Please note our writer visited the following hotels prior to the coronavirus pandemic
Buenos Aires is a big, busy, sometimes brash capital city, but Argentine hoteliers are dab hands at creating small, intimate spaces. They also have a nice touch when it comes to design, quietly celebrating their home culture – be it tango, literature, gauchos – without going OTT or kitsch over it. Palermo, home to the majority of this short boutique selection, is arguably the most neighbourly as well as the most looks-conscious barrio and is also the hub for the city’s most innovative dining, coolest bars and interesting indy shopping. Here's our pick of the best boutique hotels in Buenos Aires, including the top for quirky interiors, secluded gardens, cool pools and cocktail bars.
Legado Mitico Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires, Argentina
A small, beautifully decorated hotel in pretty Palermo Viejo that honours mythical figures from Argentina’s cultural history. It's tranquil inside, but only a block away from the hip hubbub where some of Buenos Aires’ smartest boutiques, restaurants and bars are located. The refurbished three-storey townhouse boasts décor midway between museum and private mansion. Artworks, Andean rugs, bookscases and period furniture decorate the landings. The colour scheme is neutral, and lighting muted. On the ground floor there’s a small, ivy-walled patio.
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From
£
116
per night
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Home
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Home is delightfully quirky yet slick to boot. Palermo's first boutique hotel channels hipster-chic but is refreshingly unpretentious; interiors are mid-century sexy with a Scandi-minimalist vibe, colour injected via vintage flower-power wallpaper: somehow it works, really well. The sun-soaked lobby is calm and collected and the garden and plentiful windows give the lobby an abundance of light. Home packs an awful lot into its unassuming exterior, from the pretty little swimming pool in the fern-draped garden down to an extensive but small spa hidden in the city.
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From
£
98
per night
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Mine Hotel
Buenos Aires, Argentina
A contemporary, cosy boutique hotel in a charmingly artsy barrio of Buenos Aires, with exceptional concierge staff, a courtyard curtained by lilac bougainvillea, heated outdoor pool and stupendous breakfasts. The lobby is cheerful and unpretentious, yet at the same time chic and Instagrammable – a winning combo. With a television, oversized sofa, well-stocked book snug and computer corner it encourages you to linger. The whole place is bright and welcoming while polished concrete floors and funky lighting keep it looking urban.
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From
£
78
per night
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Be Jardín Escondido
Buenos Aires, Argentina
On the eastern edge of Palermo Viejo’s ‘Soho’ district, the hotel is at the heart of Buenos Aires’ hippest dining and shopping scenes. From outside, it looks like one of the smarter historic houses, with oxblood walls and Italianate features. Inside is a celebration of Argentine antique textiles, red floor tiles, hide rugs, indigenous carnival masks, and a patio full of plants and a small pond. There’s a beautiful long living room, with a big television and small library (where breakfast and drinks are served). A flower-framed upper terrace which is nice for an evening drink or even a secret take-away dinner.
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From
£
245
per night
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Nuss Buenos Aires Soho
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Nuss is housed in a former convent and perched on one of the most emblematic corners of Palermo It has exemplary urban-oasis credentials: a large rooftop terrace is drenched with geraniums and sports a small pool. It is a prime spot to take in the legendary Buenos Aires sunsets. Bedrooms are set around a Spanish-style palm-filled atrium, meaning no long corridors, rather a more intimate home-from-home vibe. Although retaining the charm of the old building, Nuss is completely refurbished to feel modern and fresh. The lobby lounge is calm with pale woods and waxy palms ensuing a slightly Scandi sensibility.
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From
£
108
per night
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Hub Porteño
Buenos Aires, Argentina
More like a lavish apartment owned by your richest Argentine friend. Hub Porteño is all about ultra-stylist décor, daring – and delicious – gastronomy and “curating” the perfect short break in Buenos Aires. It also has one of very few rooftop terraces in the area. The exterior is much like all the other very smart apartment blocks around this area, but inside is all gleaming marble, vintage-style light fixtures, beautiful hide rugs and high walls decorated with antiques, art pieces and valuable textiles. The overall tone is, in keeping with the neighbourhood, conservative and slightly formal.
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From
£
317
per night
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• The best hotels in Argentina
CasaSur Recoleta
Buenos Aires, Argentina
CasaSur Recoleta is set in a grand, tree-lined avenue in the upscale and historic barrio of Recoleta, among the city’s Belle Epoque-era architecture. Beyond its Neoclassical façade, this tall, skinny hotel channels classic Parisian style. Rooms are minimalist and stylish, with polished hardwood floors, dark wood furniture, and beds clad in crisp white cotton and neutral-toned throws and cushions. Every Saturday afternoon there's a complimentary guided tour of the historic centre on a first-come, first-served basis. There's also a small, subterranean spa and fitness centre.
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From
£
129
per night
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Contributions by Sarah Gilbert & Lucinda Paxton
