Originally Posted by
anabolism
Our Tienda Leone car had not the slightest hesitation about dropping us off at the main entrance
But mine not only hesitated, she stopped on the street and asked "is this OK, or do you want me to pull into the entrance?".
Originally Posted by
anabolism
Same for the return trip, which we ended up booking with Tienda Leone as well, but via the web, which gave us a nice discount (ended up under 800) and let us pay by credit card on line.
ARS800 is a stonkingly good fare - the price of two Tienda Leon
BUS tickets to the airport. The regular rate for a remis is 1550.
Could you share how you managed it?
By he way, there's nothing shabby about the bus service. The terminal is an easy walk from the Hilton and the E-line metro. And discounting any wait time to synch with the schedule, it's about as fast as a taxi - mainly because it has a dedicated through route at tolls.
Originally Posted by
anabolism
I stayed in March of this year, and also a couple of years ago. Both stays were very similar. No fruit in room, and I did not even open the mini-bar so I can't say what was or wasn't in there. I never use glasses or mugs in the rooms at any hotel anywhere unless I see carts full of freshly washed ones rolling through the halls, since if they aren't washed en masse in the kitchen, they are washed by hand by housekeeping in the rooms, and I don't trust that. Neither my room from a couple years ago, nor either of my rooms from March were what I would call shabby. They weren't ultra-modern, but they were clean and functional and pleasant enough. The bathroom was in decent shape, sink, shower and toilet worked fine. Bath amenities were nicer than standard Hilton-issue ones. The executive lounge was decent but got very crowded at times (obviously depends on hotel occupancy) so best to get there just before service starts.
thanks! I'm pleased I wasn't singled out for bad treatment.
So it's no cups, mugs, glasses or spoons; a completely empty mini-bar; no bottled water (though two bottles offered at check-in, to carry to my room in the Holiday Inn Express style); no available bedside power points; no slippers, no turn-down service.
And that's in the top level rooms of a hotel that promotes itself as a luxury option in Buenos Aires
It's not a bad hotel. But it's an expensive hotel with executive-level rooms that come nowhere near any definition of luxury I'd use. Penny-pinching is a definition that fits more closely.
Originally Posted by
anabolism
I've had breakfast in both the lounge and the restaurant. The restaurant has much more variety, including smoked salmon (a breakfast favorite of mine), custom egg station, etc.
It wouldn't, then, be too difficult to put a platter of smoked salmon alongside the sugary carbs and ultra-cheap cuts of cold meat in the lounge breakfast array. Not beyond the logistical capability of a 5-star hotel. But I guess that
would go against the management theme of cost cutting.
Originally Posted by
anabolism
I disagree that the property is comparable to a "run of the mill Hiltons you find in odd corners of the US" because in my experience, US Hilton properties tend to be what I would call shabby -- worn out room furnishings, a depressing and overcrowded executive lounge with a pitiful breakfast, and no restaurant breakfast offered to Diamonds.
Yes. To someone inured to the standards of Hiltons in the US, or in thrall to Diamond-world, the hotel could well be acceptable.