I just came back from my wonderful wonderful trip to Argentina. I thought I'd share my experience staying at the Arelauquen Lodge for people who are considering staying at a Marriott hotel in Bariloche.

Room

As mentioned above by [MENTION=710067]escape4[/MENTION], if you are staying at Arelauquen Lodge, you should have a rental car. We came to this property from Llao Llao Hotel, as we had wanted to be closer to the airport for our flight next morning. Arelauquen Lodge is about 30 min to downtown Bariloche, also about 30 min to the airport. It's located inside a gated "country". The houses and the golf course inside the "country" are very scenic, but there are lots of unpaved road leading up to the hotel in case that is an issue for you or your rental car. The lodge sits on a beautiful manicured golf course. We used 30k points in exchange for a room for one night. I was told as Platinum elite we got an upgrade to first floor with separate doors that opened up to the golf course. I am not sure if it's a real upgrade, as I am not familiar with the property and didn't see this specific room type listed when I checked. The room has a mini kitchenette setup with a small sink, mini electric stove, some simple cutlery, pots, pans, plates, small fridge and an electric kettle. Overall we were happy with the room, especially we saw many tero birds right outside our room on the golf course and bunnies as well. It was nice to see so much green and be able to walk out to it. No destination or amenity fee imposed. SNA request was denied.

Dining

Dinner: We ate at the on site restaurant. I had a seafood parpadelle and husband had a steak. Both dishes were good. The escabeche with 3 distinct small dishes of pickled beans, eggplants, and lentil were decent. Our favorite of the three by far was beans.

Breakfast: Very similar setup as [MENTION=710067]escape4[/MENTION]. Instead of a buffet, they brought out bread, sweet croissants ("medialunas"), coffee, alfajore, fruit, pastries. I did custom order an omelette with cheese and ham. It was okay. They kept coming by to refill our coffee and OJ. They explained that anything we wanted more of, we could just ask them to bring out seconds. Service was friendly.

Gym

As this was towards the end of our travel, the hiking and the sightseeing that we had done did a number on our bodies. I did use the yoga mat at the gym to stretch out for quite a while, before hopping into the indoor hot tub. No one else was there so we had the whole facility to ourselves. They do offer massage services but you have to make an appointment in advance. I did not partake in the massage offering since I checked into the hotel at the end of day after a late checkout at Llao Llao followed by a mini hike and a visit to a local cerveceria. I probably would have if it was available; the rates seems reasonable at least by US standards.

Parking

Enough parking spots from what I could see for guests on site. No issues here, and no fee charged.

Wifi

I didn't have trouble with wifi, but then again, this was just a quick overnight stay. I did not attempt to use the internet seriously other than checking for flight status and looking up for instructions on how to get to the airport.

Elite Recognition

As Platinum, we supposedly got an upgrade to our room. We also got a coupon entitling us to the complimentary escabeche dish I described above, as well as a bottle of wine. I chose Malbec but IIRC I could have picked a Pinot Noir or a white wine instead. We also got a coupon for a cocktail redeemable at the lobby bar, for which my husband exchanged for two beers after the staff checked with the manager. We also got complimentary breakfast.

General

No complaints. Property feels like it had been refurbished at some point and it looks and feels decent overall. I really love that the property opens up to a golf course. Staff was friendly and tries to be helpful in general. There is another Marriott hotel (Panamericano) in downtown Bariloche that looks quite rundown in reviews when I was researching where to stay, but the downtown location may work better for those who will not have access to a car. If you do go to Bariloche my suggestion would be to go outside of Bariloche as much as possible, and explore Santa Cruz province. San Martin de los Andes and anywhere along Ruta de Los Siete Lagos would be great choices. You can also go down to Chubut and visit the national parks in Esquel and Trevelin as well as the towns themselves. As beautiful as Bariloche is, the other cities are a lot more untouched and even more beautiful by a large margin IMHO.