Hotel Fortín de San Miguel — Hotel in 18 de Julio

This hotel should be a goldmine, but like airport restaurants or government bureaucracy, it has a captive market and undemanding management, so the quality is poor. Beds are old and decrepit, rooms are cold, food is indifferent, service can be grudging, and plumbing barely functional. It's owned by the Uruguayan state and let on a long-term concession, so little incentive to improve. ||||So what's good? The building is very interesting, a two-storey stone construction with arcades, terraces and steps, a stone water tower, and wrought iron door furniture from a bygone era. It's built to mimic the style of the fort nearby, one of a whole network of forts in various parts of the country. Built in the 1940s, it seems to have captured the local building skills before they disappeared for good - where could you find masons skilled in dressing granite today? ||||Food is at best adequate, the wine list the same. Service, while not unfriendly, is basic, and some corners of this large property have not seen a cleaner in a while. What was I saying? Oh yes, good points. ||||The location is outstanding, as you might expect from a fortification. Set on a slight rise, the views in every direction are excellent across the flat estuaries of the border region. There is an associated golf course, and the hotel was used in the past as a base for shooting expeditions in the area. ||||I have stayed at the Fortin a number of times, and its qualities do not change. They are best summed up by the selection of art works on the walls in the dining room: sketches by renowned Uruguayan artist Enrique Castells Capurro - good strong works deteriorating through neglect. Go and stay at the Fortin if you're driving between Uruguay and Brazil, and shame the management or the Uruguayan state into making this building and its facilities as good as they could be rather than the barely adequate it has been...

The Fortin San Miguel is a beautiful property, some 8 kms west of Chuy, along the Uruguay/Brazil border and about 1 kilometre for the historical fortress with the same name.||||Although it looks like a converted military building, the hotel was in fact purpose-built sometime in the 20th century. The grounds and surrounding areas are absolutely beautiful and the rooms and common areas have a charisma that most properties in Uruguay lack.||||Unfortunately, that's where the good news end. The fact that you can only book by giving your credit card details over the phone, or by making an expensive transfer with Western Union is only the prelude to what is simply catastrophic management.||||In early December, the pool was only half-full (and therefore unusable) and the place felt abandonned. The rooms show their age and desperately need some care.||||Breakfast was particularly bad: Instead of serving individual butter portions as many hotels do, they insist on filling little individual bowls with butter. And when somebody uses them, they simply refill the rest. We were therefore treated to little bowls containing different hues of rancid butter to accompany the rest of the (very basic) breakfast.||||Sure, at 90USD per night for a double room, the Fortin isn't expensive. ||But with a proper management and attention to detail, they could charge far more. ||The property...

I had quite a scary experience, and the support and attention I had from the staff was just superb. This hotel is in a remote picturesque location right at the border between Brazil in Uruguay. It's an exciting place to be. Except that, my car broke down at night 500m from the hotel. Apart from the hotel, I was in the middle of nowhere. The staff welcomed me, found a mechanic, sorted out collection of the car, and simply made me feel safe. The car was collected very early the following day, and the staff made sure that breakfast was available for us before we left. This was a special arrangement, unsolicited. I was just sorry I couldn't enjoy the hotel. The building is fantastic: an old well preserved construction. It doesn't have the comfort of modern facilities, but it is just a very nice place to be. I...