass. Operating hours are 930AM to 6PM. For some reason I cannot find any maps on the website so I am attaching a picture of the paper map that they give out. Stops: 1. Parque Arauco Mall (very nice upscale mall with lots of restaurants even American chain restaurants like PF Changs and other high end shops) 2. Sheraton Hotel 3. Patio Bellavista (nice place to hang out for drinks and food) 4. Bellavista/Funicular (stop for funicular to the statue of the Virgin atop Cerro San Cristobal) 5. Museo Nacional de bella artes 6. Plaza de Armas (Caterdral Metropolitana, Correo Central, Palacio de la Real Audiencia, Paseo Ahumada and Huerfanos, Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino, Ex Congreso Nacional), 7. Plaza de la Constitutcion (Palacio de la Moneda) 8. Paseo Bulnes 9. Santa Lucia (Cerro Santa Lucia) 10. Providenia 11. El Golf (hip area with embassies, 5-star hotesl, restaurants) 12. Isidora Goyenechea 13. Costanera Center (Sky mall)

This is a great site to visit. You get beautiful views at the top of the mountain. We enjoyed…read moreriding the rail car going up and then the gondola going down. There's some vendors selling souvenirs. We bought ponchos for about $35. There's some walking involved but nothing strenuous. The restrooms at the top were fairly clean. There's also a snack shop at the top selling coffee, ice cream and snacks. I highly recommend this place.

Cerro San Cristóbal has a little something for everyone! Trails for running/hiking, paved pathways…read morefor walking/cycling, and even a cable car for killer views (plus less huffing and puffing for the ascent). The hill offers beautiful views of Santiago from the higher points, but there are also plenty of interesting stops along the way, including side trails, small cafés, and even playgrounds in some of the parks. The city has done a fantastic job making this an accessible public attraction, and access is totally free! Definitely one of my favorite stops in Chile.