Palermo Soho

Mine Hotel Boutique

★★★★★

Mine Hotel Boutique is the kind of small hotel that makes Buenos Aires feel personal. It occupies a converted house in Palermo Soho, the part of Palermo south of the railway tracks, centred on Plaza Serrano and its surrounding streets of independent fashion and design shops, street art, cafés, ice-cream parlours, wine bars and restaurants. With only around twenty rooms, it feels intimate and easygoing, and its staff are known for warm, helpful service and good local recommendations. The rooms are decorated in a contemporary style with natural materials, warm colours and comfortable beds, and some open onto balconies or the garden; they are not huge, but they are well designed and quiet for such a central location. The hotel's hidden asset is its garden at the back, a green patio with a small swimming pool and loungers, where you can cool off after a day of walking in summer or sit with a coffee in the morning sun. Breakfast is served in a bright room overlooking the patio. Because it is small, it does not have a full restaurant or spa, but that is part of its appeal: you are meant to step outside and live the neighbourhood, and Palermo Soho is one of the best places in the city to do that. Within a few blocks are some of Buenos Aires' most popular parrillas, pizza places, cafés for medialunas and specialty coffee, and cocktail bars, and on weekends Plaza Serrano hosts a design and crafts fair. The Palermo parks and the Rosedal are a pleasant walk away, and the subway gives quick access to the centre.

Who it suits: couples and independent travellers who want a friendly, small base in the liveliest part of the city at a fair price, and repeat visitors who have done the big hotels. It is not ideal for families with young children, as rooms are compact, or for travellers who want full hotel facilities such as a restaurant, spa or gym. Palermo Soho is busy and noisy around Plaza Serrano on weekend nights, so rooms facing the garden are quieter. The historic centre, San Telmo and La Boca are a twenty- to thirty-minute taxi or subway ride.

Living in it: request a garden-facing room or one with a balcony, and use the garden pool in the late afternoon in summer. Ask the staff to recommend a parrilla for your first night and to book it for you, as the best ones fill up. Walk to the Palermo parks in the morning and come back to explore the shops in the afternoon, when the neighbourhood comes to life. On weekends, browse the design and crafts fair around Plaza Serrano before an evening of bars.

Value: rates are mid-range for Buenos Aires, making it one of the best-value boutique hotels in Palermo, especially given the pool and the location. Foreign guests paying with a foreign card are generally exempt from VAT on accommodation, so confirm how your rate is quoted. For a friendly, stylish base in the heart of the neighbourhood, it is hard to beat.