We are thinking about travel to Argentina next year (BA, Igazu, Lake District, maybe Patagonia) but my wife is concerned that it would be difficult because we don't speak Spanish. Is that a problem? We tend to choose smaller, less touristy (and cheaper) hotels.

No problem bring a cheap phrase book

You will find some english speakers

so no worries...

I agree with above, I also think with a year, you could pick up a bit of basic Spanish, ordering, etc. and it will add to your trip further.

Yes, it is perfectly possible to get by without any Spanish, but to say you will have "no worries" is, IMO a bit over optimistic. Most menus for examaple will be in Spanish and at the very least you should take a phrase book and learn a few basic phrases such as "do you have a room?, where are the toilets? in addition to the usual polite greetings etc. if you make the effort to speak the language, if only a little, the courtesy is usually reciprocated in terms of a frienly response and better service.

I agree with crellston, you have a year, learn some Spanish.
In BA you can manage but once out of the city, you will need to know a little at least...or yes, it could be a problem.
We didn't speak Spanish when we moved to BA. But we started learning right away.
Do you do this in other countries and not speak the language? If so, how do you manage?

Well I can speak a little Spanish and can ask where something is or how much something costs. The problem arises when the person answers in rapidfire Spanish! LOL We plan to learn more before we visit BA!

saraj, this happens to me every day. lol.
When we first moved here and I was learning a few phrases, I worried about using them, for fear someone would answer ! ..

It is a beautiful language, Castellano, very soft .. if it were not for having to conjugate verbs ( am I not too old for this?) it is an easy language to learn..

yes, Castellano is very soft, do not pronounce the consonants too plossives, make them just accompany a vowel, and the vowels are just single sound, not so complicated...
You will do it very well...
And in most of the hotels are english speaking people..
Flintstones...

Thanks all. This is about what I expected.
We've traveled in Costa Rica and Europe and tried our best to communicate with phrasebooks etc and -- almost always -- met with kind persistence on the part of the locals. I think my wife's anxiety has more to do with this being the first time on a new continent rather than the language itself.

I'd learn some basic Spanish before going, especially if you have a year. And definitely bring along a good phrasebook. Nonetheless, plenty of people visit Argentina all the time without even speaking a lick of Spanish.