Just a quick note to say that one of my friends has a fantastic apartment for rent in Buenos Aires, in the barrio of Caballito. I’ve been there a couple of times and I can confirm that it really is a stunning apartment [a lot more so than you can tell from the photos, I promise ]

Here’s the details:

• US$575 per month
• Beautiful 1 bedroom apartment with lots of light
• Awesome, spacious, 65+ meters squared (plus a balcony AND a terrace)
• Two subway lines both very nearby, and lots of bus routes
• Completely equipped with very nice, stylish, modern furniture
• Separate study area.
• Living Room
• Laundry area
• Balcony
• Private rooftop terrace
• Super open layout
• Everything you could want!

To confirm, the asking price is US$575 per month, which can be paid on a month to month basis (or there are possible discounts for longer stays).

The address is Valle 142, in the barrio of Caballito, Buenos Aires.

If you are interested, you can contact Juan on telephone number 15 6491 7389 (from within Buenos Aires) or email jozino@motorpress.com.ar.

From my point of view, when planning you trip to Buenos Aires and thinking about your accommodation options, it makes a hell of a lot of sense to throw short term apartment rentals into the mix.

Why? Well, when the choices are either to pay US$300 and upwards per night at a luxury or design hotel, versus the same price or less per week for a luxury apartment rental in Buenos Aires, with the same high levels of quality, comfort and design, all of a sudden the apartment option appears to be the most sensible option.

What’s that I hear you cry? Hotels have much higher levels of service and convenience that apartment rentals cannot offer? Well, I recently found out that there is another option to hotels, that matches them in these key areas, and yet beats them every time on value.

When my family came to visit me recently in Buenos Aires, I decided to look into apartment rental companies for them. A friend-of-a-friend knew of the owner of one such company, Enjoying BA, and recommended them highly to me. We ended up using them, and my family found both the quality of the apartment (in Recoleta) and level of service from the company to be of an extremely high standard. And so, here’s a nice review for them…

Enjoying BA is a relatively new player on the Buenos Aires Apartments scene, a small company that puts an emphasis on quality, not quantity, and so offers an extremely personalized service with their rentals – in fact, they even have their own concierge staff, whose mission is to make your stay in Buenos Aires the most comfortable, happy and interesting time possible.

Making the Most of Your Stay in Buenos Aires

It is because of the fact that Enjoying BA is a relatively small apartment rentals company in Buenos Aires that it can offer such a personalized, quality service.

Other larger Buenos Aires accommodation rental outfits have so many apartments in their inventory that it seems likely they accept just about any apartment they can get their hands on into their ranks – there is no assurance that you will be getting a quality place to stay.

Enjoying BA on the other hand has a select number of apartments, instead putting their emphasis on comfort, quality, design and superb location, over sheer quantity. In fact, all of their apartments are located in either Recoleta or around leafy Plaza San Martin – two of the most upmarket and nicest places to stay in Buenos Aires.

But the biggest advantage of using a small company like Enjoying BA is their ability to offer a highly personalized service from your first contact with them right the way through to when you check out. Large apartment rental companies, from my past experiences, do not offer this – you feel like just another client to them. Whereas Enjoying BA will do everything in their power to help make the most of your time in Buenos Aires, including in-the-know local recommendations and advice.

So for example, they won’t send you off to the overpriced, touristy, packaged bus tours and tango shows like others would – instead they will attempt to show you the best of the city from a local perspective, therefore expect recommendations on where to see, hear and dance authentic tango, the best places to try local food such as empanadas and parrillas, and so on. This advice is imparted by their trained, local concierge staff, whose presence really is a major benefit of renting your apartment in Buenos Aires through Enjoying BA.

The Comfort of a Hotel, with the Independence of Home

The Enjoying BA motto is the comfort of a hotel, with the independence of home, which encapsulates their approach to service and quality detailed above. You can also be sure that it is a reliable and well-run company, by people who know the tourist accommodation business in Buenos Aires inside out – as Enjoying BA it is a unit of MIA Global, whose owners are ex-Hyatt, Sheraton and Marriott.

Recoleta and Plaza San Martin Apartments

As I already mentioned, all of Enjoying BA’s properties are located in two of the best areas to stay in Buenos Aires, Recoleta and Plaza San Martin, with the majority found right in the heart of Recoleta. Due to this, not only are the apartments all located in very pleasant areas, but they are also very close to the large majority of tourist attractions, such as Recoleta Cemetery, Plaza San Martin, Florida pedestrian shopping street, the Obelisk, Plaza de Mayo, and Puerto Madero.

Their properties range from studio and 1 bedroom apartments, which can accommodate 2 to 4 people depending on the apartment, to 2 bedroom properties, which can all accommodate up to 4 people. All are of course fully furnished and carefully decorated, and include everything you would expect and more – bedding, crockery, a selection of teas, towels etc – again, all with an emphasis on quality. The different apartment’s prices range from US$170 to US$440 per week, which is about the same range you would expect to pay per night for a luxury hotel in Buenos Aires!

The place that my family stayed in was a studio apartment in Recoleta, for a maximum of three people, located on Vicente Lopez and Callao. They loved this location, because it is right in the heart of Recoleta, a couple of blocks from the famous cemetery, the bars/restaurants strip, and the extremely posh Avenida Alvear with all of its designer label shops and delightful old French architecture. The apartment itself was spacious, decorated nicely in a modern manner, and with a well equipped kitchen and bathroom.

However, what most impressed them was the experience manager from Enjoying BA, who they could contact at any time. This was a godsend for me, because I was working during the day, so my family had another local contact to help them with any questions they had about Buenos Aires. In addition to the included maid service, this helped make their apartment stay a very comfortable one. And all for the very reasonable price of US$235 a week!

I also had the chance to look around a different Enjoying BA property, another studio apartment for two people located in Recoleta, this time on Azcuénaga and Juncal. This one is a little closer to Avenida Santa Fe, an excellent avenue for shopping in Buenos Aires, and also even a little cheaper, at US$195 a week. It was a little smaller than the apartment my family stayed in, and meant for a maximum of two people, but still fairly spacious, warmly decorated, and beautifully furnished.

Enjoying BA Special Studio Apartment Offer

At present, Enjoying BA has an excellent special offer to take advantage of. You can get two nights (three days) in one of their Studio apartments (located in either Recoleta or Plaza San Martin), a round trip transfer from the airport on the day of your arrival and departure, and entrance to a quality, authentic Buenos Aires tango show (dinner included), all for just US$165 per person.

This is a great deal, especially when you consider that many people will be paying that for the airport transfers and tango show alone, but you will also get two nights of luxury accommodation into the bargain!

Book a Buenos Aires Apartment with Enjoying BA

If you want to contact Enjoying BA for further information or to make a booking, here are their full contact details:

email: info@enjoyingba.com
phone: (54-11) 4115-4620
website: www.enjoyingba.com

Click here to make an apartment booking inquiry or online reservation

And whether or not you choose a short term apartment rental with Enjoying BA while visiting Buenos Aires, I hope you have a fantastic time here – in fact, I’m sure you will

It’s back…what is surely already your favorite weekly round-up of the Buenos Aires blogosphere…putting aside the small issue that it is the only weekly round-up of the Buenos Aires blogosphere! We made it to a 2nd week, which is a mild surprise because last week’s instalment took so long to write due some heavy blogging in the Buenos Aires area.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on your viewpoint, there were less relevant Buenos Aires blog posts to report on this week, but still a fair amount for you to get through, partly thanks to my hyperactive blogging this week. Here they are…

Buenos Aires Sightseeing

• As I was saying in this week’s post on Caminito, there is more to La Boca than touristy tack, and these photos reveal some of the gritty modern reality of this famous barrio.
• I wrote a post about the history and modern day use of the wonderful El Mercado de Abasto building.
• All about El Cabildo, the government house during colonial times in Buenos Aires.
• The Buenos Aires Japanese Gardens are a nice place to relax in an oasis of Zen tranquillity. The Buenos Aires city government (blog in Spanish) also notes that the gardens are in a top ten list of the best places to read in peace in Buenos Aires, along with the Botanical Gardens and Plaza San Martin.

Info, News & General Comments about Buenos Aires

• Diva has her finger on the pulse of the BA festival calendar – urging us to go to Mutek for ‘emerging music, digital art & new technologies’, and Cambalache, a ‘non-touristy tango festival’, if there could ever be such a thing…
• News just in, it’s Christmas time….in Palermo Viejo! With snowflakes, despite the fact that temperatures here are in the mid 30s (Celsius)…
• Trendy Palermo Viejo also reports on the ‘Festival de Buen Dia’, it having occurred, where else but in Trendy Palermo Viejo, and not just any old place, but Plaza (Trendy) Palermo Viejo itself!

Where to Stay in Buenos Aires

• I suppose you could plan where you stay here depending on where all the famous people in Buenos Aires live. Many are in trendy Palermo, it seems.
• The Argentina Travel blog has some extra advice on renting an apartment in Buenos Aires, which will come in handy if you want to live near those celebs in Palermo, I guess.

Buenos Aires Food, Drink & Restaurants

• Winners of the hotly-contested (literally ‘smoking’) Argentine Asado contest are announced.
• Saltshaker reviews the Empire Thai restaurant in the Microcentro, which is is one of the better Asian restaurants in Buenos Aires, and Chere Sophie, a decent restaurant attached to a school for hotel, tourism and restaurant management, just about in Recoleta.
• Yes, you can get Belgian chocolate and beer in Jumbo, the Buenos Aires supermarket with most variety = expat heaven. It imports Duvel and Chimay, two of my favorite beers of all time! Bit on the pricy side though…
• And if that isn’t enough good alcohol-related news for you, Robert Wright published the seventh instalment in his Divino Vino Buenos Aires wine review series, all (cheaply) available in supermarkets here.
• The best ice cream / gelato in the world, in Buenos Aires? Oh yes! And you can even just about see the place to get it in one of Karine’s daily photos this week!

Strange things in Buenos Aires

• The BA city government steals a Buenos Aires blogger’s photo of a milanesa napolitana.
• American adverts are being shot in Buenos Aires, presumably because of the nice cityscape, good looking actors, cheaper production costs and readily available supply of milanesas (if not their photos).
• Common pitfalls of using public transport in Buenos Aires
• While not stealing innocent blogger’s photos, the city government blog is telling us when we can watch meteor showers in Buenos Aires (in Spanish). Hang on, doesn’t that photo look familiar too?
• Comically astute social commentary on the differences between tourists and locals in Buenos Aires.

And what’s all this about a Buenos Aires ‘Meme’?

• I wrote a post about ‘My Perfect Day in Buenos Aires‘, and invited, no, urged, all other Buenos Aires bloggers to do the same. This is called an internet meme, IF it spreads. And I think out of it will come many interesting ideas for things to do and see in BA…
• No bites yet, although Diva, Karine and Laura have all kindly displayed an interest
• Come on the rest of you…please don’t ignore me, I won’t go away that easily!

Thanks for reading! Please add links to any interesting Buenos Aires blog posts I missed this week in the comments below…

Renting an apartment long-term in a difficult game for a foreigner (extranjero) in Buenos Aires. Firstly, the reasonable prices are usually not easily available for extranjeros (which is why the expensive furnished apartments do such a good trade here) because strictly you need what is called a “garantia” to be able to rent. This would be a person that owns property in Argentina that can sign for you as a guarantee on the contract, to safeguard against you running away or trashing the apartment or something! Also, you are almost always expected to sign an agreement for 2 years, although people tell me that even if you do sign it is not always strictly enforced if you want to move on early.

HOWEVER, a garantia is not always required. You can often speak to the owner (dueno) and try to reach an agreement, which may involve you paying a large deposit, or paying a lot of the rent up front (maybe 6 months to a year) or even paying a little over the asked rent rate. A lot of owners will not want to do this, but it is worth asking…

Buenos Aires Apartments Key Search Resource: Clarin

If you speak decent Spanish, probably the best place to look for renting is the Clarin website (the most popular BA newspaper). This is where you will find the best bargains, the prices that locals pay:

• Go here and click on “Inmuebles”

Then search for the type of housing you want to rent, for what price, in what areas etc. But, this method only works well if you are in Argentina. The usual process is to buy Clarin every day (or search the website every day), find what apartments etc you like the sound of, then turn up at the address and viewing time detailed (sometimes waiting in line on the street to do so!) for each one. If you are currently in another country, you have two options if you go down this renting route:

• Pay someone in Buenos Aires to do it for you (a locator). Give me an email or leave a comment if you would like me to recommend somebody for you.
• RECOMMENDED: Come to Buenos Aires personally to find the place you want. Either you could do a “pre-visit”, staying in a furnished apartment and spending each day looking for places to rent, then renting somewhere ready for when you make the move, OR you could make the move and stay in a furnished apartment until you find a place.
BUENOS AIRES TRAVEL GUIDE SPECIAL HINT: Find an Argentine boyfriend/girlfriend to help you out with the whole Buenos Aires apartments searching process! Not only will you find more doors open with a local on your side, but this has some nice side benefits too

Additional Search Resources

These links should also help you out in your search for a cheap, long-term apartment rental in Buenos Aires:

• The YesBA Mailing list (sign up through that link)
• Craigslist Buenos Aires
• La Nacion Classifieds (2nd most popular newspaper in BA. Clarin is the mainstream tabloid, La Nacion the more serious broadsheet). There may be some repitition between Clarin and La Nacion listings
• www.BuscaInmueble.com
• www.ArgenProp.com.ar



Final Buenos Aires Apartment Rental Tip

Look for properties that are being rented by the owners themselves, not by the Inmobiliarias (estate agents), as the big agencies will be more expensive and will not be reasonable with people that do not have a garantia, whereas owners will be open to discussion……….and possibly even sweet-talk from your good-looking Argentina girlfriend/boyfriend!

Good luck to anyone looking for long term apartment rentals in Buenos Aires – I think you will probably need it!

‘Microcentro’ (City Center)

This area is OBVIOUSLY central! For many people this is ideal, and it will put you close to major tourist attractions such as the Obelisk, Plaza de Mayo, the Pink House, the Cathedral, Avenida de Mayo, Congress, Florida Shopping Street, Teatro Colon, Plaza San Martin and a whole lot more. However, in other ways it is not so perfect, because this area is also the most busy with dangerous traffic, polluted, noisy, and lacking in space. You have to weigh up these pros and cons to make your decision. But you do stay in the Microcentro, it is very easy to get around on the ‘subte’ (subway) system, which serves this area well, as opposed to most other parts of Buenos Aires.

Slightly North of Center – Recoleta, Retiro, Barrio Norte

These are the most exclusive areas of the City of Buenos Aires (particularly Recoleta), where you will find high class hotels such the Alvear, Four Seasons and the Plaza. Although they obviously come at a price! In keeping with the exclusivity of these areas, you will also find some of the best (i.e. most expensive – though that shouldn’t matter too much as a visitor on the right side of the exchange rate for Argentine Pesos) shopping centres, leather shops, cafes, restaurants, bars, nightclubs, art galleries, and parks in Buenos Aires. Also, you should be fairly close to the remarkable Recoleta Cemetery, where Evita Peron is laid to rest among many other amazingly decadent mausoleums of the rich and famous. Recoleta and Retiro (mainly near Plaza San Martin) are probably the most pleasnatly upmarket areas to stay, if you have the cash required!

A little Further North – Palermo

This is the largest barrio of Buenos Aires, mainly filled with tranquil, green parks. And so it can be one of the most laid-back areas to base yourselves in. Among the parks you will find the ‘Rosedal’ (Rose Garden), Botanic Gardens, Japanese Gardens and the Buenos Aires City Zoo. Parts of Palermo, such as Palermo Hollywood and Palermo Soho, are also fast becoming the hippest parts of BA, with fashionable bars, nightclubs, restaurants, boutique hotels and small designer label shops springing up almost by the minute. Finally, Palermo is generally well serves by Line D (Green Line) of the subte system, which conveniently takes you into the city center, or a little further north to Belgrano. Palermo is great for both families and young couples alike, and is a very popular place for visitors renting a Buenos Aires Apartment.

Go South! – San Telmo and Monserrat

These adjoining areas of Buenos Aires, just south of the Microcentro, are the most ‘historic’ areas of the city. The olde worlde BA, if you like. Here is where Buenos Aires was first founded, and is where some of the few remaining colonial buildings can be found, mixed in with some beautiful art nouveau and gothic styles from the preceding periods, all in a state of atmospheric decaying grandeur. Cobbled streets abound! The rich of BA used to live in San Telmo until a yellow fever outbreak in 1871, when they moved away from the lowland river to their current location in Recoleta. These days, San Telmo is the home to modern Argentine Tango in Buenos Aires, where you will find many Tango shows, clubs, lessons, street performers and even Tango hotels! Sunday in San Telmo’s Plaza Dorrego sees the most famous street market (antiques, tango paraphenalia, etc) here, along with the compulsory outdoor Tango dancers and singers. Adjoining Monserrat has similar architecture, and some of the most interesting churches in the city. However, these areas can be quite dangerous at night, and a little on the dirty side, so please bear that in mind before deciding on a hotel in this more ‘atmospheric’ part of town!

Well, those are the main areas to consider. There are others, but these are where most visitors will consider staying. Please leave a comment if you have any questions about these or other areas of BA. I hope you enjoy wherever you stay!