2002-2004 WSG Reports

I got well trimmed plants too, fit for a romantic breakfast.

dancesw--THE HOTEL APART RECOLETA let me out of the reservation without any problem. My past experience was good service and kind, gentle help from the staff. The rudeness was surprising to me. The portenos are generally warm hosts towards their foreign visitors. My experience at L'etoile was very good, but double the price for a hotel which is a full level above the Hotel Apart Recoleta. i'm going back christmas time and i'll try an apartment.

I found the card of the POLO RESTAURANT in las canitas:
LA FONDA DEL POLO
BAEZ 301
LAS CANITAS PALERMO
4772 8946

This is a very good, not the absolute best, well priced restaurant and parrilla [argentine grill] in a happenening part of BA --6 peso cab ride from Recoleta. It is right below the polo stadium. You will likely be the only tourist. a couple of the waiters speak enough English to help with the menu. You should do just fine if you've ordered off of a parilla menue a few times before. The balance of the menue is very good, but you'll need some spanish.

Loi Suites Recoleta is definitely chica friendly. As long as you walk in with confidence your not going to get hassled. Neither me nor my friends were ever questioned or asked to register the girls. The guys who work the night shift are super cool they even sent girls to our rooms one morning as we arranged it the night before.You must be discreet as the day shift I'm sure knows nothing of the practice.

Also on a side note I spent a week at the Marriott on Florida street. They did not require registration of girls either but there's not much in the way of nightlife in that part of town unless the"Piano Bar"- Le Piaf counts. I did spend a couple hours there one night-rip off.

I was intimidated by the spot light and the layout of the entrance of Loi Suites. Not only that you may discover at the spot that the chica you brought with you is less than perfect, and that people walking across the street can see into the front desk.

Good note from Jonny Hit Run.
Going back to your room with confidence, chica in hand, works 99% of the time in avoiding a sign-in. I have stayed in 7 hotels in BA and all but my first time, did I have a chica sign-in. (Probably not the case with the very high end hotels). And then, I believe only because she marched up to the desk in expectation of having to sign in. Some others have done a slight hesitation walking near the sign-in desk, only to have me gently turn them towards the elevators. At Design Suites, asking the security guy prior to a nightly excurssion, he said you have to sign them in. Five hours later on my return, he just waved us on, laughing.

It is appreciated that the staff call your room first before allowing a chica on the elevator, even if she knows your room number. Saves potential embarrassment for all parties. I had a repeat once who was annoyed at the clerk insisting he call up prior to her embarking the elevator. Proffesional move on the cleks part.

My pet peeve is those huge key holders some hotels hang there keys on, and they expect you to drop off the key before you leave the hotel. Of course, you just take the key holder off so you can stash the key in your pocket, (remember your room #.)
As some have stated here earlier, you may wish to have your date check in for your own protection. Seems like a long shot to me however.
MAG

I sure as hell know some good night life on Florida near the Marriott!

I must say that "Chica Sign-In" is for YOUR SAFETY. If you get ripped off, robbed, drugged, assaulted in your room, it is much more difficult to know who did it if there's no record of the woman's existence. I highly recommend you get them signed in and get over your reluctance in this matter.

If you guys are too shy to sign a girl in at the reception desk, you really should be considering something a bit less outgoing for a hobby. Perhaps birdwatching. I mean it, people in hotels have seen it ALL. Bringing a woman back to your room with you in Buenos Aires is hardly shocking.

-Uncle Otto

Dickhead said:

I sure as hell know some good night life on Florida near the Marriott!

Amen

While I neither agree nor disagree, overall, with OG I do have a comment (this comment is generic to Latin America rather than specific to BA). Many times, the hotel will pull out your registration sheet at the time they have the chica sign in, or worse yet, even have her sign that sheet. This results in HER knowing YOUR real name and perhaps other info, which can be an issue. You may want to have a proactive conversation with the desk clerks to prevent this (a small amount of money should probably change hands at this point).

My favorite security method is when they keep her ID, then when she goes to get it back from the desk, they call and check if everything is OK before they give it back. This at least HELPS to make sure you are not lying up there with a shiv in your gut and an empty wallet. Many times you can request that they do this (and some money should change hands at this point as well).

My preference is to manage my own safety myself but Otto makes good points and I am Irish and we have a long tradition of being too dumb to be scared.

Interestingly, there are two gals in particular whom I see in BA who have NEVER been asked for ID or to sign in, in the same places where other gals have been asked. They greatly appreciate it and I consider it a reflection of the fact they are discreet in how they look and act. Gals you could bring home to mom, in other words.

Another thing that has worked over the years as far as not having anything stolen out of my hotel room is never having anything in there worth stealing unless it is cash, which is pretty easy to hide if you have any imagination. I think in Latin America most hotel employees would not risk their hard-to-get jobs by stealing from rooms but the chicas are another story. I never do TLN so that has probably decreased my risk as well.

MAG, I hate those huge key rocks and leaving my key at the desk also. I see it mostly in smaller places (Hotel Marbella does it) and I wonder if it's so when they see all the keys are out of the slots they can then take a nap.

Tito Otto,
Good advice Otto. Still, I would rather not have the 'record'' as who knows what happens with it. The staff see you anyway, sign-in or no sign-in. As DH reports, I 'prepare' my room to be safe prior to going out for the evening in order that it is in a state of readiness on return. Although many times they clear the food snacks off the mini-bar, gulping half a bag down, the rest into the purse, (and always ask permission), I have not had so much as a soap 'stolen'. But yes, be prepared. Another point is that unless they are a SW, you know where they work out of, what site they are on, etc. Unless you were very richly ripped off, they will still want to be associated with their marketing partners, with whom you could discuss any problems.
MAG

In my previous visit to Buenos Aires I stayed at the LOIS Suites. The rooms were nice and the staff was very chica friendly. Severally of the night staff would ask to bring me girls which I assume would share the payoff with them. While my paranoid mind felt everybody was laughing at me in the morning (I usually brough 2 girls back each night) the staff was always extremely courteous when I would return with the chicas. I never checked in but would always greet the doorman with a ten peso hand shake and that seemed to make him extremely thankful.

On my next trip I was hoping to stay somewhere special and am looking for suggestions. Ideally I would like something like a suite you would find at a nice hotel like in Las Vegas. Jacuzzi, spacious, and most important chica friendly. I don't want an upgraded hotel room I want a legitiamte suite. ANybody have any suggestions.

Also does anybody know what hotels if any have American movies available for pay per view. My biggest frustration with LOIS was the television.

Hey guys,

Looking for useful information on Marriott Plaza Hotel on Florida 1005. If any one stayed there please let me know if it is a nice place and if there are any problems bringing girls in.

Also, how far is the city center or Recoleta. Is there anything interesting close to Marriot?

Thanks in advance.

Hotel Cristoforo Colombo in Palermo:

DownBA - Thanks for the information (several weeks ago) about Hotel Cristoforo Colombo in Palermo. I stayed there for two weeks having just returned to The States on Sunday.

The hotel is in Barrio Palermo, an excellent neighborhood a couple minutes away from the core monger action. The Hotel has an outdoor pool, which has been open since November 15th, and provides a nice place to relax in between adventures during the summer season. I had a queen size bed in my bedroom, a living room with small kitchen, hassle-free mongering, in a decent upper-middle-class neighborhood for a little over $30US per day. The only complaint I had about the suite was that there was some construction taking place a few buildings south that provided a rude awakening every day.

Another interesting fact about the hotel is that it is located at the tip of the transvestite red zone. Beware of these street walkers - they look like authentic mujeres and provided this monger with one close call on my first night in BA. I woke up at midnight after a nap on my first day, headed outside for a walk and got picked up by one of these ladies of the night. I brought her (him) up to my room. When (s)he insisted that I pay in advance, no deal was consummated (lucky for me) and out (s)he went. When I returned for my walk, I realized what these street walkers were and thanked my lucky stars!

Palermo is a great location, less than a $2US taxi ride from the core of Recoleta. It's also reachable by a variety of busses that pass on Avenida Santa Fe. In particular, Lines 59 and 60 will get you to Recoleta at all hours for about $0.25US. You can also travel/explore the subway system for the same price as the bus. The hotel is at the Palermo stop on the "D" line. The subway system is a good way to get to/from the hotel and the Microcentre during rush hours but has the obvious disadvantage that you don't get a chance to see the city while travelling to and fro.

There's quite a few good restaurants in Palermo Viejo, just across Avenida Santa Fe from Palermo. I can recommend one in particular - a new Parrilla with an old look called Tzolkin lcated at 2088 Calle Jorge L Borgas. The owner is a really nice guy who invited me in while strolling on an afternoon and offered me some meat to sample. It was the best I had ever had and returned later that week for a full dinner.

There's also some good music to be had in Palermo Viejo - El Club de Vino on Calle Cabrera has an interesting and diverse repertoire. On various nights, I saw and heard some Flamenco, Tango and Jazz concerts. They also have an excellent selection of wine and have an in-house wine museum.

In Old Palermo, there's also a club for die-hard Tango afficionados - Club Homero also on Calle Cabrera, and another club/restaurant a block or two east of Club del Vino (also on Cabrera) which specializes in food from the far North of Agrentina (Jujuy). This club has concerts on Friday night of Folk music from the north of Argentina.

I strongly recommend taking advantage of the non-mongering culture that BA has to offer. There's a lot of music and dance to see, all starting around 11pm. These diversions provide a good way to pass the time before the Boliche action gets serious around 1:30 pm and adds another dimension to the BA visit.

All in all, a very positive experience at Hotel Cristoforo Columbo, one that I highly recommend.

Garfield,

The Marriott.....first, like most hotels in BA it is chica friendly. Girls may have to register or leave their id cards at the desk, but there is not a problem with girls.

Second, The Marriott is in an older building that has been nicely restored, though the restoration is old enough that some of the rooms need to be restored again! Bottom line: There are probably nicer hotels for the money in Buenos Aires...eg the Sofitel, the Sheraton Tower, the Four Seasons, the Hilton and the newer part of the Holiday Inn on Carlos Pelligrini.

Third, re: location....the Marriott is located at one end of the Florida pedestrian mall, not far from several chica clubs....Peripilo is across the street and Cutty Sark is about three blocks away on Reconquista. Also, Cafe Orleans is nearby on Cordoba street. There are street girls at Florida and Paraguay street...you will be hit on by chicas trying to entice you to go to a piano bar about half a block from the Marriott. Don't go.

Fourth: How far? A three peso taxi ride to Recoleta...about 2 pesos or a long walk to the clubs on Suipacha (4).....

[quote]Originally posted by Lego Maniac

On my next trip I was hoping to stay somewhere special and am looking for suggestions. Ideally I would like something like a suite you would find at a nice hotel like in Las Vegas. Jacuzzi, spacious, and most important chica friendly. I don't want an upgraded hotel room I want a legitiamte suite. ANybody have any suggestions.[/quote]

Check with mayra@argentinago.com, she knows the hotel scene in Buenos Aires. I (and many other posters here too) always engage her services as a travel agent when I travel there.

-Uncle Otto