L'Adresse Hôtel — Hotel in Autonomous City of Buenos Aires

This hotel was the perfect place to base myself for my first visit to such a remarkable city. ||To begin with, it's in a great location, in San Telmo, which is a marvellous area in itself, but it's only about a 20 minute walk from Plaza de Mayo, and plenty of buses around the immediate locale connect it to places further afield. There's a lot to explore, even before the rest of Buenos Aires begins. L'adresse is at the southern edge of the district, in a part of town that has a slightly less polished sheen than further up the road, but that's all part of the authenticity - and at no time did I feel unsafe on the streets. And there aren't the huge crowds at busy times!||The hotel itself is a welcoming and comfortable space, a carefully restored Spanish colonial-style home from the grand days of San Telmo, and staffed by the most attentive and considerate people. They patiently helped with everything from suggesting bus routes to printing off tickets for gigs to advising about what to do and things worth seeing. Good staff are such an important quality in a hotel, and even before I arrived I felt reassured by this team, and that even if other things might stress me out, L'adresse wasn't going to be one of them. Everyone spoke good English, too which to a non-Spanish speaker made many things much easier. Thoughtful, caring, and genuine: all the people who work here are exceptional. ||My room was perfectly comfortable - in fact, I slept better there than I do at home - and it was clean and well-maintained. I believe some of the other rooms might be a little grander in style, but mine was simple and exactly what I needed. Breakfasts were great, continental-style with plenty of variety and very generous, and the lobby area was tastefully presented with a 1950's/60's vibe of really well-curated objects and furnishings. ||I began by saying this was where I based myself for a first visit to Buenos Aires. I can say now that my first visit to the city will be followed by more, and I'll be staying at...

We had a great stay at L’Adresse in the San Telmo neighborhood. It is in a great location on the corner of Brasil and Bolívar across from Babieca Parilla. It’s super close to a beautiful park, Parque Lezama. It’s a few blocks east of the Museo Histórico Nacional, and a few blocks north from tourist hotspot La Boca, where you can find La Bombonera soccer stadium of Boca Juniors, and the famed and colorful El Caminito. This hotel is situated in the San Telmo neighborhood, which is known for its indoor market and Sunday flea market. The indoor market has tons of small shops and restaurant booths. If you’re in Buenos Aires, it is so worth the stop! A bit of a longer walk, but we also found it relatively easy to walk over to Puerto Madero for dinner from L’Adresse.

The staff at L’Adresse were so incredibly friendly and helpful. The employee who welcomed us knew Spanish was my second language, and I noticed he slowed down his speech a little when he was explaining the hotel and room to us, which I really appreciated!

We were in Room 4, which overlooks the corner of Brasil and Bolívar. The room itself was so pretty, I absolutely loved our little balcony with the huge floor to ceiling windows. The bathroom was okay, the shower and tub were really tiny, and the shower door was a half door, so anytime we bathed, a ton of water ended up everywhere, even when we took precautions. The other issue we had was that the room is pretty noisy because it’s right near a bus stop. Even with the iron shutters closed, we were woken up a few times by the bus stopping and going or, one night, a chorus of horns blared for about 10 minutes at 1am.

Other than the noise and the wet bathroom, we liked...

L'Adresse is in the heart of the hip and recovering San Telmo neighborhood, and indeed seems to embody its virtues: understated, unpretentious, and even inconspicuous. Its youthful staff tend the breakfast service even as they keep their eye on the reception desk in the first couple hours of the morning.||I had arrived past 1 in the morning, and was grateful that the staffer that night was not only awake when I arrived, but insistent on carrying my suitcase up to the room -- it was up two long flights of stairs. The room was adequate to my needs, with a comfortable bed, hot water in the shower, and WiFi throughout. ||The morning staffer steered me to a casa de cambio where I could exchange my (cash) dollars for pesos at a rate of 675 to the dollar. (I later passed others in the same neighborhood that offered as much as 700.) During Argentina's current economic crunch, the visitor does well not to take the 10% discount on a prepaid booking, which is calculated at the "official" rate of exchange (350 pesos=1US$); rather, book the reservation to pay the full amount, in pesos, when the visitor checks out -- and convert your dollars to pesos once you're in town.||The L'adresse's most distinctive asset is its location in San Telmo, where B.A.'s youthful energy is. It's a short walk from Plaza Dorrego, the informal |"heart" of the district, and for that matter is a perfectly walkable distance from Plaza de Mayo and the city's historic center. If you're not desperate for luxuries, and like walking up stairs, it's...