PhoenixCMC

I'm plat now, but was gold when I stayed at the Park Tower a couple of years ago. The room was spacious and very comfortable, and the hotel treated us very well. I don't recall whether we paid, did C&P or all points. My daughter stayed at the adjacent Sheraton and it was nice, but not nearly as nice as the PT.

Location is great. Would stay there again without hesitation.

bgriff

Any more recent data points for this thread? Looks like the Libertador has been renovated since some of the reviews in here, so I'm leaning toward that as a cheaper Cat 3 vs. Cat 4 for Sheraton CC and Cat 5 for Park Tower.

RafKa

I have stayed numerous times at each of the properties in the past 2 years. My pick of the bunch is actually the Sheraton Libertador.

Libertador: Area around it is not glamorous, but right across the road from Galerias Pacifico mall. Rooms are nice and up to date, and Plats get either a master suite or a junior suite. Swimming pool is covered and nice enough, there's a cool "panoramic" sauna with great views of BA, and gym room is small but adequate. Club lounge ok for breakfast, uninspiring for drinks. Main downside for me is annoying wait for the lifts, but otherwise good, and often great rates.

Sheraton CC: just awful. Massive property, not renovated since the 80s, lobby always crowded, heaven forbid you get one of the flight crews checking in in front of you. Loud beeping noise from lifts can be heard from every room. Club lounge is a joke: you get surly service and one soft drink brought to you after 20 mins and you need to fight for some peanuts. Also, on 1 occasion my room was directly below Club Lounge and horrendous high heel and industrial dishwasher noise overhead! Pool is outdoor and sits 1 floor up from one of the busiest intersections jammed with heavy vehicles 24/7, so not a relaxing experience. Oh, also a long queue for cabs in the morning and not really any way to hail one from the street.

Park Tower: too stuffy, too old school, avoid unless you're 65+. Rooms are dated, like a cheap version of a St Regis. All leisure facilities are shared with the Sheraton CC (it's basically the same building). Breakfast disappointing, but service was very good. Only worth it if you get a very good special rate (as I once did) otherwise I'd save my money for a proper luxury hotel elsewhere (Park Hyatt is slightly more expensive but a world apart).

Hope this helps.

bgriff

Thanks--very helpful and appreciate the update. I'm definitely going for the Libertador, then

onobond

I certainly agree with your explicit and very correct descriptions

eternalX

Has anybody stayed in both the Premier Suite at the CC and the Junior Suite at the Libertador? The latter is about 50/night cheaper but I've heard that there isn't a strong separation of rooms. I need a separate room for a newborn.

Travel22

Can I expect a different (worse) experience at the Sheraton Libertador if I book with points versus paying with $$?

Thanks.

fjfv19

I would like to respectfully disagree. For reference (since demographics matter in hotel choice), I am 26 years old and just returned from Buenos Aires after 8 days in the Sheraton Hotel & CC. I booked with Cash & Points, and was there on vacation. I do not disagree with some of the assertions per se (the lobby could get crowded, club lounge not ideal, located on main artery, many flight crews), however it seems overdramatic.

Location: The location was great. It sits adjacent to the Park Tower, thus unless you really want to pay for luxury, I cannot rationalise a redemption at the PT. The Libertador is a few blocks away in a comparable area so at a cheaper redemption, it may be worthwhile. The reason for the high number of flight crews is that it sits close to the Manuel Tienda Leon bus station, which brings you directly to EZE, so it is very convenient to get to from the airport. In fact, it may be the closest by distance to the bus station, although you never see it. From the hotel, you can easily walk northwest to the main attractions in Recoleta and Palermo, south on Reconquista / Defensa to San Telmo / La Boca or across a pedestrian bridge to the lovely Puerto Madero. It is also close to the Buquebus terminal so for those traveling to Colonia del Sacramento / Montevideo, it has easy transit to Uruguay.

Rooms / Facilities: Rooms were dated but clean and functional. I was on leisure travel so I didn't need to be spoiled since I would spend little time in the room. However, I am a fitness freak. The pool was great and the fitness center was absolutely fantastic. Yes, the pool is not "relaxing" per se, but if you want to sit at a pool and relax all day, go to Punta del Este in Uruguay or Rio. I can't think of one high end property in Buenos Aires that markets itself as a "sit by the pool" destination. If you expect that, you are in the wrong country. Even places like the Park Hyatt (smack in the middle of Recoleta), the Marriott Park Plaza (about .2 km from the Sheraton CC) and the Marriott (in Puerto Madero) will not provide that experience, so I don't know why it was ever expected. It would be like going to NYC, staying on Park Avenue and getting pissed because cars were destroying your pool experience. For those who enjoy running outside, you can easily run across the pedestrian bridge to Puerto Madero. It is great for people watching and a fantastic / scenic / safe run. With respect to service in the hotel, the Argentines work on a slower schedule. As a Canadian living in New York, I found myself needing to "chill" a bit more. Argentines take their time in eating and doing anything in fact, so for those coming down from North America, you need to dial it back a bit. Slow service up north is generally the norm down south of the equator.

Nightlife: There is really no nightlife scene at the hotel. However, a short walk down Reconquista (across Avenida Alem from the hotel) will bring you to not only some great dive bars or "boliches", as well as some fantastic steak houses (not a hard find in BA). You can also do some shopping on Florida, which is just past the Marriott and adjacent to Plaza San Martín. There is some great dulce de leche to be had up there. You can easily grab a cab at night down to Palermo (check out Plaza Serrano at night, just awesome) or any of the boliches / clubs in Palermo SoHo or Palermo Hollywood. Recoleta has some fine dining / high end hotels and is walking distance from the hotel. There is plenty to do at night, but just make sure to start late (reservations at 9 PM the EARLIEST, or you will be eating alone) and if you are hitting the bar / club scene, do it the BA way and grab a double espresso before heading out. I cannot lie - I saw the sun rise more than once on the trip, and still made it up for the daytime to take in all the sights. The 2 hour nap before dinner was key

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed my stay at the Sheraton Hotel & Convention Center. It gave me all I needed for leisure travel, and the location was perfect for a first timer in Buenos Aires. I may look to a more boutique hotel WHEN I go back (definitely going back, stupendous city) but this was a great beginning hotel in that lovely city. Book it, enjoy some Malbec, a steak, and take in the beautiful Latin culture. That city is a beauty.

3544quebec

Thanks fjfv19 for a very positive and thorough overview.

But as it wouldn't be Flyertalk without nitpicking The statement is I believe what is termed a non sequitur. Flight crews almost universally have dedicated transfers from EZE to the city and don't have to mix with the hoi polloi on the Manuel Tienda Leon Bus service and then schlep there bags the 200 odd metres from the terminal to the hotel, so the presence of the MTL terminal in close proximity to the Sheraton has nothing to do with the number of flight crew staying there. I think it is simply because it is a very big hotel that therefore has the capacity to accommodate a big number at lower contract rates in exchange for guaranteed occupancy of a certain number of rooms.
A lot of flight crews don't actually use MTL for their transfers but another service called San Martin Bus which also used to provide paid transfers to the general public but MTL saw off that challenge and has maintained its virtual monopoly there

fjfv19

No offense taken. I was chatting with a hotel employee about that very issue and he was likely just misinformed. In any case, the rest of my review stands and is the real intent of my post. I was almost dissuaded from booking the hotel when I read some of the reviews, so I just wanted to post a retort...

UA-NYC

Does the story change if you're on C&P at the Park Tower (in terms of overpaying for middling luxury)? I guess I'm a sucker for LC properties. Doing 3 nights there in March.

fjfv19

First off, prepare yourself for three fantastic days. Great city. Secondly, being the two properties are literally adjacent, you'd likely have a similarly pleasant experience at either property. They are accessible from the same access road which is dedicated to the hotels and is set back from the major thoroughfares. I took a quick spin through the Park Tower and it is clear that it is a great property. I don't want to give the impression that you are "overpaying" for the luxury. You absolutely get a step up that merits a higher category. However, for those looking to save some points (since I love my Starpoints), I believe that one would be satisfied accepting the Sheraton Hotel and CC over the Park Tower. I certainly don't want to dissuade anyone from choosing to relax in the lap of luxury as I have stayed in LC properties and they are quite nice. I just had a very pleasant experience where I stayed.

Happy to answer any other questions you may have.

juluca

What is the best way to get to the hotel by taxi or that service the flight crew uses?

Scud888

The Park Tower is right next to the train station and carillon which can be loud. The Liberator is right in the middle of the shopping district and quite busy. By far the best use of points was cash+points at the Iguazu falls. The property in in the park with great views of the falls.

We had the Park Tower send their driver which the Luxury collection concierge can do but taxis are easy and they will probably take US$ sometimes at better than the official exchange rate. Many shops will give 6:1 rather than the official 4.5:1

ItsAllRelative

Iguazu Falls no longer show any cash+points availability. They have not loaded any cash+points since May of 2012. Better burn your points elsewhere.