My second time in South America and first time in Argentina! Marriott had a great 2x elite night credit back then so I was going to prove them my loyalty in Buenos Aires, until I saw a very good deal with Park Hyatt.
Park Hyatt Buenos Aires, a.k.a. Palacio Duhau’s nightly rate usually hovers around $700. Somehow I managed to find a Hyatt Prive rate of $1,050 for three nights – remember what I explained about how the exchange rate works here, so in the end I paid only ~$600. I have never been to a Park Hyatt hotel so it’s exciting!
The area where the hotel sits is called Recoleta. Recoleta is an affluent neighbourhood and you can see beautiful French-style “chateaux” everywhere, with Palacio Duhau being one of the them. The Four Seasons hotel is just around the corner although it looks pretty modern.
I took an Uber from the airport – it’s a 40-minute journey and costs less than $20. The Park Hyatt is comprised of two architectural parts: the main / old building is called The Palace, with two restaurants and a spa, and the rooms are more expensive.
The newer building is called The Tower, which is much taller (20 stories) and has one restaurant. The two buildings are connected by an underground gallery:
It’s a long walk with a few flights of stairs, although you could cut short by crossing the restaurant instead. Each building has their own entrance, so make sure you locate the right one when you arrive by Uber.
Of course I wasn’t aware of any of these so just went straight to The Palace when I arrived. The check-in agent was polite and professional but she didn’t notice I booked the Hyatt Prive rate and I had to remind her. I was granted 2pm late checkout as an Explorist.
A porter carried my bag and showed the way to The Tower. I received a double upgrade to a 1 King Bed with Balcony Deluxe room, located on the first floor.
Like what many people have suggested on Flyertalk, being a modern building The Tower probably doesn’t immerse you in the exquisite history as much as The Palace does. But to me personally, a modern and functional setup wins hands down, and I’ve stayed at a handful of real “palaces” in Europe already anyway.
This is the first time I’ve been to a Park Hyatt so I don’t know how representative this style is, but I quite like it. The room is rather monochrome and you don’t see things like marbles, granite or crystal, but the materials are definitely not cheap.
There’s a small wardrobe in the bathroom.
I wasn’t quite satisfied with receiving a room on the first floor. But it turned out to be the only floor with balconies!
The Boston Ivy adds a cute green touch to the building, and protects your privacy.
My welcome gift is a bottle of local Malbec and several macarons.
I had a tour around the old building on the day. Guest floors can only be accessed with dedicated room keys and I didn’t want to bother the staff.
You’ll find the gym and (mediocre) swimming pool in the basement. There’s no sauna or jacuzzi.
Breakfast starts at 7am and you can choose between two restaurants. Gioia in The Tower becomes a vegetarian restaurant after breakfast.
The buffet doesn’t offer a lot of variety.
And an a-la-carte menu.
You don’t get many to choose from but the quality is good. The other restaurant, Piano Nobile is in The Palace and it’s a-la-carte only.
I thought food here would consequentially be better, but the menu is almost the same with The Gioia. Personally I prefer the latter as it’s easier to fetch from the buffet yourself when you need anything.
The two restaurants are connected by the very instagrammy garden, with outdoor seating.
Locals may be confused when you say Park Hyatt, but everyone knows Palacio Duhau. Coming here for breakfast or afternoon tea is a ritual that many enjoy, kind of like The Ritz in London I suppose.
To use my credit I had lunch at Piano Nobile and ordered the most expensive Wagyu steak, which costs just $40 at the MEP rate. Unfortunately the Hyatt Prive credit is awarded at the official rate, which converts to $60 effectively instead of $100.
The steak is very good, but I wouldn’t say it’s much better than what you can have at local restaurants at a much lower price. Argentina is heaven for beef lovers!
When checking out I needed to request them to remove my 21% VAT, and that involved scanning a QR code to enter my immigration information. Remember that you must pay by card for the tax exemption.
It is no doubt a very solid hotel but service-wise I wasn’t very impressed. To name a few: no one proactively helped with my luggage when I got out of the taxi; not all staff greet guests; I asked the receptionist a question and he forgot to answer. As for the Park Hyatt brand standard I believe there’s room for improvement.
If you get a great rate like mine it’s very worthy of the experience. Otherwise just come for breakfast or afternoon tea – for $200 you can book a very good hotel in Buenos Aires.
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