RMS Olympic Posted May 13, 2005 #1 Share Posted May 13, 2005 Looking for a hotel for a one night precruise stay...Any suggestions? Also, are there any good guides for this city? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HALGirl Posted May 13, 2005 #2 Share Posted May 13, 2005 Yes I have a very good guide in BA. Used Carlos Vitro. E-mail at info@privatetours.com.ar Joanne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BCHappyGal Posted May 14, 2005 #3 Share Posted May 14, 2005 DearCapt Tom When we were in Buenos Aires we stayed at the Marriott - arranged by our Buenos Aires Tour Guide - Ricardo of Defrantur Tours defrantur@fibertel.com.ar for $135. per night including all taxes (taxes in Argentina are 21%) & a full breakfast. Ricardo arranged all of our tours and they were exceptional value as well as great tours. Make sure you go to a the Santa Susanna ranch a wonderful experience. If you read my review of my South American cruise - jan 3 - 31 of this year posted on this thread you will find a listing of all of the private tour guides which I used in each of the various ports in South America. They were all very good with a few (including Ricardo) being exceptional. Enjoy your time in South America Ann Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wahoo89 Posted May 19, 2005 #4 Share Posted May 19, 2005 We stayed at the Marriott several months ago and found it a great value (around $130), walking distance of shopping and sightseeing, large rooms, great breakfast and a very close cab ride to the pier. I would go back there again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane110 Posted May 19, 2005 #5 Share Posted May 19, 2005 I also stayed in the Loi Suites but wasn't thrilled by it. The location is great and the room was big and pleasant. But I found the service to be extemely non-professional. They hire kids to take care of the front desk who know very little about communication or service to customers. In the past, we have stayed at the Claridge which costs less than the Loi Suites and is a much better hotel, IMHO. The Kempinski Hotels look very nice and I heard good things about all 4 of them. I drove by the Marriott, but didn't love the location. Just a personal observation. Those that stayed there might feel differently. I have used both Cintia at WowArgentina and Carlos at Private Tours and highly recommend both of them. They're great! Jane Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suzy Q Posted May 20, 2005 #6 Share Posted May 20, 2005 Jane--thanks for the input. Carlos has arranged the Claridge for us for next March. Reviews give it high marks for service. Rooms do appear small, however, we won't be in the room that much! SQ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane110 Posted May 21, 2005 #7 Share Posted May 21, 2005 Jane--thanks for the input. Carlos has arranged the Claridge for us for next March. Reviews give it high marks for service. Rooms do appear small, however, we won't be in the room that much! SQ Suzy, One of the things I like about the Claridge is their lobby bar/restaurant. It's very popular with the locals and even on our recent visit to Buenos Aires, we went there for drinks. A neighbor of mine, a widow, went to Buenos Aires by herself for a 2 week vacation and stayed at the Claridge. She said she felt so "taken care of" by the staff. She could easily have afforded staying at another hotel, like the Alvear Palace, but loved the overall service and convenience of the friendly bar at the Claridge. Are you going to take a day tour with Carlos? We took his tour that included a little riverboat cruise and lunch and a walking tour of the La Boca neighborhood. I think it was called North/South or something like that. Do make sure to go to at least one of the evening tango shows. BA is one of my favorite cities. Enjoy! Jane Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynn21 Posted May 27, 2005 #8 Share Posted May 27, 2005 Hi Ann We are going on Infinity on 22 January and I am interested to see that you did private tours on this itinerary. Did you have any problems with late arrival at ports or changes in itinerary? Did you pre-book the tours? On previous cruises we have taken very few ship tours but I am wary of doing this in South America. Are there booking booths as in Alaska? It was so easy to do our own thing there. Lynn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digby Posted May 28, 2005 #9 Share Posted May 28, 2005 We spent two nights at the Park Tower which is next to the much bigger Sheraton. The hotel is beautiful, and close to the port. It is one of the Starwood Hotels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scubadiver77 Posted June 1, 2005 #10 Share Posted June 1, 2005 Betty and I are on the voyage prior to your triip. We end in BA on the ninth of March and will stay over one night. I have been in contact with Carlos at Private Tours and am considering staying at the Claridge. I checked with Orbitz.com earlier and found the rates competitive with the one Carlos quoted. I checked Orbitz today and they said no rooms available on the Ninth of March. I was wondering if you had confirmed reservation and if funds had to be wired in order to get them? I'm not being nosy. I was jsut trying to get a handle on the best way to handle my reservations. If you would rather not discussing this on the board you may e-mail me at edcutrer@earthlink.net. Thanks Ed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMS Olympic Posted June 23, 2005 Author #11 Share Posted June 23, 2005 A small place called the BoBo Hotel....looks really neat..only 7 rooms in the Palermo are. Question.....taxis from the airport...any suggestions? I read somewhere the cab mafia is bad and you have to be very careful with which car service you use. Comments? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wahoo89 Posted June 25, 2005 #12 Share Posted June 25, 2005 We used one of the 'remise' companies with a booth in the airport and it was a very reasonable price. We too had heard to avoid regular taxicabs. It's a good 20-30 minute ride downtown. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dileep Posted June 25, 2005 #13 Share Posted June 25, 2005 We used one of the 'remise' companies with a booth in the airport and it was a very reasonable price. We too had heard to avoid regular taxicabs. It's a good 20-30 minute ride downtown. What did they charge you for the ride downtown? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wahoo89 Posted June 28, 2005 #14 Share Posted June 28, 2005 It was 52 pesos, around $18-19. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dileep Posted June 29, 2005 #15 Share Posted June 29, 2005 I was wondering if you had confirmed reservation and if funds had to be wired in order to get them? I'm not being nosy. I was jsut trying to get a handle on the best way to handle my reservations. I just booked 2 nights at NH Jousten (heard that Recoleta is a safe and interesting area to stay) in January with Ricardo at Defrantur and he did not require any deposit. Do have to send him a 10% deposit via Western Union for the Iquazu Falls excursion to lock down the flights and hotel. The balance is to be paid in cash when I get to BA in January. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane110 Posted June 30, 2005 #16 Share Posted June 30, 2005 I just booked 2 nights at NH Jousten (heard that Recoleta is a safe and interesting area to stay) in January with Ricardo at Defrantur and he did not require any deposit. Do have to send him a 10% deposit via Western Union for the Iquazu Falls excursion to lock down the flights and hotel. The balance is to be paid in cash when I get to BA in January. Dileep, Though I'm not familiar w/ your hotel, I can tell you that the Recoleta area is a lovely area of BA to stay in. Most tour guides need to be paid in cash. The collapse of the Argentine economy has made many changes. Charge cards charge vendors excessive rates as well as make them wait a long time for their money. You wont have a problem using credit cards in hotels or restaurants, but guides never take them. Their business' are too small to carry the float time. I've dealt both with Cintia@wow argentina and Carlos @ private tours and they are extremely honest and professional. Actually, I've not heard of anyone being unhappy with any guides they used in Argentina. In general, they are very honest, kind, educated and hard working people. Jane Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dileep Posted June 30, 2005 #17 Share Posted June 30, 2005 Dileep, Though I'm not familiar w/ your hotel, I can tell you that the Recoleta area is a lovely area of BA to stay in. It is a Fodor's choice. Check out Fodors web site. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewCruiseFan Posted July 7, 2005 #18 Share Posted July 7, 2005 I stayed at the Loi Suites for a few days in Jan 2005 and loved it. I found the staff to be extremely helpful and nice. The last day I checked out after breakfast and spent the day running around B.A., went back to the hotel after tours. They sent me to the spa area to shower and prepare for the long flight home. I have used Cintia Stella at Wow! Argentina (cintia@wowargentina.com.ar) for arranging hotels, tours and so on. She's very reliable and super nice. She knows BA tremendously well. I'm going back to BA this December and am again staying at the Loi Suites and having Cintia make all my inter-country travel arrangements. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yannisusa Posted July 7, 2005 #19 Share Posted July 7, 2005 Is a visa required for Bazil when arriving by a cruise ship and leaving Brazil by cruiship? Yannis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neryes20 Posted July 9, 2005 #20 Share Posted July 9, 2005 I'm glad both Jane 110 and Newcruisefan have used Cintia at WowArgentina and like her. My husband and I just had her booked a trip to Iguazu falls for us, including air fare, all transfers and two nights stay at the Sheraton. Her price is very reasonable, even cheaper than the $599 some of the other members in this thread quoted. She requires credit card payment right away on the airfare and the hotel once they're confirmed. Balance we will pay in cash once we get to BA. She arranges us to stay at the Argenta Tower at BA? Has anybody stay there before? Cintia highly recommends it. We pay $113 for an executive suite. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dileep Posted July 9, 2005 #21 Share Posted July 9, 2005 We booked 2 days/ 1 night with Ricardo at Defrantur for $460 per person incl Falls view room at the Sheraton. Now I have to figure out how to pay him with something less expensive than Western Union. I am considering using Xoom.com. Has anyone used them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neryes20 Posted July 10, 2005 #22 Share Posted July 10, 2005 Hi Dileep, So we both are from the Bay Area. Have you booked your air yet? We contacted this company in southern Ca called Latin America for Less which advertised in the Chronicle every Sunday in the travel section. They quoted us a price we can't believe, via Delta Airline with only one stop in Atlanta. They even held the seats for us for one whole week for us to decide. The exact itinerary at other travel sites, even Delta.com cost $1350.00. Ours is a little less than $1000. That's a savings of close to $800 for two people. So give them a call if you haven't booked. We are sailing on the Infinity Jan 8, 2006. Elaine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dileep Posted July 10, 2005 #23 Share Posted July 10, 2005 Elaine: That is indeed a very good price. We rae using frequent flier miles to travel business class, but that means a longer route. We fly through Washington-Dulles on United on the way out and return via JFK from Santiago on Varig+United. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane110 Posted July 11, 2005 #24 Share Posted July 11, 2005 Is a visa required for Bazil when arriving by a cruise ship and leaving Brazil by cruiship? Yannis Brazil doesn't care how you arrive or leave. You need a visa. Jane Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MLinFL Posted July 29, 2005 #25 Share Posted July 29, 2005 neryes20: Do you know if "Latin America for Less" has a web site? (I tried a search, but could not find one.) If not, could you provide the phone number? I would like to contact them about air fare to South America. Thanks, Mary Lou Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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