On a recent visit to Buenos Aires, Travel Agent toured the upscale, tony Recoleta neighborhood, where the hotel scene is thriving with new boutique properties. Already home to the city’s most elegant and expensive hotels—the famed Alvear Palace, Four Seasons and Park Hyatt—the neighborhood has now welcomed the Buenos Aires Grand, Hotel de Lujo Mio Buenos Aires and CasaSur Art Hotel, stylish small hotels offering great value in this very-exclusive area.
Recoleta is the most fashionable part of Buenos Aires—leafy streets dotted with shops, galleries and steakhouses amid the city’s most famous cultural and historical attractions.
Buenos Aires Grand
The 90-room Buenos Aires Grand, which opened late last year, beckons with sleek Italian design: tailored furniture in cool grays and beiges, glass fixtures, shiny white marble—and equally attractive staff. Though only open two weeks when we popped in, Jennys bar and the restaurant were already buzzing with well-dressed businessmen.
The rooms are impressive with the requisite luxury amenities—40-inch smart LED TVs, remote-controlled blinds and lights, Nespresso machines, iPod docking and more. We loved the slick bathrooms with striped gray-and-white marble sinks.
Room sizes range from 240 square feet for a Deluxe Junior to 550 square feet for a Deluxe Grand Suite with pull-out sofa. A rooftop sun deck and pool with views of Recoleta and a spa with two treatment rooms complete the package. Nearby attractions include the famous Recoleta Cemetery (home to Eva Peron’s tomb), just two blocks away, and the elegant, upscale Patio Bullrich shopping gallery, four blocks in the opposite direction.
Booking Tip: Ask for rooms with views of Las Heras Avenida. Rates include Wi-Fi and buffet breakfast. Travel agents should get in touch with General Manager Pablo Veloso ([email protected]) for more information.
Mio Buenos Aires
For oenophiles, there is Buenos Aires’ first wine-themed hotel, the 30-room Mio Buenos Aires which opened in 2010, owned by the Catena wine family. You enter through a 20-foot door made of stained French oak from wine barrels—and throughout the hotel, each room has large, hand-carved wooden bathtubs juxtaposed against modern interiors in rich colors. Surprisingly, it works well.
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| CasaSur Art Hotel’s Executive Room has a traditional feel with lots of browns and creams and hardwood floors. |
Rooms are spacious, with only four per floor, ranging from the Deluxe Rooms (550 square feet) to the Terrace Suites (800 square feet) with a Jacuzzi overlooking Recoleta to the Mio Suites (1,000 square feet) with separate sitting area and an extra half bath. The best unexpected treat: complimentary sparkling wine on tap in each of the rooms. Other plusses: large shower, L’Occitane soaps, fine linens, Nespresso maker, and hi-tech TV.
Given the hotel’s size, the amenities are extensive: a pool, a gym, and a spa featuring wine-based treatments on the eighth floor; a cozy restaurant that is a tapas bar by night and serves an ample breakfast buffet by day. There’s even a library and meeting room.
Less than a block from the famed Alvear Palace Hotel, the location is top notch. Reach out to General Manager Amalia Gonzalez ([email protected]) with any queries.
CasaSur Art Hotel
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| Each room at Mio Buenos Aires features large, hand-carved wooden bathtubs juxtaposed against modern interiors. |
The coziest place to stay is CasaSur Art Hotel, a tall, slender neoclassical building with 36 rooms, only three to a floor, all with very charming balconies. The furnishings are modern in style but the feel is traditional with lots of browns and creams and hardwood floors throughout.
Rooms are well designed; the Executive and Superior Rooms are adjacent and can be joined by a hallway door making them good for families with young children. The Grand Suite Room on the 12th floor is more than 700 square feet and has a balcony with private Jacuzzi overlooking the city.
A member of the Small Luxury Hotels group, CasaSur Art Hotel is intimate, with a casual restaurant and wine bar just off the lobby. On the ground floor, there’s a small spa with Jacuzzi, where kids can splash around. The staff is very warm and accommodating. The hotel is on the Avenida Callao among the art galleries that inspired its name and is two blocks from the Buenos Aires Design Center. Nice Touch: The hotel offers a complimentary city tour for guests every Saturday at 2 p.m. For bookings, contact General Manager Roberto Brocca ([email protected]).
Tip for clients: Bring dollars. The Argentine government has recently been restricting access to dollars for locals, creating demand for U.S. currency. Another option is to use a money transfer website such as Xoom, which generally offers a more favorable rate and only charges a minimal service fee to collect pesos in Argentina.