Originally Posted by TravelLover001
thank you Gaucho100K and GUWonder. I really appreciate your perspectives.
After reading through the various threads I am now considering staying at a temporary apartment. The obvious advantage being the space and feeling maybe a bit less like a tourist. I saw a lot of info on various web-sites and these apartments are running pretty cheap.
But is this a good option? I am travelling with my partner and we both know very very basic Spanish and have never been to BA.
I was wondering if we'd have more access to people who are locals in a hotel, rather than in an apartment, to provide insider suggestions on places to eat, getting around town, making reservations and all of them other perks that come with staying in a hotel.
Any opinions?
Hotels attract business travellers and tourists more than locals. If meeting locals is the cup of tea you seek, an apartment can work just as well; for example, going to the same place for breakfast or "after work" places every day for the week will soon have you talking to people other than the local hotel staff.
I did not realize you are only going for a week, but even then the furnished apartment route can work very well.
Language issues and unfamiliarity with Buenos Aires can be a bit of a challenge, but it's nothing that cannot be overcome with some upfront planning (guide books and information from this thread) and staying in a good furnished apartment in a good neighborhood. If you go into one of the international hotels (like say the Hilton), just walk up to the concierge and I'm sure they will be more than willing to help most often (as long as you don't explicitly say you are staying elsewhere). Speaking English usually does the job to get them to help.