Boho-chic is best showcased in boutique hotels and is even better when such personality-packed properties are located in equally vivid neighborhoods. Chile's capital city is home to one such property, the brilliantly-bohemian Aubrey Santiago, located in the colorful neighborhood known as Bellavista.

The hotel's location is the first giveaway that it's a special spot. Built right under one of the massive Santiago Metropolitan Park's hills and lush with vines of ivy and tropical foliage, The Aubrey entreats those who wander up its cobblestone driveway into its doors. The park's main gate is actually just around the corner from the hotel, and guests can wander the hillsides and admire the views, local zoo animals, and monuments sprinkled along the peaks. Exotic bird calls and animal rumblings cascade down to the property, further enclosing it into an enchanting enclave.

Originally built in the 1920s, the property was resurrected by Brit and Aussie duo, Mark Cigana and Will Martin in 2007. Three years and $3 million later, the property opened and was quickly lauded as Santiago's first true boutique hotel. Less hotel, more private estate, it showcases the design flair and eclectic tastes of its doting owners. Polished parquet floors, classy oil paintings, and intriguing antiques give the hotel a warm and artful appeal.

There aren't room numbers for any of the 15 rooms and suites, nor are breakfast hours set in strict timeframes. Staff members are exceedingly gracious, conveying the aura that the hotel is a personal home where guests are family. One morning before an early departure, I asked the front desk manager if someone could make me an espresso. Although no one could be spotted in the kitchen so early, she hopped to her feet and whipped it up herself. A few days earlier when we arrived around midnight, weary from the day's long travel, the hotel's kitchen warmly stayed open for us, filling our cups and plates with Chilean wine and plump empanadas.

There are also many nooks to explore, the pool and piano lounge are particularly interesting. The slender pool, heated year-round, is found on a separate story of the mansion, above a waterfall that trickles down to the open-air patio of the hotel. White umbrellas and lounge chairs stacked with fluffy towels invite guests to linger any time of day. The pool deck is the perfect place to savor the complimentary daily tea service complete with baked treats.

Evenings attract more than just the hotel guests to its Piano Lounge and Restaurant. A pianist entertains every Thursday and Friday night in the handsome lounge on a black lacquered piano. Outside on the stone terrace, lanterns light tables filled with chatty couples and friends who share tapas and sparkling pear mojitos. The property is just two blocks from Patio Bellavista, the strip of music venues, galleries, and charming restaurants that attract both locals and expats. The hotel's lounge restaurant seems to be a pre-gathering place of the social elite, an ideal for a guests who love conversation and recommendations from locals.

The sophisticated yet casual atmosphere of The Aubrey Santiago is a reflection of the vibrant, friendly surrounding neighborhood and the warm, inviting culture of Chile.