Special report - Buenos Aires: new-found optimism after the dark years

Hotels: Buenos Aires shakes up its traditions

From the palaces of yesteryear to the trendy boutique hotels, the range of possibilities is vast in an Argentine capital where a multitude of small hotels that are very much of their time flourish alongside luxury establishments with a discreet, timeless charm.
By The Editor -

For a long time, the glamour of Buenos Aires hotels was synonymous with wood panelling and drapes. Opened in 1932 to welcome wealthy visitors from Europe, the Alvear Palace is the finest example of this. But today, other trends are superimposed on this refinement. This year sees the inauguration of the Alvear Art Hotel, a very contemporary take on the illustrious Palacio Portègne, as the city's residents are known.

A theatrical corridor runs through the 'cathedral', the lobby of the Faena Hotel, opening onto a world designed by Starck, all hushed luxury, baroque décor and quirky details.

The ultra-contemporary establishment will be housed in a modern tower just a few minutes from the Puerto Madero district, where the city's very first boutique hotels were born. In 2004, the Faena moved into this trendy new haven. Housed in a former grain silo, this extravagant hotel with 90 rooms and 83 residences is made of bricks imported from Manchester at the end of the 19th century and windows decorated with fileteados, a decorative style typical of Buenos Aires. The place is theatrical, mysterious... almost dreamlike, like the long corridor covered with a solemn red carpet, echoed in the rooms, which are dressed in heavy crimson velvet curtains. "When the owner, Alan Faena, decided to buy this ruined site in the middle of a post-industrial no-man's-land, nobody realised that it was a visionary act.explains hotel spokeswoman Verónica Pontoriero, because, at the time of opening, this type of option did not yet exist in Buenos Aires".

To launch the concept of the top-of-the-range boutique hotel in Buenos Aires, the Faena has put in the art and the manner: an eclectic decor signed by Philippe Starck, two fabulous restaurants and a beautiful swimming pool in the garden. With the opening in autumn 2011 of the Faena Arts Center, a contemporary exhibition space housed in an old mill, the group has firmly established itself as one of the spearheads of the Puerto Madero district. And Faena still has plans for new residences designed by Norman Foster, as well as a probable six-star hotel...

Bohemian chic and contemporary

Born in Puerto Madero, this impulse has spread to the city's new bohemian chic districts. In Palermo Viejo, there are now a dozen or so small boutique hotels, including the Home, with its acidulous, deliciously retro look, the Vitrum, with its facade structured with coloured glass panels, the Zen-style Ilum and the Own, with its pretty terraces... However, it is on the Recoleta side that the most elegant hotels are concentrated. This neighbourhood, traditionally home to prestigious establishments, saw the birth of Le Mio in April 2011, in a former private mansion. This first property owned by an Argentinian wine exporting family has a sober look and subtle nods to the world of oenology.
 
In a capital nicknamed the "Paris of South America", the Sofitel plays the French card in an Art Deco skyscraper revisited by Pierre-Yves Rochon.

However, when it comes to boutique hotels, the Algodon Mansion is certainly the most eye-catching. Housed in a sumptuous private residence dating back to 1912, the establishment owes its intimate charm to ten spacious suites, a butlers service available day and night, a pretty spa on the fifth floor and a rooftop swimming pool. Its elegance has also attracted the interest of the Relais & Châteaux group, which welcomed it last December as the very first hotel in its prestigious collection in Buenos Aires. While small hotels are all the rage, they don't seem to be overshadowing the big international establishments. Among them is the Sofitel, opened in 2002 and totally sublimated by a design entrusted to Pierre-Yves Rochon. The hexagonal elegance of this 140-room Accor establishment combines with Argentinian elements and Art Deco details. "This French art of living sets us apart, explains Magdalena Fitzgerald, Marketing Director. This is also reflected in cultural events linked to France, such as exhibitions, concerts and gastronomic events".. In this 19-storey building, the first level is devoted to meeting rooms and business areas. "We focus on business customers, and although we are part of a chain, we maintain a highly personalised service and a boutique spirit", says Magdalena Fitzgerald.

Another of the city's big names, the Four Seasons, which opened around ten years ago, plays a slightly different game, even though it has the French embassy as a neighbour. Its asset: two buildings, one dating from the 1980s and housing most of its 165 rooms, and the other, historic, located in a private house from the 1920s that looks like an 18th-century château. It is in this old part, La Mansion, which opens onto a lush garden and a large outdoor swimming pool, that the Sunday brunches are held, a meeting place for the whole of Buenos Aires. People flock here, if only to spend a moment in the opulence of the four ceremonial rooms, with their distinctive tones - the green room is simply marvellous - their wood panelling, frescoes and gilding. The chandelier in La Mansion was recently revitalised before the rest of the hotel was renovated in April 2012. "We will be undertaking a total renovation over a year and a half, without closing for a single day, explains Gabriel Oliveri, Marketing Director, it will be a radical transformation, a real sublimation". As a major business hotel, the Four Seasons will obviously retain its two 'executive' floors and its lounge with a balcony from which visiting heads of state greet the crowds. Just as luxurious, the Park Hyatt can also play the old and the new card. In addition to its modern facilities, the hotel boasts a dazzling mansion, the Palacio Duhau, which dates back to 1934, but whose details are reminiscent of a Renaissance palace. Restored for several years before reopening in 2006, this palace is a jewel, each room a marvel. The Crystal Room in particular, with its marble floors, but also the Oak Bar and its wooden panels brought back from a medieval Norman castle or the Piano Nobile lounge, with its silver mouldings and its terrace overlooking a peaceful garden where you can hear the gentle sound of water.
 
 

Tango and the round ball

In the Recoleta district, the elegant mansions of Argentina's elite at the beginning of the 20th century were turned into hotels. The patinated woodwork of La Mansion is now the charm of the Four Seasons.

"This palace was once a meeting place for high society. We wanted to recreate this atmosphere by opening the doors to outside visitors, who can dine here, have a drink, or even take Friday night tango classes".explains Eduardo Ceccotti, spokesman for the establishment. While the palace itself offers just 39 keys, the modern part offers 125 rooms, many of which overlook the garden and surrounding palaces. The Palacio Duhau is also flanked by two jewels, the Vatican Nunciature and the home of a woman said to be the richest in the country. "But only at the Palacio Duhau can you taste traditional Argentinian cuisine revisited by a talented young chef".laughs Eduardo Ceccotti.

Yet the hotel industry in Puerto Rico is still reinventing itself. The expected opening in 2014 of a St Regis in the Puerto Madero district will reconcile the two current trends: contemporary luxury and bohemian chic. But for the time being, while the Park Hyatt is dedicating its lounges to tango, it is another Argentine speciality that is about to be immortalised with "the world's first establishment dedicated to football".. This five-star hotel, named Boca Juniors after the famous local club, is due to open this year not far from Avenida 9 de Julio. Hardly surprising, in the land of Diego Maradona...
 
 

NOTEBOOK

? ALVEAR ART HOTEL
Suipacha 1036
Tel.: +54 11 48 08 21 00
E-mail: info@alveararthotel.com
Internet: www.alveararthotel.com
? FAENA HOTEL + UNIVERSE
Martha Salotti 445
Tel: 0 800 136 136 (toll-free from France) or + 54 11 4010 9000
E-mail: reservations@faenahotels.com
Internet: www.lhw.com or www.faenahotelanduniverse.com
? HOME HOTEL
Honduras 5860
Phone: +54 11 47 78 10 08
E-mail: info@homebuenosaires.com
Internet : www.homebuenosaires.com
? VITRUM
Gorriti 5641
Tel.: +54 11 47 76 50 30
E-mail: info@vitrumhotel.com
Internet: www.vitrumhotel.com
? MIO HOTEL BUENOS AIRES
Av. Quintana 465
Phone: +54 11 52 95 85 00
Internet : www.miobuenosaires.com
? ALGODON MANSION
1647 Montevideo Street
Tel.: +54 11 35 30 77 77
E-mail: algodon@relaischateaux.com
Internet : www.relaischateaux.com
? SOFITEL BUENOS AIRES
Arroyo 841
Phone: +54 11 41 3100 00
E-mail: reservas@sofitel.com
Internet : www.sofitel.com
? FOUR SEASONS BUENOS AIRES
Posadas 1086/88
Phone: +54 11 43 21 12 00
Internet: www.fourseasons.com
? PALACIO DUHAU - PARK HYATT BUENOS AIRES
Avenida Alvear 1661
Tel.: +54 11 51 71 12 34
E-mail: buenosaires.park@hyatt.com
Internet : www.buenosaires.park.hyatt.com
? HOTEL BOCA JUNIORS
Tacuari 243
Phone: +54 11 48 96 63 59
E-mail: info@hotelbocajuniors.com
Internet: www.hotelbocajuniors.com
? ALVEAR PALACE
Av. Alvear 1891
Tel: 0 800 136 136 (toll-free from France) or +54 11 48 08 21 00
E-mail: info@alvearpalace.com
Internet: www.lhw.com or www.alvearpalace.com

Special report - Buenos Aires: new-found optimism after the dark years

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