Originally Posted by
anc305
Just a note on exchange rates for folks heading down to Argentina. Most hotels are quoted in USD and converted to ARS at time of checkout. The hotels in BA will try to screw you by 2% - 6% on the official rate . They like to make up their on exchange rate. One hotel used 45.5 ARS / $ when the official exchange rate was 43.5 ARS / $. Not a lot you can do. Not a big deal but can add up on a long stay. Remember TIA - This is Argentina. Just factor in the scams and have fun. Still a pretty fair value.
Interesting, thanks for the tip. I've gone to Argentina numerous times, and I was thinking that I've never had this experience -- but then I realized that I've almost always prebooked and prepaid my hotel via an online travel agency (work travel) and thus never had to pay at the front desk. So I'll keep this in mind going forward - thanks again!
A bit tangential, but I've noticed that in Uruguay, hotels both quote you USD prices and charge your credit card in USD, totally bypassing the local currency. This isn't DCC - they just charge in dollars, and my card is billed the exact same dollar amount that's shown on the hotel receipt (i.e., no currency exchange.) Makes things very simple.