Originally Posted by
price123
Thanks lautaro for the detailed review. We will be staying here next year - hopefully more rooms are renovated by then.
Would you recommend hiring a car? Our plan is to drive from Montevideo and then get the boat to BA, but would be useful to hear your thoughts.
I had forgotten about this message, sorry!
Yes, I would recommend hiring a car. It'll give you the freedom to roam around Carmelo and nearby sights... you shouldn't miss: the Narbona wine lodge (8 km), Estancia y Capilla Narbona (7 km), Puerto Camacho (4 km), Carmelo city (9 km), and Colonia del Sacramento (85 km).
From Montevideo to Hyatt there are 250 kms. If you leave early, perhaps you can stop by Colonia on your way, this will only add about 20 kms more to the whole trip.
Mind that google maps has two different locations for Hyatt Carmelo... the correct one is "Hyatt Carmelo Resort, Colonia Esterella Colonia, Uruguay" or -33.959245, -58.343528. There's another one that's misleading, especially if you are driving.
There are two options by boat to get to BA:
1. The most used one is Buquebus, which you can take from Colonia or Montevideo. Perhaps, you can arrange with the rent-a-car company to leave your car in Colonia, so you don't need to go all the way back to Montevideo.
2. The other option is Cacciola (at
http://cacciolaviajes.com), which you can take directly from Carmelo.
Main difference is that Buquebus takes cars (in case you want to take your rented car) and arrives at the hear of BA, while Cacciola arrives in Tigre (35 kms away from BA). Cacciola has it’s own buses that will take you from BA to Tigre and back (wouldn't recommend it, though).
If you can arrange Buquebus from Colonia, I'd strongly recommend that option.
BTW Car rentals are tax free in Uruguay.
If you are planning to stay at Hyatt Centric Montevideo, check the thread here, I resently posted a small review of 2 suites.