Hotel Principe
 

We are planning to stay here in mid-March, any comments would be appreciated.

I assume you mean the Principe in Buenos Aires?

Clean, basic but decent furnishings, good sized rooms, friendly staff, good but basic breakfast included. Located close to subte and Ave Santa Fe in Barrio Norte/Recoleta area. 90 pesos double....

Regarding the Hotel Principe... I just stayed there...I wouldn't call the staff friendly at all. Yo the contrary. they were quite cold and not helpful. They also don't take credit cards and will not hold a reservation for more than two hours past your indicated arrival. Under no circumstances do they hold the room past 6PM (unless you pay in advance and that's not easy w/o credit cards). Thus, I would look somewhere else.

Thank you for your replies to my post. I have read several postive remarks and respect drdawggy's opinion based upon his numerous posts on the forums and his knowledge of Buenos Aires, and felt comfortable with the decision to stay here. However Cintia at wowargentina has now advised me that the location is awful and I should not stay here under any circumstances - I would appreciate any further feedback - thank you.

I would be curious to know why Cintia would say negative things about the neighborhood.Also, if she has an alternative recommendation in the same price range?

from what I have seen, the Principe is in a much better location than most budget hotels found in San Telmo, Congresso, less desireable parts of downtown.


Maybe Cintia knows something I don't about recent events, but unless things have changed, this is a relatively safe middle class area, not far from Alto Palermo mall and Ave Santa Fe....

About staff, all I can say is I spent the better part of a day looking at budget hotels in Buenos Aires and the staff was friendlier at the Principe than in virtually any other place I visited.....and the rooms were much cleaner....There are some real dumps in the budget category....this one is not plush, but it is clean and has character....

see tripadvisor.com for reviews by people who have stayed there....

drdawggy - thank you for your response, I have read the reviews at Trip Advisor and along with them and your post, I will keep our reservation at the Principe. I would like to thank you for all of the great advice/information you post it has a been instrumental in helping us to plan our trip.

Thanks for the vote of confidence....so long as you know that the Principe is basic accomodation....one or two steps above a hostel, but not a luxury hotel by any means....If you want a place to sleep that has some character in a reasonably safe part of town, I feel ok about this recommendation....

When I looked at this hotel back in November I was looking for a place for a group of my students to stay for three or four nights, and this place stood out for its cleanliness....I think I looked at 7 other places, and this was by far the best in this price range....(There was one other option, but it is very small and always full)....

Next step up would be something like the Dazzler on Libertad at about 50 a night....

ONe other thought: Since Cintia is a very honest and reliable person, ask her if there is something specific about the area that has happened to cause her reaction..and if she knows of an alternative for the same price? NOt that I am second guessing my own recommendation, but she may have more recent information than me....and I trust her judgement about most things...and maybe she knows of another newly opened hotel that I don't know about....

Enjoy Buenos Aires....

ok, two more thoughts: Here is the url of the other low-end hotel that comes highly recommended, so much so that it is hard to get a room there...
http://usuarios.advance.com.ar/havenida/

Also, you might ask about the Principe on the Lonely Planet board. Most of the readers on that board use f low priced hotels or hostels...so there is a good possibility that others can comment on hotels in the 30dollar a night range.....

again, enjoy Buenos Aires. It is a special place.

Your description of the Principe has a clean place to sleep, some character, etc. is all that we're looking for, we'd rather spend our money on good food and wine. I look forward to our trip as Buenos Aires sounds very special. Thanks again.