I will find out personally as a Hilton HHonors Diamond member on 28 May, where I will stay for three nights...

I've been staying at the Hilton Buenos Aires since they first opened in 1999 and have been there for months since. I've actually felt that I was treated better as a HHonors Gold than as an HHonors Diamond there ... but that's because I've been treated well as an HHonors Diamond too. [The slight exception is extra-late checkout is becoming more of a challenge and cell phones are not always found in the room like they used to be. (Of course the hotel will supply one upon request and it's easy to forward all your room calls to said cell phone.)]

The hotel is good, rooms nice (business-type) and the staff universally helpful and/or pleasant (or more likely both). [Unfortunately, I've never gotten one of the rare suites the hotel allegedly has.... but then again I've never asked.]

I have my choice of hotels in Buenos Aires and I do the Hilton 95+% of the time. Cabana las Lilas is part of the reason I do the Hilton too.

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.

Thank you GUWonder.

Is there a nice cool place for men to get a haircut in BA?

Is there a nice cool place for men to get a haircut in BA, perhaps near the Recoleta neighbourhood?

One of our favorite restaurants here in Rio used to be an Argentine parrilla, but it closed over a year ago. We used to go a couple times a month to have paleta de cordero, which they imported from Argentina and served deboned and grilled. Very simple and very delicious.

My wife and I will be in BsAs next weekend, and we'd love to go to a simple place that serves something similar. Any suggestions?

Angostura-- I suggest you try the Cordero Patagonico option that is available on many restaurant lists. To be honest with you, Ive never heard of Paleta de Cordero... Paleta is of course a variety of cooked ham... but Paleta de Cordero is new to me.

Have a great trip!

Hairmony at Quintana - it's actually a ladies saloon - Mrs. USAFAN went there - but they may do also men.
Actually, Quintana has lots of hairdressers ...

I dont think where you stay in going to have a major impact on your access to locals. That will be more a function of how you choose your itinerary inside town. There is a ton of great advice on this thread regarding many places, including good local hangouts and also more touristy places, some of which are actually well worth a visit. Of course, if you really value the added service of the concierge, then maybe a hotel is the place to go. Im not sure all service apartments have a concierge type desk that would give you a similar service.

In my very personal view, unless you will be staying for a longer period, ie. 2-3 weeks at a minimum, maybe a hotel is better. For shorter stays, you probably want to spend your time around town rather than living more of a "normal" life.

Thanks USAFAN, I found a place right off of Sante Fe ave.... for 4 dollars gotta pretty decent haircut and shampoo

TY Guacho. I ended up chosing the furnished apartment. Quite centrally located, just 2 blocks from Santa Fe ave in Recoleta. Yeah, it has taken a bit getting used to - not having a concierge at your beck and call. And of course the lack of flexibility if you do decide to travel elsewhere. But I love the added space and the aprtment is quite nice. Definitely will have a verdict when I leave next Saturday, but so far, so good

Ok. I have checked everywhere on the WWW and can't really find any info. Where can I find tickets to the Brazil x Argentina game June 8th in BA? I know this is crazy but I am flying down exclusively for the game. I've been through BA only on a connecting flight. There is that eternal rivalry between Brazil and Argentina and they put more "logs on the fire" when the Brazilians arrested the Argentine player for racial slurs. It's a once-every-four years opportunity when the play in BA. Hope you can lead me in some direction. Gracias!

Contact GoFootball by phone instead of email. They are very bad in replying emails. All the reps speak english.

But they good in arranging guided tours for tourists to watch football games, and have lots of tickets available for those interested. If you wait until game day to buy the tickets, most likely you won't find seats because it would be sold out. Good luck !