This was our first time in The Sofitel Buenos Aires and our first time in Buenos Aires and Argentina as well. Before departure I was having a difficult time choosing between the Sofitel and the MGallery Ceasar Park hotel, but landed on the Sofitel and I am very glad I did.

Check In

We arrived in Buenos Aires after a 13:50 flight from FRA at around 7 in the morning and arrived at the hotel at around 9 am. From the moment we stepped out of our car we were greeted by the nice and cortious Sofitel doormen and security staff.

At check I was especially welcomed as a Platinum member, and told that they would upgrade us to a Penthouse suite if we wanted. Only problem was the PHS was not ready yet (nor did I expect it to be at 9 am), and the we would have to wait until it was available. We were also given to possibillity of not taking the upgrade and go with the prestige suite that would be available sooner. We chose to wait for the PHS, and finished the check in process with big smiles. We then went to their restaurant Le Sud for breakfast and they did offer a decent ala cartmenu or a not so decent buffet to choose from. When it was clear that the PHS would no be ready until 1400 (2PM), we were given to oppurturinty to go to the So Spa to shower and change clothes. Perfect after 28 hours of travel

Service

After a quick shower and a change of clothes we went out and explored the beautiful city centre. We returned at around 1330 and went to the bar for drinks while we waited for our suite to be cleaned. At around 1400 one of the check in attendants came into the bar and gave us our key cards addressing me by name, though I had not met her before. Great service. Throughout our stay we were greeted by name, and they always knew who we were and where we were going. Through five star recognition.

The concierge were excellent in suggesting things to do and see, and restaurants and bars to visit. The also got us tickets to an a Tango Show (horrific tourist trap, but facinating show) and tickets to a Boca Juniors game at their home stadium and that was a truly epic experience for the football (soccer) fan in me.

On the last night we and another couple were invited to have drinks with the Senior management of the hotel (a bit like dining at the captains table on a cruise ship), and they were really nice and listened carefully to our feedback about the hotel and everything else. A very nice gesture, and the fact that it lasted for an hour made it quite special.

Location

The Sofitel Buenos Aires Arroyo is located in an old 1920s office and luxury apartment building, and offers great Art Deco design pisces.

Room

The suite was as the name suggests at the top of the hotel covering the 19th. and 20th. floor. They have two of these suites, and you do feel rather special when you walk out of the elevator to find just two doors one to the lest which leads into 1901 (our room) and one to the right which leads into 1902. The suite was were nice with a small guest bathroom, office and leaving room on the first floor, and the bedroom (with its own 42 inch TV and minibar) and master bathroom (as expected low water pressure in the shower) on the second floor. The suite also offered great views of the city center.

Dining

We had breakfast (don`t prebook this as it is a lot cheeper to buy it in the restaurant) every morning in Le Sud, and we also had two very good dinners there, when we did feel like going out. They offer a small, but good quality dinner menu and have a good wine list and a very good sommelier.

Overall

Sofitel Buenos Aires scorecard:

Pros

• Service from everyone
• Location
• Ambience
• So Spa svimmingpool and steam room
• Concierge
• Great food at Le Sud
• Good bar
• Security
• Doormen
• Senior management
• Architecture
• Front desk attendants

Cons

• Some bugs in some of the public spaces (obviously normal in Buenos Aires)
• Water pressure was rather low in shower on the top floor (great in the Spa)
• Housekeeping might be a bit slow at times
• Bread selection at breakfast, but this improved vastly during our stay
• Cordless phones in the suite, were useless and needs to be replaced

Would I stay there again: Big Yes
Would I recommend it: Big Yes

Video of the suite:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8iDzLs5kQaQ

Cheers
Stein

Sofitel Buenos Aires Arroyo

Length of stay:3 days at the end of September 2015.
Room booked:Prestigue Suite - rate included breakfast
Room given:Penthouse Suite with City Views (room 1902)
Le Club Status:Gold through CdA

Airport Pickup:
As requested via mail, we were picked up at Buenos Aires International Airport (EZE) in a Mercedes Benz taking us directly to the Sofitel Buenos Aires Arroyo Hotel. The driver greeting us was there on time and held a sign with the hotel name but not our own names (he asked for our names as a confirmation). The drive was scheduled to take around 45 min and I believe it was done a tad faster than so.

Airport – Hotel transfer:
During our drive we were not offered any drinks (which we usually have been given when picked up by Sofitel elsewhere in the world) but didn’t make any difference to us. Also there was no WiFi in the car (or at least we were not told so eventhough there was a sticker saying there was) and again made no difference to us… There was a folder with the Sofitel logo and papers for us to fill out as well as a drinks/bar voucher that we could use at our own convenince. We arrived around 09:00 on this Sunday morning.

Hotel Arrival:



When arriving to the Sofitel, there were plenty of staff to greet us. Our bags were taken care off straight away and the door oppend for us with a warm welcome and smile from the porter. We were again greeted with a “Bonjour” at the reception and the check in was done in a few seconds confirming that the hotel booking included breakfast. I was also told that someone from the hotel wanted to see me the next day and I could not think of whom at the time. We were instantly upgraded to a higher room category as I had returned to A-Club gold status after sometime being a meary classic member. I had sent a mail to the hotel prior just to confirm the gold status update and had also asked for an early check in which was granted without any problems. This one of the perks I cherish the most tbh. The bell boy followed us to the lift, but didn’t enter with us as we were told that this was against hotel policy, and pressed the 19th (and top) floor buttom for us. We got to the floor before the bell boy and only two rooms are on this top floor 1901 to the left and 1902 to the right.

The room:
Upon entering the suite there is a hall way leading to the downstairs bathroom and also a service entry door for staff (along with elevators which I believe is for staff use).





To the left is a relatively large sitting room with a working desk (printer, scanner etc), sofa, TV, coffee machine and 2 large windows with views over the city of BA.



A staircase winds up to the second floor



and continues



where the bedroom is located



again with a TV set and another hallway



leading to the very well equiped bathroom



with rain forrest showers head and a separate bathtub. After 30-40 min we got a phone call fron the front desk asking if everything was in order and if there was anything they could do to make our stay even more comfortable. I had only a few words and these included “Fantastic”, “WOW” and “Amazing” along with “You have done more than enough”.

Turn down service:
For some starnge reason this was done at around 17:00 (5 pm) so we were always in the room at this time, meaning we were just handled 2 bottles of water and 2 tiny chocolates (dark, milk or white). Only one time was there an actual turn down service (when we were not in the the room obviously at 17:00).

Breakfast:
The restaurant Le Sud is very stylish and there is comfortable space between the tables which I like. Foodwise, it’s very much based on breads (ptisseries, baguettes etc) fresh fruits, salad types, ham, cheese and sparkling wine if it should have your fanzy (and it’s included I believe). There is also a hot selection which needs to be ordered by the staff working in the restaurant and this can be a tad hit or miss. My better half ordered waffles and salmon which turned out to be thick American style pancakes with Salmon and I ordered the full works which should have come with a cheese and ham filled croissant which it didn’t. We had the breakfast a few mornings and everytime something changed without beig informed about it. Change is good, but I think the person ordering the food should be informed prior but it never happened. Some mornings we got a basket with “fresh” bread and pastries other mornings we didn’t. Each table had 4 little glass containers/jars with : Honey, marmelade, jam and Dulche De Leche or rather should have, as this could also be hit or miss (twice did we open a jar that had already been half emptied by someone prior to us sitting at a table = not good).

The worst was the butter sistuation. One needed to ask for butter over and over again and the portions where so small that one run with the butter knife would empty the litte tiny glass plate. The small butter packs you get on planes are double of that we got at our first stay.

Dinner:
We were told that Le Sud was among the best restaurants in Buenos Aires so this was something we wanted to try and test out ourselves. Huge mistake. Poor service (not that the staff were rude but just seemed so un trained that it actually hurt). This is not a restaurant review so let’s lerave it at that.

Bar:
The Library is a very nice hotel bar in deed. We used our voucher for two glasses of sparkling wine and it came with olives, nuts (not peanuts thank god) and other savoury snacks. The waitress kept coming over checking up on us asking of we needed more snacks as the evening moved along.

Location:
The hotel is located in a very quiet area and in walking distance to the main pedestrian street of BA (Florida) as well as very close to a little corner shop (carrefour express) and large supermarket (Disco).

Check-out:
We were asked if we needed more time for check out but we kindly denied as we had used the early check in and didn’t mind having to wait in the bar prior to the airport transfer. The check out went fast enough but there were some issues. 1) We had been charged for a bottle of Evian that we never had. I got a refund on my credit card without any fuss. 2) I had opted to partly pay with points (I had a measily 2’000 points I wanted to use) but this was never included. We agreed to have these moved over to the second stay a week later as a credit.

Hotel – AEP transfer:
This went very smooth in deed and only 20 min away or so depending on traffic.

As mention above, someone wanted to see me and this happened one evening when we were at the front desk and all of a sudden I hear “Mr. Cupart?” and it turned out to be the lovely Ms. L.B. whom I had been mailing back and forth a little prior to our arrival. We eneded up talking for over an hour about nothing and everything. She was abosolutely amazing and gave us some great tips on BA which we followed though on. She even recommended us a blue collar restaurant serving some fantastic food for next to nothing which we always try and do when travelling abroad (beat the dinner at Le Sud by a hundred miles if not more).

Over all Sofitel Bunoes Aries is top notch all the way except for the restaurant which brings it down in my opinion. The actuall hotel staff is amazing and one can have a very informal good fun talk with anyone at any given time. I also feel that being a Gold card holder our business was really valued and we were taken care off as expected. The VIP treatement as discussed elsewhere in this forum was missing (free newspaper?) but I don’t care as the staff made up for it 110%. The internet connection was stable but very very slow at times.




This stay (first of two) was a clear 8/10 experience all taken into consideration. Excluding the dinner at Le Sud we land on a clear 10/10

All this said, things did change a tad during our sencond visit 8 days later… to be continued

Sofitel Buenos Aires Arroyo

Length of stay:2 days start of October 2015.
Room booked:Prestigue Suite (Room 719)
Room given:Prestige Suite (upon request by ourselves at the first stay)
Le Club Status:Gold through CdA

Airport Pickup:
The airport pickup from AEP had been re-arranged via mail prior to our first stay and a driver was present with the Sofitel sign as expected.

Airport – Hotel Transfer:
As AEP is very close to the city, the transfer went very fast in deed. Only problem was that we seemed to hit rush hour so took a little longer than first anticipated. The drive spoke next to no English but only Spanish but we got along-never-the-less. No paper work from the hotel this time making us believe everything was carried over from the first visit.

Hotel Arrival:
This time around there were hardly any staff around with the same warm welcome we had last time when arriving from EZE. Our bags were eventually taken care off but no one oppend the side doors as previously.

We were greeted by a female staff member which I did not recognize from our first stay and she was friendly enough. First thing that I noted as being a tad odd was that we were now quoted a nightly price of the room (which we had not been quoted first time around) even though she could see my name in the system. Secondly she told us that breakfast was not included which struck me odd as the reservation I made in deed included breakfast. She asked if she could see the reservation confirmation which I had to dig up through the very slow internet connection and showed her it in deed was included. I was given some explination that the reservation must have been altered at Accors end but she was going to honour the included breakfast as this is what I had booked and what my booking was quoted. Thirdly, I asked her if she didn’t have a welcome drink voucher for us (as we were expecting this) as there was no indication that it would be handed over to us - I hate asking for these things tbh but at this time I was ready for anything.

We were taken to the lifts by the bell boy (together with our bags) who was puzzled over the extreme long check-in and this time around followed us into the lift and pushed the 7th floor button. Well there we notised that the room was bang in front of the lifts something we were not too happy about due to possible noise. We went down again and a new front desk person was present. I asked nicely if it was possible to maybe get a room further away from the lift but I was told that this was not possible unless I wanted to get a down grade of room type. I was then told that the room as quiet as the bed room was away from the entrance and we thought we’d give him the benefit of the doubt (and we had a dinner date with a friend in the city later that evening anyway so running out of time). Back up with the bell boy and the bags (again in the same lift). We talked to the bell boy in the lift on the way up and told him that the front desk had told us that this was in deed a quiet room, and his answer was: “…and you believe that?” which was a tad worrying to say the least. This said, when openig the doors and we looked inside we were not disappointed (and it was quiet enough in the end)

The room:
The Prestigue suits is a two room category accomodation with a small sitting room with TV



a hall way with the bathroom to the left leading down to



a large separate bedroom without a TV.


Apologies for the messy room. 8 days out in the wilderness makes man a beast

The bathroom has a separate shower and bath tub and very well equiped in deed with all the usual amminites.

Amazingly we got a hand written letter from Ms. L.B (as mentioned earlier) along with three different amuse bouche and a bottel of Argentinean red wine. The hand written note was personal as she in deed mentioned things we had talked about prior to our check out earlier, but unfortuntely she was off for two weeks during our second stay. We had also received an invitation to the GM’s musical soiree that same evening with drinks in the bar before and after the concert but unfortunately we couldn’t make it due to prior commitments.



Turn Down Service:
This got even worse compared to the first stay. We actually never had the turn down service as the door bell rang once, my better half opened the door and was handed one (1) bottle of water and a piece of chocolate and the chamber maid ran off. My better half stopped her and said we were two people staying in the room, and got a “Si, Si” and that was it. Second night we got two bottles of water, placed in the sitting room…

Breakfast:
The second stay really underlined how poorly the restaurant was run. We got a table with half the stuff missing (i.e. cups, condiments, forks, knives etc) and the one cup with saucer that was there was, erh, moved from my partner over to me. We didn’t always get a breakfast menu and the waiting staff was still ready to take our orders? The butter situation had changed to the better from our first stay as this time the amount had been quadroupled but looked like something that had come out of a tube. Still better than individual plastic Lurpak servings. Hot breakfast dishes still missed components that was mentioned in the menu and still no warning from the staff. Coffee was served relatively quickly and was pretty desent IMO.

Check-out:
The evening prior to our deprature, I asked the front desk if we could have a late check out and was told I needed to confirm in the morning which we then did. We had ordered a limo to take us back to EZE for our 22:25 flight home to Switzerland (Via MIA) through the fantstic concierge and had this timed for a 18:00 pickup (traffic to EZE can be a lengthy project at that time). I slowly approched the receptionist and asked if it was maybe possible for us to maybe have the room a little longer thinking we coul dhave it until 14:00 or so and was blown away when I was told we could have it for as long as we wished, so 18:00 check out it was. WOW! This gave us a full extra day in Buenos Aires as we could come back and get all cleaned before heading to the airport. When we got back to our room in the afternoon, it had been partly prepared, meaning the bed had been made and one set of clean towels left for our last BA shower. This was amazing tbh and Sofitel BA had just won me back (not that it had lost me before).

During our first stay, I had wanted to part pay with points but it never materialized for whatever reason so I asked to have them transferred to this second stay which worked out a treat.

Hotel – EZE transfer:
We were sitting in the bar having our last drinks at the hotel which were kind of covered by the voucher I requested (the voucher from above which by the way did not included the same selection as the first voucher we received upon arriving for our first stay – i.e. this time I got a free coffee whereas first time around it was free sparkling wine) when the concierge came bang on time 18:00 telling us that the limo was ready to take us the airport and that the bags had been taken care off. The trunk of the car was left open for us to check that all the bags were there.

Quite glad we chose to be picked up at 18:00 as it took close to 100 min to get to the airport giving us enough time to get through security and emmigration which also took quite some time.

Over all this hotel is fantastic, but the restaurant, inconsistency in tiny details (they are there for a reason) and turn down service let it down some-what. Also, as discussed earlier, I don’t quite follow what the VIP treatment included (the wine and amuse bouche or the invitation to the musical soiree from the GM?) as I saw some rooms got news papers delivered in the morning; we just didn’t get any or asked if we wanted any (not that I care as my iPad takes care of that these days). What really won me over this time was the ultra late check out which was FANTASTIC.

So, we land on a 9/10 based on how happy we were with the stay, but should we follow the extreme detailed expectation rate it would probably land on a 7/10 or maybe a 8/10.

Would I want to stay in the penthouse suite again: NO (forgot to say it got very noisy as the elevators have their engine room close by the room upstairs)
Would I want to stay in a prestige suite again:YES(best bed I have ever slept in - my own included)