Best neighborhood for us in BA?
 

Hey all,

I post frequently in the Costa Rica section, assisting fellow Fodorites with their travel plans. I am a travel wholesaler that specializes in that destination. I am now seeking advice from the Argentina group, as we plan our October adventure.

We are a group of four couples. We are all pretty experienced travelers, and are adaptable. We have traveled together to Holland, Mexico, Costa Rica, and the Czech Republic. We have been to Europe twice, and used apartments both times. It was the perfect solution for us.

We are all staying various lengths of time, but we are going to be together for a week in BA. We are trying to figure out what area of the city should be our base.

Our ages range from early 50's to early 60's, but we can still party like rock stars when we want to! We are from New Orleans, and love good food and interesting architecture. We like to walk during the day, and see the sights.

We don't have an unlimited budget, but don't have to scrimp. We have been seeing some extremely nice two bedroom apartments for $1100 to $1200 per week. Two of these would work, or we can go cheaper. The right four bedroom could work too.

We have been leaning towards Palermo, but only because we have heard the most about that area. We are open for other options.

Can the experts here help us out? I would value your input. Where should we stay?

Warm Regards,
Pat Hewitt
(Travel professional)

Hi Pat,
After helping me with my first trip to Costa Rica, I'm glad I can comment and try to assist you here.

We've stayed at the Marriott Plaza twice in BA, then tried Palermo staying at the Bobo Hotel. To give you an idea, Palermo is like the Soho/Greenwich Village of BA, but about 20 years ago, very hip, great vibe and easy walking to all sorts of restaurants and stores. We enjoyed this neighborhood a lot (I'm in my early 50's husband is a bit older).

The Marriott is more central, again a nice hotel, but catered more to tour groups, like staying in Times Square.

The Recoleta neighborhood is like staying up in the Garden District of NO (or Madison Ave in NYC), definitely more upscale and really nice.

We have not rented an apt. as we only spend a couple of nights in BA, then like to explore the rest of the country, so I cannot help you w/apts. From what I read here, they are a great deal if you're staying for a week or so.

Hope this helps. You are going to love AR, we're thinking of a third trip there next March.

According to your description of your group, I feel you should stay 1) in the Recoleta or 2) in Palermo, in that order of preference.

Have great time in our country.

I love Palermo soho.

Try Barrio Caballito... It's a Fantastic neighborhood! Really Argentinean life Style :o) Shops, Parks, Cinemas, Restaurants, Pubs and all for the Argentinean and not for the tourists like in San Telmo or Palermo :o) So...you pay the real price and not the..."touristic price" :o) Here there is the website of the Barrio: http://www.vivecaballito.com.ar/

Hi
Palermo is a good neighborhood as is Recoleta ( where I live and where there are many good restaurants, cafes, shopping is excellent, wonderful museums and beautiful parks. )
But Palermo has its own charms and parks etc.

You want a place that allows you to walk as much as possible, from one neighborhood to another.. San Telmo and the "little" Palermos (SoHo & Hollywood) are charming but you might end up taking more cabs that you want..

Recoleta is a beautiful area for sightseeing also.

I have one hotel to recommend, and some apt rental sites.

The ArtSuites Hotel.. an apart-hotel , with all the amenities of a hotel but with a living room, dining area, kitchenette, nice bedrooms, nice bath .. in Recoleta in a residential area.

www.artsuites.com.ar

Apartment rentals

Laprida Suites
www.buenosairesapart.com

www.apartmentsba.com

www.buenosaireshabitat.com

Hope this helps :)

Pat, have you decided on an area yet? I will be in the Recoleta area myself, in Oct as well (last week).

JUst to tell you that I admire you, 4 couples travelling together smoothly. Congratulations,.... Have fun in Buenos Aires,Recoleta seems the better, Palermo is fine too.

very helpful - bookmarking - thank you

Four of us stayed comfortably in this spacious apartment in Recoleta. The location is great!

www.toprecoletabuenosairesapart.com/apartment

Great information! Bookmarking for a future trip!! Thanks!!

barbara, that is a very nice apartment and on the high end of the rent spectrum here.
In that area of high priced apartments,
www.apartmentsba.com is also good.

Wow. A lot to digest here! We have been looking into Recoleta too. Our biggest problem has been finding suitable apartments that are close to each other. The Art Suites might be a good option. I like the look of them, and having someone else make breakfast is appealing.

My wife and I accompanied a group of 19 friends to Amsterdam last year. We were the planners. At the last minute, we lost our apartment due to a failed fire inspection. The rest of the group was fine, they all had apartments. We lucked into a beautiful little B&B. We started each day with an amazing breakfast, then joined the gang. It was nice to be free of this little chore.

I am a little amazed at how well we all four couples travel together too. It is a pretty varied group. Different political views, smokers, non smokers, different incomes, etc. But we enjoy each other, and are all grown ups. No drama is the only rule. Plus, we are all pretty flexible and just up for a good time. So it all works. I look forward to our adventures together, and there have been quite a few! BA seems like a good place for a few more.

Sorry Tully. We are going to probably miss you. Right now, the plan is to go during the first two weeks. We are going to spend a week with the gang in BA, and then to parts unknown with just me and the Mrs.

Once we get BA figured out, we are going to start working on the second week. I am sure that I will have more questions!

Thanks to all as we work through this.

Regards,

Pat Hewitt

Breakfast in the ArtSuites is plain and nothing special.
Orange juice, coffee and a couple of medialunas.

But the coffee is strong and will ( if you are like me) get you awake enough to get out early and have breakfast somewhere nice - Como en Casa is just a couple of blocks away on Riobamba as well as down on Laprida and French.
We are there all the time, all during the day..their pastries are lovely, the atmosphere in the one on Riobamba is just great!

But you could definitely take over the hotel lol.
Be sure to book as far ahead as possible, it is not that big a hotel.

When we stayed there, we got a bit of a discount for staying over 10 days and they discount for cash.

Pat that's a shame but I am sure we will both have great trips. Would've been great to meet a CR expert in Argentina :)

Scarlett - any great cafes around the Cemetery you can suggest, places where it's cool to just sit back for a while with coffee and people watch? A place not too chaotic, if that makes sense.

I will chime in and add this apartment in Palermo...remember that Palermo is a very large barrio. This apartment adjoins Recoleta and is in one of the more upscale parts of the barrio...soho and hollywood attract the young, trendsetters....our part of Palermo attracts upscale families and empty nesters. we have stayed in this apartment numerous times and never had a problem. The owners live in NYC and are delightful people. There is a second apartment for rent in the same building. It is listed on VRBO. I will try to find the url and post it....but it will be Sunday before I have much spare time..

www.shortstayinba.com

Hi,
We also stayed at Art Suites for three nights a few weeks ago. They were very nice about storing our luggage when we went to Iguazu.
The place has a great location close to shopping and good restaurants. You can easily walk to Recoleta Cemetary and MALBA (though this is a bit a long walk).
I have to agree with Scarlett, the breakfast was nothing to write home about. In fact, we don't even drink coffee or eat pastries, so all we had of their continental breakfast was the orange juice! However, there are two grocery stores on the same block (one right next door), where you can buy eggs, yogurt, whatever else you need. There is also a fruit/vegetable vendor right on the corner.
It seemed like Art Suites was run by a small team of kindly grandmothers who spoke excellent English (my Spanish is shamefully bad), and they were very helpful. They also upgraded us to the more expensive penthouse suite, which was very nice.
Good cable tv, stylish bathroom with jacuzzi bath, adequate kitchen, comfortable bedroom, and spacious living/dining room. 24 hour doorman.

lol, The ArtSuites is owned by a beautiful young woman and her mom. But the ladies that work there are definitely sweet and helpful.
Also, if you walk to French ( the street on the corner when you go left out of the hotel) down about 4 blocks, there is a nice big SuperMercado ( COTO ) and there are dozens of bakeries and produce markets all over ..

<i>- any great cafes around the Cemetery you can suggest, places where it's cool to just sit back for a while with coffee and people watch? A place not too chaotic, if that makes sense.</i>

The best cafe for sitting and watching by the Cemetery is La Biela.
Everyone sits and watches, you can sit as long as you wish with a coffee if you like or have a meal.
Not really chaotic but the one place I know of where the waiters wait on you in their own good time, so don't think anything will happen fast lol.
I love their Revuelto Gramajo ( scrambled eggs with fries and ham all in one - I get mine sin jamon)..
But they do nice toasted sandwiches, burgers, you name it, they make it.

Across the street is a Freddo/Aroma where you can have coffee and croissants and sit outside.. and ice cream..lovely ice cream ..

Avoid the string of overpriced awful restaurants that are between streets Guido and Las Heras..I can't even stand to walk by them. There is a Freddos there, have the ice cream then go in another direction :)

I still don't know my right from my left.

When you walk out of the ArtSuites, turn Right.. then go to the corner ( French) and go Left. :)

Bustling Avenida Santa Fe is only two blocks away from Art Suites. Close by, on Avenida Santa Fe is the Ateneo bookstore, which also has a cafe. (I bought some Brazilian music CDs at Ateneo for far less than they would have costs in Brazil, and some contemporary tango records, books, and postcards as well.) The building interior is beautiful, it looks like a 19th century opera house with a lovely mural on the ceiling. A few doors away is Carrefour Supermarket, which has food and toiletries, but also a fine selection of wines. Ah....the Argentine wine!!!
Avenida Santa Fe has a lot of good people watching cafes.
A short cab ride away is Galleria Pacifico, a very fancy shopping complex on Calle Florida, not too far from Plaza San Martin. It is also housed in a beautiful old building, with a gorgeous mural on the ceiling. The shops are pricey, but most are duty free, so you can get a VAT/TAX refund on your purchase.
As an architecture fan, you will love the old buildings of BA.