I have just returned from a 3 night (22-25 May), 4 day visit to Buenos Aires. I found this hotel thanks to TripAdvisor.com, and, as usual, I was not misled. I booked my reservation through the hotel's main website, www.solmelia.com. I even joined their club and will receive points for Delta Skymiles and 2 for 1 breakfasts, when not included in the rate. The chain is based in Spain and was unknown to me until I stumbled onto them, again thanks to TripAdvisor. My original rate was about US $138 + 21% tax per night for 2 adults, in a non-smoking quiet room, including buffet breakfast. (No option w/o breakfast, but when I go to Europe, I will benefit from the 2 for 1 deal) A few weeks before my trip, I emailed the hotel to ask some last minute questions. When they found out where I worked (see my member name for clue), they offered me a Corporate rate of US $115 + tax for the same booking. I made it clear that I was making a pleasure trip and not on a business trip, but they said that I still qualified. This saved me over US $80 for my stay!!! They didn't have to do that so I was already impressed before I arrived. Since this was my first trip to Buenos Aires, I was unsure about transportation from the airport to the hotel and didn't want any headaches after my long flight from Atlanta so I prebooked a service I found online. I probably could have done better since it costs me US $40 and I had to prepay (??) their PayPal account in San Jose, CA, but they were there with a sign with my name so it worked out. The return trip to the airport was 70 pesos or about US $22 and was much quicker on a Sunday afternoon due to Buenos Aires' heavily congested roads during Thursday morning rush hour when I arrived. It took two hours to reach the hotel so the US $40 seemed like a bargain at the time. The hotel is on a one-way street (most streets in downtown BA are 1-way). There are few stop signs and traffic is very interesting-I wouldn't want to drive there. As others have said, you enter next to a parking garage, and the lobby is very simple-few chairs in a small but clean area with view of the street if awaiting pick-up and the front desk with a luggage storage room behind the desk. Once checked in, you use your room key to activate the elevator (a requirement no matter which floor you start from). There were two average sized elevators that were very efficient. Floor "L" is the lobby, and Floor "M" is the one for breakfast and free internet service-there are two computers for which I had to only wait once during breakfast hours-the busy time. Breakfast consists of bacon, sausage links, ham, salami plus many types of sliced fruit as well as whole apples and bananas. Several types of bread and jams along with cereals, yogurts, juices, coffee, tea, hot water, etc. Scrambled eggs on the buffet, but one could order other types (omelets, fried, poached, etc) for no additional charge. We were in Room 208. Even though it was across from the elevator, there was very little noise-some slammed doors one night when party people returning but nothing major. We were in the back corner. A black-out shade provided almost total darkness. View was of parking deck and playground-too low for any good city views but no problem. You had to put your room key in a slot by the door to activate the electricity. The only problem that this caused was the room could be stuffy and very humid on return to room since the air conditioning didn't work while away from the room. The thermostat allowed for a setting as low as 17 degrees Celsius or about 63 Fahrenheit. The first few days, it took forever to cool since it was warm and humid outside. The beds were very comfortable. Two good sized pillows were provided, and there was an option to order a special pillow for no charge, if necessary. Clock radio on table between beds as well as converter outlet for computers or other items. There was a nice flat screen television attached to the wall. Over 70 channels were available. Most were in Spanish, but many shows were in English with subtitles. BBC and CNN as well as a German, Italian, and French channels also included. There were many sports channels, one of which was ESPN so it was possible to watch American sports (NBA playoffs) in Spanish. If you like infomercials and soccer, it seemed that there were dozens of each offered. There was a nice area to hang clothes (about 15 hangers provided) and a few drawers and some shelf space. There was a huge mirror on a sliding door that made either the closet or minibar open (light comes on when closet section was open). I didn't use the mini bar, but prices seemed decent as compared to US or Europe. I did use the refrigerator to cool some soft drinks and water. There was a comfortable chair and ottoman as well as a writing desk and chair. The entrance area was hardwood, but the majority of the room was carpeted. The bathroom was tiled and was very nice and decent size. There was a toilet and bidet plus a sink area and very good sized walk-in shower. The only oddity was that the shower control was on the side wall by the door and not under the shower but again no major issue. Toiletries ( shampoo, soap, hand cream, sewing kit, shower cap, and kleenex) were provided by the hotel. The towels were very nice, especially the two large ones. There was even a hand towel-hard to find in Europe. One block from the hotel on a parallel street was Florida, the main pedestrian mall. The entire town seemed very safe except from pickpockets on the subway-watch the zippers on your backpacks. I bought a 10 ride ticket for less than US $3. It was a toasty ride but very quick and efficient. Many of the locals didn't speak English, and my Spanish is not the best although I speak French and some German so I was able to communicate most of the time. There were two restaurants I really enjoyed: for lunch at Los Portenos, Avenida General Las Heras, 2101, about a block from the cemetery where Evita is buried. I had steak and fries, and my friend had pasta. They had a good lunch variety and the set menu included water and dessert (or coffee). For dinner, I highly recommend El Mirasol, Posadas, 1032 at Av 9 de Julio. Best steak I had in Buenos Aires, and I ate steak several times. For a tango show, I really enjoyed the Complejo. If you make your reservations on line, they pick you up and drop you off at your hotel for no extra charge plus you get a certificate. The tango lesson lasted about 45 minutes and was lots of fun. The dinner was very good for a dinner show, and the house wine was unlimited. There were 3 couples in the show plus an older gentlemen. It was very well done. I met one of the dancers out front after the show, and he was very humble and down to earth. I never had the special Argentine drink, mate, so I will have to return one day. I did visit the Evita museum (they open at 1 most days), but there was so much more I would like to have done away from the city center-so I will return some day, and I plan to stay at the Tryp Buenos Aires for the days that I am in the city. To sum it up, a very delightful place to spend a long weekend and experience a wonderful, proud people and their culture.
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.