Santiago is very much a Latin American city, with a style that reflects the best of Chilean culture, but you'll find plenty of European influences if you know where to look. The Palacio Cousiño, for example, is like a little part of France transplanted into the Chilean mountains. The wealthy Cousiño Goyenechea family - whose holdings included coal mines, silver mines, and a vineyard - built this opulent mansion between 1870 and 1878 and promptly filled it with the finest art and furnishings money could buy, including silk, velvet, porcelain, and hardwood, having it all shipped over from France at great expense. The family relinquished control of the house in 1940, and for the next several decades it served as a residence for visiting dignitaries and heads of state. Today, however, you no longer need to wear a crown to have a tour of the Palacio Cousiño. The general public is welcome to drop by and admire the original piano in the music room, the instruments of war in the weapons room, and, of course, the many fascinating paintings in the portrait gallery. You'll be transported to late-19th-century Paris in no time. Starwood has three hotels in Santiago, the Sheraton Santiago Hotel and Convention Center, the Four Points by Sheraton Santiago, and the San Cristobal Tower (a member of Starwood's Luxury Collection). The brand-new W Santiago will open its doors November 1, 2008.