Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Left
Boutique Home Hotel in Palermo
Right
Cabaña Las Lilas restaurant
Accommodation & Dining Tips
!
Choosing Hotel
quoted rate, but double-
check when booking.
Hotel rates quoted in this
guide include tax.
and as late as 11pm on
weekends. Accordingly,
restaurants open noon-
4pm and 8pm-1am.
Kitchens stop taking
orders an hour prior to
closing time.
*
The Menu
Locations
Microcentro offers
proximity to the main
shopping district, but can
be crowded by day and
seedy at night. Upscale
districts Recoleta and
Puerto Madero, close to
the city center, are quiet-
er, and more pleasant
alternatives. Both have
several luxury hotels, and
Recoleta also has excel-
lent mid-range options.
Both San Telmo and
Palermo Viejo have good
boutique-hotel and B&B
options. For history, try
San Telmo, and for proxi-
mity to shopping and
dining, Palermo Viejo.
$
Longer-Stay
Options
Several agencies spec-
ialize in short- and long-
term rentals of furnished
apartments. Buenos
Aires Travel Rent and
Buenos Aires Stay each
have over 100 apart-
ments to rent. d
Buenos
Aires Travel Rent: 4371-
2424; www.buenosaires
travelrent.com • Buenos
Aires Stay: 5365-0238;
www.buenosairesstay.com
and Ordering
Increasingly, menus are
written in both Spanish
and English. If you don't
understand an item, just
ask a waiter. Many restau-
rants have “executive
menus” aimed at the
lunchtime crowd and
featuring a three-course
meal and a drink at a
fixed price. In steak-
houses, ask for your
steak to come
%
Traveling with
Kids
Most hotels allow child-
ren under 12 to stay with
their parents free of
charge by adding a bed
to a double room or arr-
anging a triple room with
double and single beds.
jugoso
@
Seasonal Demand
(rare),
a punto
(medium-
The high season is
July-August with several
national holidays and
winter school vacations.
Easy availability of rooms
and cheap rates are
possible January-
February, when porteños
escape to coastal resorts
and business travel slows
to a near halt.
£
Rack Rates
rare), or
(well
-done). For wines, ask for
either
bien cocido
vino tinto
(red) or
vino blanco
(white).
(
Dress Codes
Though most restau-
rants do not enforce
dress codes, many diners
choose to dress well for
a night at upscale
restaurants. Some
nightclubs will not
permit entrance if you
wear sneakers.
)
Tipping
^
Restaurant
Reservations
Book ahead when dining
out in Buenos Aires,
especially on weekends.
Give one or two days'
notice, rising to three or
four for the exclusive
restaurants. If asked for
a number when making a
reservation, your hotel
number should suffice.
&
Meal Times
The rack rates provi-
ded in this topic are for
the high season and aim
at providing a guide
price. However, it is
possible to get a better
deal as rates vary accord-
ing to season, time of
week, length of stay, and
how you make your
reservation. Sales tax, at
a whopping 21 percent
in Argentina, should be
included in a hotel's
Tipping in the city is
in proportion with most
other cities. Hotel porters
are given a
(tip)
of around US$2-3. For
the waiting staff in hotel
restaurants tip 10-15
percent of the bill. On
checking out, leave a tip
for the maids.
propina
Porteños stop for
lunch around 1pm, dip
into a café for coffee and
pastries around 5pm, and
then have a late evening
meal at around 9-10pm,
111
For more on the best restaurants in Buenos Aires
See pp56-7.
