I have my hotel choices narrowed down to Five Buenos Aires or the Art Hotel. (Bobo is unavailable). Which one do you suggest? The Art Hotel has good reviews on Trip Advisor though one person mentioned something about the wood floors making a lot of internal noise. Five is new and I couldn't find any reviews. I do like the idea of staying in Palermo Viejo. But also being close to the cemetary sounds nice too. What to do?

Your two choices are similar, yet very different. The Art Hotel is a remodled older building. Five is contemporary. The Art Hotel has wood floors and an old elevator. Five has concrete floors and a high speed elevator. Both are small and place a premium on personalized service. On the downside, both have small bathrooms and bedrooms.

I cant tell you what to do...other than to point out the differences and suggest that depending on your preference for contemporary or traditional, either choice could be a good one...certainly preferable to the anonomity and blandless of a large international chain hotel.....

We had the same choice a few weeks ago when planning our trip. In addition, I considered 1555 Malabia, also in Palermo. I ruled out Art Hotel based on the review noting noise and wanting to check out Palermo.

We stayed at Five for 5 days in late September. Upside-- we loved being in Palermo, the staff is great and the sundeck is fantastic. Downside--VERY small rooms and despite only opening in April, it already appears a little worn on the edges. We stayed in room 210 (superior) right on the street and experienced some street noise in the late morning but not a big deal.

After walking around Recoleta, I was happy we didn´t stay there. Palermo has a much more interesting vibe.

We´re returning to BA tomorrow and decided to return to Palermo because we liked it so much. We´re trying 1555 Malabia for comparison. Rooms are a little larger and 1555 Malabia is owned by the same company that owns Bobo.

Enjoy your trip. Hope you are getting out of BA for a few days because Argentina has so very much to offer!!!

On the Five website they list the rooms classes as small,medium, and large rooms. For the nights I will be there they only have small rooms available. Do you know what size/class (small, med or large) your superior was? If it was even a medium then maybe my small will be way too small for me. I would really like to stay in Palermo though! My other problem w/the Art Hotel is that they have a King room for part of the time I'll be there but then I have to transfer to a small and cozy room. I don't really feel like doing that. I haven't checked on availability of 1555 Malabia. Maybe I should do that. At this point I am tempted to just stay at the Hilton but I really wanted a small boutique hotel. Any other suggestions?

At Five, I believe we had the medium room. My personal opinion is that anything smaller would be too small for two people and even for one person is you like room to walk around (I've read similar posts on the small rooms.)

We just arrived at 1555 Malabia this evening and the room is very spacious with high ceilings. Bathroom is down the hall (not ensuite) but we don't share it with anyone. We are really pleased.

Upon arrival, we indicated interest in going out for drinks and the staff immediately identified a good vinoteca and made reservations.

Having only stayed at small, independent hotels on this trip, I'm a convert. I would check on availability with 1555 Malabia before staying at the Hilton. But lodging is always a personal choice, so good luck.