Across from the railroad station, the 1938 landmark Hotel Cecil (Barros Arana 9, tel. 0412/739981, santamariaclaramuntja001 [at] chilnet [dot] cl, US$22/30 s/d with private bath and breakfast) has cleaned up its exterior with a fresh paint job, but a sore-thumb mansard has destroyed its deco integrity. The interior upgrade is lagging a bit.

Looking better at street level than it does upstairs, Hostal Barros Arana (Barros Arana 521, tel. 0412/234790, residencialcolocolo [at] hotmail [dot] com, US$22/33 s/d) has some small rooms with two beds so close together that it’s necessary to shuffle sideways between them. All rooms, though, have a private bath, and by Concepción standards it’s decent value for the price.

On the peatonal near Plaza Independencia, Hotel Ritz (Barros Arana 721, tel. 0412/226696, fax 0412/243249, ritz [at] ctcinternet [dot] cl, US$30/39 s/d with breakfast) has simple but renovated rooms with private bath. Hotel Concepción (Serrano 512, tel. 0412/620851, hotelconcepcion [at] entelchile [dot] net, US$33/48 s/d with breakfast) is another reasonable option.

Also on the mall, just a few doors away, Hotel Bío Bío (Barros Arana 751, tel. 0412/223212, casaorellana [at] surnet [dot] cl, US$32/41–39/49 s/d with breakfast) occupies the upstairs interior of a gallery building; this means that some rooms of this older hotel are darkish, but they’re also sheltered from street noise. Rates vary for medium-sized “B” rooms, with shared bath and breakfast, and “A” rooms with private bath, but can be lower with discounts.