Buenos Aires Hotels?

[NewCruiseFan]

Saw a posting here for WOW! Argentina. They recommended use of Loisuites Recoleta. Has anyone stayed there and have reviews?

 

Other places to stay in BA would be appreciated as well.

[Leslieswiger]

Once again we have booked the Inter-Continental. Just a little ways from downtown but THEY can do anything for you. Have yourself a great time in BA. :) ..Leslie

[kittytravel]

The sheraton hotel in buenos aires is very nice and your right there close to florida street which is all the good restarurants shops etc....

[gann]

Kittytravel,

Which Sheraton are you talking about. I think that there are 3 in town.

Thanks,

Don

[digby]

I'll be spending two nights at the Park Tower which is next to the Sheraton and also part of the Starwood Hotel group. Anyone have any experience there?

[ALadyNCal]

I have read nothing but great reviews for the LoiSuites Recoleta, from several different sites.

[Jane110]

The Claridge is a wonderful hotel and it's right near Florida Street. We stayed there 14 years ago and I know it's been renovated again a few years ago. It's an old british style hotel with a lot of charm. If you like lots of marble and glitz, it's not for you. But if you like some warmth and charm, I highly recommend it.

[NewCruiseFan]

So, I'm recently back from my lovely cruise and extra days in BA. The LoiSuites Recoleta was fabulous. I truly did not want to leave it.

 

I met Cintia the day after we had planned as her husband had to be hospitalized for what turned out to be food poisoning. She's a wonderful young woman with tremendous energy.

 

The hotel is a block from the cemetary, two blocks from Our Lady of Pillars, 4 blocks from the Alvear Palace (spotty high tea but great fun) and in the thick of shopping. The windows and walls are soundproofed! The hotel is both super modern and ultra comfortable. I admit I wondered if modern mean clean lines and minimalist.

 

They have the coolest locking system. You poke a button on the door, point your little plastic (?) stick at the door and viola the door unlocks or locks as you desire! When you enter the room you put your little plastic stick in a well next to the door and all the lights come on, when you leave you pick you stick out of the well and everything turns off! I had the Junior suite, it has a little living roomish thing separated from the area for sleeping by room design rather than walls - giving the space a huge feel.

 

There was even a kitchen hidden behind doors so it simply looked like storage! Microwave, refrigerator, coffee stuff, tea pot, plates, cups. My Sheraton friends were rather green!

 

On my last day I checked out by 11, left my bags there and headed out on the town. I stopped back to get my bags and grumped to Miguel that all I really wanted to do was go back to my room shower and nap! He said I could go to the spa area for the shower at least! So, I got to head to the airport fresh and clean - at least until the steamy BA heat foiled the dry part.

 

Breakfast was a huge assortment of offerings to suite anybody. Eggs, bacon, potatos, yoghurt, fruit, meats, cheeses, jams, wide array of bread things.

 

The staff were wonderful, Cintia was wonderful and I look forward to another visit to the Loi Suites!

[Jane110]

Dear New Cruise Fan,

 

We leave for BA in a month. Many thanks for the report.

 

So about the weather....what was the temperature and how humid is it?

 

Thanks,

Jane

[NewCruiseFan]

BA weather: plan for steamy nights! Translation, wear linen and loose clothing. It was hot and steamy. I don't know how everyone managed to look so cool and calm, I felt like I was melting.

 

It gets breezy in the afternoon and you'll want to take advantage of the siesta time to go someplace air conditioned.

 

That said, I went to la Biele in Recoleta under the huge and ancient Gumbero (sp?) tree to have some water or wine. Wear a wide brimmed hat and sunglasses with your linens!

 

There's a fantastic little shop at the corner of Vicente Perez and Ayacucho (La Lazo or La Tazo) which has artisan work from around Argentina. I spent some time chatting with the owner the day before she was heading to Patagonia to work on some more art projects.

[Jane110]

>>>>>>>That said, I went to la Biele in Recoleta under the huge and ancient Gumbero (sp?) tree to have some water or wine. Wear a wide brimmed hat and sunglasses with your linens!<<<<<<

 

Thanks for the weather report. I'll dress accordingly - yes, lots of linens and tank tops.

 

Re: La Biele.....and I would know what that is because????????

Neighborhood? Bar? Hotel? Restaurant?

 

THanks for your info.

 

Jane

[ALadyNCal]

NewCruiseFan -- Couple restaurant questions... Us Americans eat on a totally different schedule than the Argentinians... I had forgot about siesta and things could be closed. As far as finding restaurants open (in the Recoleta area), what hours were you able to get lunch and how early were you able to get dinner? Thx.

[ClaudiaF]

I can't wait for those steamy nights.. raining cats and dogs and everything else here in sunny California..

Linens, sunglasses packed and ready!!!!!

[markindayton]

Cintia at WOW Argentina booked us in the Argenta Towers for the one night we are in BA. Not sure why. Maybe it's closer to the docks. Anyone been there?

[Acrusa]

Lunch in BA is the normal 11:30- 12 noon.Dinner is best to be had at about 9:00 pm.Thats when all the locals are out dinning.Most restaurants don't even open up till 9.Except the hotel restaurants.And I recomend the buffet lunch at the Alveari Palace Hotel.

[ALadyNCal]

MARKINDAYTON -- Cintia tried to book me there. She feels it is a good value and well located. It has decent reviews and larger rooms, so you should be fine. My dilemma was that soooo many people recommended staying in Recoleta -- except Cintia. In the end I booked a hotel in the Recoleta, but you shouldn't have any complaints with Argenta Towers.

 

 

ACRUSA -- That's what I was afraid of.... If my parents wanted to eat earlier in the evening for the nights we are in B.A., that it'd be difficult to find something open. We'll cross that bridge when we get there! :-)

[Jillisue]

ALadyNCal:

 

We are staying at the LoiSuites in the Recoleta. Cintia highly recommended it to us. Did you say that she did not recommend staying there in the Recoleta? I am interested of what she told you about it. I sure hope we have done the right thing because we will be there 3 nights!! Please let me know..:)

 

It sounds like a very late time to eat dinner in BA doesn't it? I guess we will have to eat lunch for sure. I am sure it will be fine for all of us when we get used to it.

 

It won't be long now. Are you getting excited? I have to start packing soon. We leave on the 26th. Have a wonderful time with your parents.:)

[ALadyNCal]

jillisue -- Cintia & everyone recommends LoiSuites Recoleta. All good things. When I originally told her I wanted to stay near there (but cheaper) she said

 

"Please note that Recoleta is a very fancy district however it is not so conveniently located as Plaza San Martin, because for example there are no subways in Recoleta and most of the attractions are closely to Retiro and the downtown area"

 

Everyone else says RECOLETA. For me, my group includes 3 seniors, 1 who can't walk long distances and 2 who have never really traveled. A nice/pretty area is great for us. Lots of shops/restaurants. I already know we have to take a taxi everywhere, so the subway isn't an issue.

 

We are also staying 3 nights, so I spent a zillion hours trying to figure where to stay to make us all 5 happy, at a good price, at a hotel that I could get feedback on. Would die to arrive in B.A. and be disappointed and jetlagged!

 

Dinner could be an issue. My parents are not going to want to eat at 9 pm.... So I don't know what compromise we'll work out, but something!

 

Plaza San Martin or Recoleta, both are great areas and not far from each other.

 

Have a great trip!

[Jillisue]

ALadyNCal::)

 

Thanks for your reply. I sure hope we like it there. I know anything will be great for you after all the rain you have had in "Sunny" California. I did read that it was 97 degrees yesterday in BA.:eek:

 

We booked a City Tour with Cintia and so hopefully that will give us a great idea of where we want to spend time shopping. It is hard to think of shopping because it will be a pain to add to our luggage. I guess I will take less clothes and hopefully wash on the ship. I always take about 10 times more than needed and I get so mad at myself (not to mention my DH who goes nuts when I pack too much). Oh, well I guess you never know what we will need and with the changing weather we will experience on this cruise it is even harder. So I am sure I will take more than I need. I am not taking any formal clothes so that should help. -- just dressy skirts and a dress.

 

I read somewhere that there is a McDonalds in the Recoleta area so that might just be an option for your parents to have a little snack before 9:00 P.M. My gosh that is almost my bedtime. Ha - Ha :) :)

 

Hope all things work out for all of us!!! Have fun and I guess we should just relax and not worry about things before they happen.

 

Take care...............

[ALadyNCal]

97 degrees! OMG

 

I am not thrilled about the packing dilemma either :( Too many climates and 20 days. I WISH our ship had a laundry, but it doesn't. So we'll have to pay for some laundry at some point. We also are going to skip formal clothes so we can pack less.

[Leslieswiger]

On recommendation of friends who live in Buenos Aires, we made a change and have now booked the Hotel Etoile in Recoleta. I understand that it is right occross from the cemetery.

Has anyone ever stayed at the Etoile?

Leslie

[Acrusa]

May I make a suggestion.When traveling outside of the U.S. Only look for 4 or 5 star hotels.The Etoile is rated 3 stars by some on line sites and 2 stars by some others.These type of boutique hotels in South America are booked mostly by locals.

[NewCruiseFan]

When I first worked with Cintia I was just the teensiest bit put off by her very direct manner - along the lines of "no, you need to stay in .... the other places you mentioned are no good..." and so on. I kept my fingers crossed and hoped it was a language barrier thing.

 

I was thrilled with LoiSuites and with Cintia when I finally met her. She's tall (relative to me that is), very thin and wound tight like a drum. She moves at the speed of light and is very proactive.

 

She also warned me about taking too much on faith from the websites of hotels. I know that when I visited my friends in the Sheraton their room was much smaller, did not have a refrigerator much less a gorgeous hidden kitchen, and smelled rather musty. I'm hoping to head back to BA late this year and will try to get right back in LoiSuites.

 

It's half a block from the McDonalds - which is cheek by jowl with several other eating establishments. And it's a block from a multitude of other eateries (among which is la Biele - it seemed like everyone except me had heard of it and it's listed in multiple guidebooks).

 

When to dine, if you're arriving there at the end of your travels you'll adapt really quickly as you're now in the relaxed holiday frame of mind. ahhhhh.....

 

If you're there early your tummy may drive you to eat around 9-ish anyway as BA is 5 hours ahead of the West coast and 2 hours ahead of the East coast. If not, most hotels have room service and a lot of places are serving late afternoon/evening meals that are really filling.

 

Most of the sidewalk cafe places serve non-stop.

 

I didn't visit many of the other n'hoods but Recoleta is lovely, safe, and very walkable.

 

You have my best wishes and my envy - I wish I could go with you!

[NewCruiseFan]

Ok, confession time. With respect to temperature and humidity in BA in the summer.

 

The phrase that actually came from my mouth was "jeez, it's like being in a blasted swamp"

 

I clung to the sides of buildings, walked on the side of the street that was in the shade and drank great quantities of cold beverages. Food really wasn't of much interest. Oh, and I sought out air conditioning my first day nearly non-stop.

 

Slapped myself around and sat under shade trees, wore the hat and ambled rather than motored.

 

But, I'd go back in an instant!

[digby]

"So about the weather....what was the temperature and how humid is it?"

 

It was in the 90s and humid when I was there earlier this month.