...were visited during the making of this blog. Instead, we concentrated on quality hotels, fine dining and stuff you don't get in most guidebooks as we toured northern Argentina in February 2010...
Thursday, 11 March 2010
Bear with me while I load the introductory slideshow(hopefully in the right order)....
With a couple of notable exceptions during our first week, we stayed in mid-budget hotels (ranging from 210 pesos to US$80, all prices below) and spent an average of 180-220 pesos on dinner for two(aperitifs, two courses, bottle of wine, coffee). As Brits crippled by the falling pound and rising Euro, we found it cheap. Hard-core budget travellers may not agree, but will hopefully still find some of our information about transport, walks and sights quite useful......
*All prices in pesos or the currency quoted by the hotel or service provider. Exchange rate at the time was 5.8 pesos = GB£1
The hotels we stayed in....
Hotel Panoramic, Iguazu. Modern hotel on the edge of town overlooking the Iguazu and Parana Rivers and three countries. Great beds, superb hot breakfast buffet and wonderful pool(shame about the piped music in the gardens). Has a brilliant e-concierge service which will find out bus times and other useful info for you BEFORE YOU'VE EVEN ARRIVED. US$200 for a double, garden-facing room including transfer from airport; more for river-facing and balcony.
Posada La Bonita, El Soberbio, Missiones. A real life jungle lodge complete with its own 30-metre waterfall and natural swimming pool, giant spiders and deadly coral snakes. Absolutely brilliant! (Though don't be palmed off with cabin number 4, it's a ruin compared with the others). Organizes (expensive) transfers to El Soberbio or San Vicente for buses, and excursions to Saltos del Moncona. US$140 for two people, including great breakfast and either lunch or dinner.
Gran Hotel Turismo, 650 Entre Rios, Corrientes. Bizarre throwback to the age of the junta. Cell-like rooms, small double bed and a fondness for form-filling(just to use the swimming pool). Great location on the river, but otherwise disappointing for 210 pesos
Posada con los Angeles, 156 Gorriti, Tilcara. Luxury boutique hotel 10-min walk from bus station, consisting of spacious cabins around a beautiful, shady garden. Our evening meal in the restaurant(not included in price) was something special(though the breakfast buffet is disappointing). Free internet. 275 pesos double.
Hotel del Antiguo Convento, 113 Caseros, Salta. Beautiful, quiet hotel in a great location for the main square, best restaurants, bus station and teleferico. Peaceful patios, free internet and an outdoor plunge pool. A tasty, generous breakfast completes the experience. 230 pesos double
Hostal Llaqta Mawka, Cachi. Not really a hostal, but a comfortable, simple hotel half a block from the plaza. Great swimming pool, so-so breakfast. 220 pesos double.
Casa Palermitano, 1240 Bulnes, Palermo, Buenos Aires. Comfortable, quiet oasis amidst the chaos of BA. Airy rooms with aircon and TV, and great communal breakfasts. Internet access. US$80 for a double room
Top Five Restaurants
El Solar del Convento, 444 Caseros, Salta. From the welcoming glass of fizzy wine to the exquisite meats - you can actually get a half-size steak, i.e. normal European size - this place was a treat.
El Quincho de Tio Querida, 110 Bompland, Puerto Iguazu. Large parrilla, great atmosphere, live music and melt-in-your-mouth steaks.
El Obrero, La Boca, BA. Authentic neighbourhood cantina, friendly, helpful staff and regulars, best atmosphere of anywhere we ate at.
Cafe Oliver, main plaza, Cachi. The owner has connections with the nearby, renowned Colome vineyard(see Wine below) and has the only selection of their wines we came across. The food's great and the setting - sit outside - is unforgettable
Posada con los Angeles, 156 Gorriti, Tilcara. In the hotel of the same name. Grilled llama steak in black beer sauce was divine.
And by far the worst....
Alpenhaus Restaurant, First Section, Delta de Tigre. It wasn't the location - a beautiful, shady corner on an island in the depths of the delta 45 mins by boat from Tigre - nor the service - owner Fraulein 'Sanny' opened up the balcony tables especially for us. It was the ridiculous prices - 300 pesos for a so-so lunch! - and the Fraulein's highly dubious claims that her apelstrudel was "homemade from my grandmother's recipe". Sorry grandma, but it was processed, gloopy and unedible. And when she said I could have ice cream with it, she didn't point out that that would cost me an extra 18 pesos. Very, very poor. Try El Gato Blanco instead
Top Five Wines we drank...
1. Colome (Salta) Estate Malbec 2007, 150 pesos, Cafe Oliver, Cachi. The Colome bodega, about an hour up the road from Cachi, hosts the world's highest vineyards. A night in its luxury hotel costs US$300, and you get one measly glass of Colome Amalaya(a blend). This big but delicate beauty was much better value
2. Colome (Salta) Torrontes 2009, 65 pesos, Cafe Oliver, Cachi. The only white on our list. Sensational accompaniment to our lunchtime empanadas, head and shoulders above every other Torrontes we tried
3. Don David (Cafayate) Malbec 2008, 58 pesos, El Solar del Convento, Salta. From the acclaimed El Esteco bodega - where another luxury boutique hotel charges over US$200 a night, not including wine. All the Don Davids we tried - Syrah, Cab Sav - were reliable, but the Malbec was the best
4. Durigutti (Mendoza) Bonarda 2007, 60 pesos, Don Julio, Palermo, BA. A great recommendation from the sommelier - "this grape will be the new Malbec" - it tasted sensational after a moutful of steak
5. Uxmal (Mendoza) Malbec 2008, 45 pesos, El Obrero, La Boca, BA. A tip from the table next to us, excellent value
Why no museums or churches?
Hey, it's sunny outside and there are lots of attractive natives wandering the streets. There's the potential for adventure around ever corner. So why would I want to spend an afternoon inside a museum or church with a herd of nose-in-guidebook tourists? Is that really what I've travelled halfway across the world for..........?
WARNING TO LAZY GUIDEBOOK WRITERS!
As a professional journalist, I will sue the ass off you and your ill-researched, badly-written, out-of-date product if you so much as take a sentence from this site without paying for it. You can contact me here
cool pix!
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