My family (husband and 2 teenage boys) will be visiting Buenos Aires for the first time in July- AUgust. We plan on staying for two weeks and would rent an apartment. So far we have been impressed with www.buenosaireshabitat.com. DOes this agency have a good reputation? More importantly what would be the pros, cons and differences between renting in Recoleta and Palermo?

Thanks,

Ginny

So much depends on where in the Recoleta and in Palermo you choose to rent. Palermo has many subsections, ie Palermo SoHo, Hollywood or Viejo...just plain Palermo and Palermo Chico. Palermo Chico in general might be considered the Embassy area with many fine residences and apartments. Also the Palermo Woods are nearby which is a fantastic public park. Palermo SoHo/Hollywood is a bit more bohemian and still undergoing gentrification in some areas so you might find a few blocks of one street very upscale and fashionable and then later a bit edgier.

The Recoleta has some really outstanding residential areas and then some that are nice but not as fashionable. Both areas tend to offer many public parks and green spaces and a good selection of super markets (as long as the farmers don't go out on strike again)

As for your agent I have no personal experience with them but have heard they are good to deal with, another would be www.apartmentsba.com so at least you might compare. I assume you know you will be visiting during the later part of winter so be prepared for some chilly weather.

Once you have narrowed your selections down on apartments you might post again with the locations and get more specific feedback on the locations.

suerte
SAM

Wirelessly posted (Palm TX: Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows 98; PalmSource/Palm-D050; Blazer/4.3) 16;320x448)

Here is another endorsement for ApartmentsBA. The best rental company in EZE.

I have rented twice from buenosaireshabitat and they were great. The rental, the deposit, meeting me in the apt, the stay and the checkout were all perfect. I even was able to deposit "the deposit" in a US bank directly and saved money on bank transfers. The first apt was very large, nice, impecable and on two levels. I paid 1200 US$ for two weeks. The second time I stayed in a much smaller apt. for 650 US$ for two weeks. It was impecable.
The apts look like the website exactly down to the flowers and the bed sheets.
Highly highly recommend them. will be using them again this year.
as far as Recoleta, I prefer that over Palermo. I find that Recoleta is closer to most of the attraction you will be interested in, it is close to the centro and you can walk to Puerto Madero. At midnight, you see old people and women alone walking in Recoleta (that is a sign that the streets are safe). There are tons of stores, supermarkets, restaurants, cafes and has a great flavor that reminds me of Paris. Recoleta is why they always considered Buenos Aires, the Paris of South America.
if you are going to spend 2 weeks in Buenos Aires I would recommend some side trips and maybe even an overnight trip. Look around this forum; there are tons of ideas.
PM me if I can help you.

Thanks for the replies. We have looked at ApartmentsBA too. Just happened to find the two we liked most on habitat. They are on Callao Ave & Arenales St and on Libertad St. bet. Santa Fe Ave. & Arenales St.
Grateful for the help. Will browse and post more questions on side trips (Already hoping to go to Iguazu).

both areas are very nice and right in the heart of Recoleta. Callao and Santa Fe are big avenues with constant taxis and many places to hang out.

One problem might be traffic noise at any of these apartments. If they are facing the street you might have an issue. Might be wise to querry the agent if these are facing the street or an interior view. As well as making certain that if they do face the street that they are on a high floor with the bedrooms in the rear.

Sam

july/august,,, con,, WINTER,,, rain/ and last year july 9 little snow that stopped everything for few hours. Airport closed because they didnt have deice equip.

pro,,,, not high season,,, fewer tourists,,, wine/steak/empenadas still great

Recoleta,,, I prefer that area over any other...

agree with you. I would make sure there is a/c and heating units then even if there is a little noise with a closed window, the a/c or ventilator will drown the noise. Most units have a window unit in the bedroom and a separate one in the living room.

OP is going in winter what good is AC.. to drown out noise, they will not be using it. Also since most apts have split units the AC noise is not enough to drown out anything. Make sure it is a high floor in rear. I am not sure I like either Callao/ Arenales, or Libertad/ santa fe. Both are high traffic streets.

You should check to see if the apartment has double-glass windows... if this is the case then an apartment facing the front is OK.

I sometimes have to use my AC even in winter! My apartment building has reinforced concrete floors with in-floor radiant heating. My upstairs neighbour used to keep his apartment toasty-warm (~25C), and since that is the ceiling of my bedroom, I would use the AC to cool the room to about 22C. It's too noisey in my neighboorhood to sleep with the windows open. Of course I never have to pay to heat my apartment in winter either!

John

Even in Callao/Arenales, if your window is closed and you turn on the ventilator/heating or a/c on, I think most noises will not be heard. I stayed on Santa Fe on a 5th floor apt during the winter and did not hear any noises.
I think being in the center and close to everything is worthwhile.

What do you think of apartments at Parera and Quintana or Libertad and Santa Fe?

Thanks.

Sound and noise depend on the building and location, of course. My current apartment is on the 8th floor, and it the back, but neighbors are still noisy, and some construction is going on next door.