Five Buenos Aires 5 Star Hotels…

…and how to experience them on the cheap!

Even if your cash flow doesn’t allow you a 5 star splurge while visiting Buenos Aires, it is still tempting to see what luxury, design, or boutique hotels the city has to offer.

To catch a glimpse over the other side of the fence, there is no need to have a room key. Below you will find a list of five different Buenos Aires hotels and opportunities to take advantage of what they offer, even if you aren’t staying there. This will give you a taste for the good stuff and even allow you to finish your trip under budget.

A Top Five List of Hotels in Buenos Aires

5. Caesar Park Hotel, Recoleta

A solid luxury hotel in Recoleta, with fantastic interior design, service and location (right across from the upmarket Patio Bullrich mall).

So, how to experience this hotel without paying a dime? Just walk in the lobby and do your most confident impression of a paying hotel guest. Take the elevator up to the 17th floor, and take in the wonderful view of the Rio de la Plata, seeing right the way over to Uruguay on a good day – a definite 5 star view. Exit soon after, before security come and give you the privilege of a personal escort out of the building.

4. Bo Bo Hotel, Palermo Soho

One of the most coveted boutique hotels in Palermo Soho, the sub-barrio where boutique hotels seem to be popping up every week. The design is cool, modern, fun and ever so slightly pretentious, as you would expect from a place where the name stands for bourgeois bohemian. They even have themed rooms, ranging from Pop to Techno to Art Deco. And if that isn’t enough, the staff and restaurant also both get rave reviews.

If you don’t want to shell out the cash for a room at the Bo Bo, make do with a trip to the restaurant and a quick scan around the stylish hotel interior. To experience their eclectic international cuisine shouldn’t set you back too far, and although the servings are fashionably small, they are still quite delicious, and you’ll get all of the bourgeois bohemian experience for a fraction of the price of a night in their hotel.

3. The Hotel Alvear, Recoleta

If you are a head of state, diplomat or just plain rolling in old money, this is the place to stay in Buenos Aires. Faultless old world style and service, the most desirable location on the most upscale avenue in the city (they even share the same name), and quite frankly, effortlessly the most classically beautiful hotel lobby, bar, cafe and restaurant in town.

For the rest of us, the Alvear offers an alternative – and something of an institution for in the know visitors to Buenos Aires. Well, at least those that are in to tea and cake. Indulge in an afternoon high tea at the Alvear’s beautifully appointed L’Orangerie cafe, and for a few sweet, sweet moments (accompanied by a few sweet, sweet cakes and pastries) you are a flesh-and-blood Alvear guest. Just make sure you dress the part.

2. The Faena Hotel + Universe, Puerto Madero

The most fantastical 5 star hotel in Buenos Aires, fresh from the warped mind of designer Phillipe Starck, and the straining ego of Argentine entrepreneur Alan Faena. A potent combination, heightened by your own personal ‘experience manager’, there to respond to your every whim, as you create your own mini-universe within the swish former docklands of Puerto Madero.

Though the cost may be high, fret not, for there is another way to experience this hotel. Cocktails at the Faena’s “Library Lounge” (down the corridor on the right, just after the outdoor pool), complete with film set surroundings and kitsch mounted deer heads on the walls is an excellent taste of this alternate ‘universe.’ Just make sure you check out the enchanting entrance corridor and toilets while you’re there (yes, even the toilets are out of this world at the Faena).

1. The Four Seasons ‘La Mansion’, Recoleta

This cute little mansion in the grounds of the Four Seasons hotel (see first picture at top) is so expensive that only world famous rock and pop stars like U2, the Rolling Stones and Madonna can afford to stay there. Even from the outside, its easy to see that the building certainly is a cut above most hotels – a wonderful turn of the 20th century French mansion house that looks plucked from the Loire valley.

Let’s not even mention a nightly price for this place, and go straight to the alternative 5 star option. Sunday brunch downstairs at the Four Season’s La Mansion is a great chance to take in the full mansion house experience, while gorging yourself on the best breakfast in BA. The brunch isn’t cheap, but you’ll feel like a rock star throughout, and for a good while afterwards.

Locations of these 5 Star Hotels in Buenos Aires:

Caesar Park Hotel
Posadas 1232, corner Libertad, Recoleta
Tel: 4819 1100

Bo Bo Hotel
Guatemala 4882, near Thames, Palermo Soho
Tel: 4774 0505

Alvear Palace Hotel
Avenida Alvear 1891, corner Ayacucho, Recolta
Tel: 4808 2100

Faena Hotel + Universe
Martha Salotti 445, near Juana Manso, Puerto Madero
Tel: 4010 9000

The Four Seasons Hotel
Posadas 1086/88, near Cerrito, Recoleta
Tel: 4321-1200

Four Seasons Buenos Aires Hotel

Upscale Neighborhood Location on the edge of Recoleta

The Four Seasons is equidistant between the heart of Recoleta and the Microcentro, and so it is within walking distance of many major attractions (i.e. Recoleta Cemetery, Teatro Colon, The Obelisk, Avenida Alvear, Florida Street, Puerto Madero, Plaza San Martin). Obviously it is also perfectly placed for a very short and cheap taxi trip to any of these places.

The Four Seasons is found close to the end of busy Avenida 9 de Julio, but at that point the noise is not as noticeable. In fact quite the opposite – it is a peaceful, nice area to stay in, where you wouldn’t realize how close to the center you actually are. Add to the mix the fact that some of the best (high-end) shopping and restaurants are in this area, and you have one of the best hotel locations in Buenos Aires.

Four Seasons Hotel Rooms

As you would expect in this price range, the rooms are very large, of course very clean & well turned out, tastefully decorated and perfectly furnished, but nothing over the top in extravagance.

The bathrooms are also lush, with nice features like high quality bathrobes, luxurious towels and lovely fluffy slippers. Also the shower and bath are oversized with marble everywhere, the shower being especially nice after a long day’s sightseeing, as it has a huge showerhead with an amazing rate of water flow & pressure. The beds are superb, with a down comforter. Very impressive.

Hotel Service

Also for the price, you would expect the staff to keep you well looked after. And they go beyond that, especially the attentive and knowledgeable concierge desk. Make the most of them – ask them to organize, among other things, restaurant reservations for you – you will also get much better service at the restaurants by doing so, due to the power of the Four Seasons name in Buenos Aires!

Most that stay in the Four Seasons say the main factor that sets it apart from other hotels in this upper price range is their outstanding service. Nice to know they are working hard for your money! Extensive personal attention is given to every guest, and you will often be referred to by name by staff you have never seen before. They are on the whole genuinely kind without being over the top or intrusive.

Nice extras like fresh fruit every day are a bonus. And, if anything does go wrong, they will fix it in a flash and usually provide something complimentary for your trouble.

Four Seasons Features

• Attractive outdoor pool to the rear of the hotel.
• Seven suite turn-of-the-20th-century chateau with 24 hour butler service, where rock stars like U2 and the Rolling Stones stay (complete with crazy fans camping outside day and night) when they are in town. However, it comes at a huge cost. If it’s a little out of your budget, you can still appreciate the amazing architecture inside the mansion by taking Sunday brunch there.
• Gorgeous gym and impressive spa.
• Business center to check email etc, free use, with complimentary drinks.
• Cellular phone for local use.
• The hotel restaurant is called Le Mistral, and is a quality, opulent establishment.