Puerto Madero

Hotel Madero Buenos Aires

★★★★★

Hotel Madero is the sensible upscale choice in Puerto Madero, the redeveloped docklands district on the eastern edge of the centre. It is a modern hotel in a contemporary building on the newer, eastern side of the docks, part of the WorldHotels collection, and it has built a strong reputation with business travellers and holidaymakers alike for comfortable, spacious rooms, efficient service and good value compared with the luxury hotels nearby. Rooms and suites are designed in a clean, contemporary style, with neutral colours, large windows and good beds, and many are larger than the city average, which makes them a good option for families and longer stays; suites add separate living areas, and some rooms look over the docks or toward the river. Facilities include a pool deck, a gym and a spa area, a restaurant and a bar, and meeting rooms that make it popular with conference visitors during the week. The great advantage is the neighbourhood. Puerto Madero is the safest district of the city, with wide promenades along the old docks lined with converted red-brick warehouses, restaurants and cafés, the Puente de la Mujer footbridge and the frigate museum ship Sarmiento. Directly east lies the Costanera Sur Ecological Reserve, a vast wetland park on reclaimed land along the river, with lagoons, reed beds, trails and hundreds of bird species, ideal for a morning run, a bike ride or a sunset walk. San Telmo and its Sunday fair are a fifteen-minute walk, Plaza de Mayo and the Casa Rosada a little more, and the ferry terminal for Colonia del Sacramento is a short taxi ride. In short, it offers a calm, comfortable base close to the historic centre without the noise of the Microcentro.

Who it suits: families who need space, travellers who want a safe, quiet base near San Telmo and the centre, joggers and nature lovers who appreciate the riverside reserve, and anyone planning a day trip to Colonia. It is less suited to travellers who want to step out into a lively neighbourhood at night, since Puerto Madero is quiet after dinner and its restaurants are on the expensive side; Palermo and Recoleta are fifteen to twenty minutes away by taxi.

Living in it: ask for a higher floor with a view over the docks. The pool deck is a pleasant spot on warm afternoons, and the gym is well equipped. Use the hotel as a launch pad for a morning in the Costanera Sur reserve, a Sunday at the San Telmo fair, and the ferry to Colonia. For dinner, the dockside restaurants are convenient, but a short taxi ride to San Telmo opens up traditional parrillas and bodegones at much lower prices.

Value: rates are firmly upscale but typically well below the Faena and the Four Seasons, which makes it one of the best-value higher-end hotels in the city, especially for families or longer stays. Foreign guests paying with a foreign card are generally exempt from VAT on the room. If you want comfort, space and safety close to the historic sights, it is an excellent choice.