Two different scenarios Buenos Aires a big city, Carmelo a tiny tiny town , the Four sesons is a resort hotel, very pleasant, not big, not tall or anything in a beautiful quiet area, there you can indulge in a beautiful oriental spa, ride horseback, visit a nearby Old winery called Cerros de San Juan, play both tennis and golf and I believe there is aCasino as well. A quiet, tranquil, in touch with nature three days, and then you can get across the pond and go to Buenos Aires a city full of all the things that abound in large cities. This is a particularly nice one, with good food at very reasonable prices in comparison with Europe or US, theater, concerts, etc and offers a few nice
Day TRips to nearby areas like the Tigre area where you can ride boats between islands have a nice lunch or go to a nearby Estancia and have a day riding horses, like in this estancia: www.estancialosdoshermanos.com, tango shows, old cafes,...many cafes , art exhibits and they also have a great opera house Teatro Colon but I believe it is closed for repairs.
Good idea to land first in Uruguay ,I did that the other day and no fees were involved, I left from Ezeiza Airport to US. Good luck.

I wish to add as expected the Four Seasons in Buenos Aires is a very nice hotel. Great service good location.

I returned to California yesterday after leaving BsAs on Saturday after being there for ten days (my fourth trip). ...had wonderful, yet different and varied experiences.

Amongst my hotel hopping on Friday, i visited the Four Seasons Hotel in Recoleta and liked it very much. ...was told by my expat guide that the personnel at this hotel do render the necessary required services for its guests.

In terms of your itinerary, I'd advise that you go to Salta for its wines and natural components based on what my tour guide stated; if you're interested, do take the cooking class (EMPANADAS) from Teresita. Last Monday I visited her and her husband at their lovely house which is an hour away from BsAs. I took the shuttle for $4US rt and followed her explicit directions to reach her home.

Teresita principally gives this particular three hour class on Mondays, and she herself is quite charming and personable and professional. The first six then eleven participants truly, truly, truly enjoyed ourselves during the time that we spent with her. And although I am a "tea totaler," I did enjoy the red and the white wines that she paired and shared with us and our freshly based empanadas. What a wonderful experience and highlight of my trip.

I will share more of my highlights once I've rested and have reacclimated myself to my own environs.

With only 8 days I think you are sensible to stick to two places. December will be hot, so you might want to spend one of those days in BA on the Tigre delta. It can be done as a day trip from the city or you could spend a night there. Someone recently posted about a very good experience here:
http://www.delta-unplugged.com.ar/
Or a day on one of the good (not too touristy) estancias makes a nice day out.

We spent 6 nights in the Northwest (Salta) area in February and loved it, but I do not think, given your time constraints, that it is worth flying there for just a couple of days. Too many other really good, closeer options.

You may be surprised by how much you enjoy your time in Buenos Aires - and adding the spa/Uruguay time with provide quite a lovely contrast.

Have a great trip.

~MarnieWDC

Thanks so much for the quick input!

Initially I wanted to do 4 nights at each. But I think we'll do 5 nights BA, 3 nights FS Uruguay.

Has anyone stayed at both FS properties consecutively and had the hotel arrange transportation between both destinations? I'm wondering the cost.

Are there any good winery tours near FS in BA or Uruguay short of going to Mendoza? I'm looking for something with a drive that's not insanely expensive.

Thanks!

Have you looked at Punta Del Este in Uruguay for the 3 night stay? I think at your age it might be a bit more lively and fun.

We stayed at the FS in Carmelo at the end of a 2 + week vacation for a little R&R before heading home. As much as the FS has a lot of wow factor, the resort is absolutely beautiful, but I felt like I could have been anywhere. There was a big American company staying at the FS while we were that had "taken over" the resort, I'm sure they were spending oodles of money. There's no night life, basically dinner and back to your room. The grounds are great, the pool is nice and the golf course looked like fun (we don't play).

We did go to a local winery for dinner one night, just to get a break from the resort, took a taxi both ways, sorry, but do not remember the name.

That being said, if this is what you are looking for on vacation, go for it. If you want a high end experience with more local flavor, I would look into other resorts.

BTW, we had our travel agent make the arrangements for us, took the ferry over to Colonia from BA, the FS picked us up and took us back.

Hope this helps.