Update: five days later and things only improved slightly (and in some cases went downhill).

So, first, an update on the original situation. I was in a room (not upgraded) but offered breakfast instead. The room had water problems, and there was no bottled water available in the room except for the minibar.

I eventually went down to the lobby as I was heading out to the office, and asked to speak to a manager. I explained the problem with the water (to which he said there was a pump that broke) and I asked him 1) if there would be upgrades available later in the week to the executive floor, and b) if they would provide the two bottles of water that are customary for Hilton HHonors members. He said that they wouldn't have anything for at least two days for an upgrade, but to check back, and he would take care of the water.

Now, I really don't care too much about the upgrade, except that it gives access to the executive lounge with some snacks and soft drinks, which is nice. So at least it was possible to be upgraded later in the week for that.

There was no price list for the minibar, so I had no idea how much anything cost. (I looked everywhere). The manager did indeed take care of the water, and two days later I was upgraded to executive floor.

In the meantime, I took breakfast downstairs in the restaurant, and I'll have to say that the breakfast was a disappointment. Most of the stuff (especially the breads) did not seem entirely fresh. In fact some were quite hard. I would not have paid for the buffet breakfast. Each day I got the bill, and there was a charge on the bill. And each day I wrote "No charge" on the bill before I signed it.

On the third day, I was upgraded, which was nice. Of course, even this was not very easy, as there was a message on the phone, but when I picked up the phone, it said something in Spanish and wouldn't let me dial. I tried line 2 to check messages, and it said there were no messages. So I used line 2 to call down to the desk, and they patched me through to apparently another voicemail, where they told me to go to the executive floor for an upgrade.

I went up there, and they offered me something on the executive floor, which I accepted. There was no difference in the rooms except for access to the lounge. Although the housekeeping service seemed better in the executive level.

On to the lounge, which was one of the more disappointing lounges I have experienced in a Hilton. The drinks were warm, and not many of them were placed out. The food for the evening reception was not very good at all, and there was nothing outside of reception time. I went up there around 10:00pm, hoping to see something small to munch on, and there was nothing (not even drinks then, only coffee). They had already set up for breakfast.

There were about 10 other little problems that I won't get into, however when I checked out, I wanted to see what the bill was like and if there was anything strange. Sure enough, they had tried to charge me for the "free" breakfasts. The person checking me out took them off. Finally, there was a charge for mini bar. Now, I had not used the minibar, mostly because even in the second room I could not find a price list. It turns out they charged me for using the coffee in the room, because it was considered part of the minibar. And it wasn't even a good coffee machine, just an automatic drip.

Overall, I would say that this was one of the biggest disappointments for a Hilton I have seen. Complete failure. And certainly not up to standards. Someone from Hilton really should take a look at what goes on here... I think the thing that annoys me the most is the lack of mini bar prices. That is purely bad business practices. I would not recommend Hilton Buenos Aires, and I doubt I will be back.