Planning BA Trip--Help Please

[jb5]

I'm planning spend March in BA and would love help on the following:

**Hotels--Maybe 2 to try different areas, a Palermo, San Telmo and maybe Recoletta? Want to be able to walk to good restaurants. Looking for upscale places.

**Restaurants--top and hole in the walls.

**Dentist recommendations for an implant.

**Realtor--would like to look at real estate.

**Skin care--daughter wants mircodermabrasion or chemical peel.

**Massage and other spa treatments.

**Side trips--is Punta del Este worth a visit? Where to go in Chile?


Any thoughts on any of these will be much appreciated!

 

[Ries]

Before I owned a place, I always rented furnished apartments- but then, I am not a room service type of guy.
But renting apartments is much nicer, in my opinion, if you dont NEED a mint on your pillow and someone vacuuming your floor every day.

The standard "upscale" hotels here are just like those everywhere else. Upscale means Recoleta. San Telmo is not, by any definition I can conceive of, "upscale".
Gritty, colorful, picturesque, authentic, yeah.

Palermo, basically, is lowrise, which means much smaller hotels.
You want uniformed doormen, and all the trimmings, then places like the Alvear Palace are the ticket.
In Palermo, I have heard good things about 5 Cool Rooms- boutique, personal, great location.
http://www.fivebuenosaires.com/ingles/principal.html
A friend of mine who has her work pay for her hotels has stayed there, and likes it a lot.
This is the kind of upscale that exists in Palermo.

Restaurants- read the back archives here, lots of suggestions. And partisan arguments and strong opinions.
Or go to Time Out- they cover the waterfront pretty well.
http://www.timeout.com/buenos-aires/
I like this book- its my idea of the real Buenos Aires-
http://www.littlebookroom.com/authenticbuenosaires.html
Also, for hole in the walls, check the older posts at Layne Moslers- she is in NYC now, but she was here for years-
http://www.taxigourmet.com/

I have no idea about dentists.

A couple of realtors post here, who speak english.
There is no Multiple Listing service here, so many small realtors have exclusives on tiny neighborhoods- walking around and looking at listings in windows is fun and informative.

Skin care is centered around Santa Fe y Coronel Diaz, in Palermo, or in Belgrano. Lots of em in both areas.

 

[Ailujjj]

Hotels:

In San Telmo there are a few really nice boutique places, but the main one that I would want to stay at is Mansion Vitraux. Have a friend who loves the Gurda, though. While it's not the most convenient area at night (or the safest, you need to be sure to stay in the popular/touristy side of San Telmo) if you plan to go out in Palermo a lot, I really enjoy San Telmo as an area; it's convenient for accessing lots of daytime activities and has more than enough restaurants & bars to occupy you at night for a couple of weeks. It's just got a nice vibe to it. I like Palermo too but it's a touch less personal, people are a bit less friendly, more foreigners, etc. But it's much more convenient at night for many social activities and tons of great restaurants and bars.

In Palermo, I like HOME. I've stayed in a lot of nice hotels in a lot of places and this one is impressive. I also have had friends who enjoy Malabia House and Bobo. Ultra Hotel looks pretty slick - great location - but I know nothing about it personally.

But there are tons of great (small) boutique hotels allover town. And the larger high-end chains as well (Four Seasons, Sofitel, etc).

Early in March, Punta could be fun - it will be a little cooler and calming down - not very busy at all, but great just for relaxing. Mendoza would also be awesome.

HTH.

 

[Donna B]

I stayed at The Recoleta Guest House on Laprida St. for two weeks, really well priced and central to all. I'm a 50+ single woman and have been here for 4 months. Personally, I find San Telmo a bit seedy, fun to visit and eat, but I don't feel safe walking around. And, I met a few people. Depends how much luxury you need.

I'm having plastic surgery in April with Dr. Tomas Brosto, you could email him with dermabrasion questions. Don't know of a Dentist.

Punte del Este is beautiful off season. I found Mendoza boring, probably because I'm from Colorado. Santiago is a beautiful city but after BA sort of slow too.

You could be entertained and fed for months in BA. Enjoy! And, rent for a few months, real estate is overpriced and old stuff needs work. Take a look around first!

 

[zachary_matthews]

Hotel Ultra on Gorritti...
very small rooms and the way it looks in photo's isn't the reality. shoddy workmanship and fast fixes have left it sort of run down.

if you want elegant, stylish and posh ($$$), try Faena world in the Puerto Madera district.

 

[flippinkittin]

Hey Jb5,

My favorite city/town that I have been to in South America was in Chile about 1-2 hours away from Santiago. It is called Valparaiso, and it was full of art, culture and beauty.

I am a massage therapist here in BA. I was trained in the US. I have a studio where I practice massage, and I also make house calls.

I am sure you will find all of the advice you could want on this forum. Good luck planing the rest of your trip.

 

[diosaarenosa]

what are your rates for massage flippinkittin?

 

[mobri1130]

Faena in Puerto Madero is good for spa services. Prices comparable to US.
I'm with Ries, apartments are preferable to hotels for me. Try buenosairesapartments.com Good selection.