Hotel Sur y Despues

A lovely respite in a busy city

Rating: 100%

When you arrive at the wonderfully appointed Sur y Despues, named for a famous Tango song, you'll walk into a newly renovated house that feels like you're stepping back into an authentic Buenos Aires home from long ago, yet it's not a bit precious. The high ceilings soar above, the walls are painted in charmingly warm, natural colors, each different in every room. The original and restored tile soothes tired feet, while your eyes take in the gorgeous architectural details and color block stained glass featured throughout. All of this comes matched with clean, modern lines in the smartly designed bathroom in each room. (I was curious and as rooms turned over, I went into each of the rooms). The stunning doors have long panels of glass, glass transoms and have to be 12 feet tall made of painstakingly restored natural wood. These elegant, traditional doors were my favorite architectural feature, as they seemed romantically old world to me, with their sets of folding shutters both inside and outside allowing you to flood the room with sunlight or to filter it nearly completely. Even better, the staff is welcoming, helpful, relaxed and charming. Each of them is quite different in personality and origins so that between them they speak: English, Spanish, French, German and Portuguese. All told, the effect is incredibly welcoming, every time I stepped through the front door I felt my shoulders relax as if I'd come home. Rooms are arranged around two courtyards, letting the sun slant into the windows, and allowing you to sit comfortably in or out of the sun for breakfast or to read quietly. Most rooms have double beds situated comfortably next to a large wardrobe, one room has a loft with a double bed, another room has two twin beds, while the last room is a full apartment with kitchen and a circular stair leading up to the bedroom. We stayed in the loft room and paid the equivalent of $70 USD. The peso symbol is also the '$' which can be confusing the first day. This place doesn't take credit cards, so you have to plan for making a number of cash withdrawals if you stay for any length of time. (Many places in Buenos Aires only take cash, which takes a bit of getting used to). The breakfast is a feast of fresh squeezed orange juice, strong flavorful coffee, tea, mini-baguettes, croissants and or pastries with jelly and the best, creamiest butter I've ever eaten. I'd go back in a second, and in fact, already much miss sitting outside in the coolness of the courtyard. I'd highly recommend it for travelers who want a quiet retreat, families, and those who want an experience of authentic Argentina without living in a museum. It's not for those who want to go to a place so highly over-designed that you could be in any great city in the world, this place is authentically Argentine. It's probably also not ideal for partiers or revelers given the arrangement of rooms. It's in the vibrant San Telmo district with its pubs dating from 1909 and earlier, a great tree-lined public park, easy access to the Sunday street fair, and very near the Torquato Tasso a place to listen to the best in new and traditional tango music.