Just spent two months in Argentina and Chile. Can offer some information, and still have my research notes here so I will type a whole stack of websites I found at the bottom. Hope it helps:

Hotels: I found the NH hotels to be excellent. They have four or five in BA, mostly 4star and 5 star properties and very well priced. One more fashion oriented like a W. One 5 star with swanky rooftop pool. Spanish hotel chain, so a European feel (i.e. Euro style free breakfast buffet with piles of smoked salmon, firm beds, hotels guests who greet each other in the elevator, a lobby that is the hive of activity at cocktail hour, etc). All seem to be historic restored buildings with soaring ceilings and marble bathrooms. Booking through website was touch and go - better to look there and then make booking through expedia or telephone. Aligned to KLM program and someone else. www.nh-hoteles.com

Also used Southern Winds. Earned AA miles. Didn't try to rip me off with gringo price quote like Aerolingus did. Newish planes, but one pilot had a cowboy mentality... tilting the plane and turning three times before landing in BAries.. with the passengers clapping iwth exctiement!! Nothing dangerous... just a showoff.

Hotel tactics: I NEVER got a response from an hotel when I emailed them for a reservation. Sometimes if I phoned them and they heard an ENglish speaking tourist I would be told "we only have suites left" and then found out that was baloney to get me to pay more. I found it easiest to phone and ask, and then compare that to the price that a local travel agent cold get me.

There were tours at the Teatro Colon during the day. Excellent tours. Ask the tour guide about mini-concerts. My concierge did not know about it, but apparently they have mini concerts, such as chamber music or one operatic singer on weeknights out of opera season sometimes. Very inexpensive. Essentally you are attending practice performances.


Flyetalkers were very helpful in my plannign for this trip. Hope this is helpful to others.

www.crucedelagos.cl
www.nidodelcondor.com.ar
la Cascada Hotel Bariloche 0054 02944 441088
Llao Llao hotel (pronounced Yao Yao) is the primo one in Bariloche
NH Hotel Florida newly renovated
NH Latino newly built
NH Hotel in Mendoza (request corner room as its larger)
Hyattt mendoza
Hosteria Isla Victoria in Bariloche
Posada Salentien
www.sw.com.ar


Our wine consumption for our party was,... well a party. We tried all different price points and were consistently pleased.

Very important: "Des Trabador" is Spanish for wine bottle opener. It took us weeks to work that one out, after much confusion. Essential for enjoying those bottles in the room.

Best wines to visit on a tour:
1. Norton (spectacular view from the bar, large scale modern winery production)
2. Rutini (excelent museum for how these estancias were managed in the old days including how workers were paid, etc)
3. Vina el Cerno (excellent to contrast to the large scale Norton, "pure" traditions, WOW "6 vina" wine of only 1600 bottles at 48 pesos ($US17) of 97 malbec and cab sauv blend, all wine in this small scale winery is sold at the door)
4. Finca Flichman - one of the most spectacular winery tours, walk through ancient barrels to get into barrel room
5. Nieto Senetiner - see if you can stop there for lunch. If pre-aranged will make you lunch to eat in the estate gardens.
6. Dolium - (Catena Zapata is next door) My kind of winery.
Its an idea to book a local tourist bus (make sure English) and they will probably go to some of these anyways. The tour companies had different itineraries on different days. Then rent a car and driver the next day through the concierge (make sure the driver knows your itinerary the day before so he can make reservations) and get the others you've missed.
Thre's an excelelnt wine guide book for sale in BAires bokstores with a big bunch of grapes on the cover looking like South America. Excellent investment. Its in spanish and english.