009: Everywhere We Stayed In Argentina
Plus, everywhere we would have stayed if the budget was bottomless.
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Quelle surprise that backpacking in my 30s versus when I was 18 has many differences.
Then was all about drinking, maximising on time in the sun and exploring and staying in the cheapest places possible, while now the priorities lie in experiences over cocktails, seeking out shade and needing to stay in reasonable, clean and comfortable accommodation.
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The latter of these changes is compounded by the fact that I’m now not just travelling on my own but with Harry. As a couple, we’ve definitely spoiled ourselves over time. I’m an interiors fanatic (cliche ✅) so for me, a trip away is typically just as much about the accommodation as it is about the location.
But with tight budgets and an emphasis on exploration, ~fancy~ accommodation isn’t on the cards or necessary for this trip.
With a relatively speedy schedule, tight budget and a lot of places on our bucket list to get to, we’ve been planning ahead on this trip and this has also meant carefully planning where we’re going to stay. We’ve stayed in a mixture of hostels, small hotels and Airbnbs all of which were scrutinised ahead of time and most were subject to a price comparison with other options in the area. Depending on the location, how long we’d be staying there and what our plans are, we’ll discuss whether we want access to a kitchen, breakfast included or don’t mind sharing a bathroom. It’s a ~process~ and one that I find enjoyable and annoying in equal measure.
One thing that I’ve learned along the way is to set a price-per-night filter on whatever method of booking I’m using. I’m prone to lusting after budget-busting, highly impractical yet delightfully aesthetic hotel stays so I’ve had to limit my access to even seeing premium options in order to stop me sulking when we turn up at our perfectly-fine-but-definitely-no-Soho-House hostel.
Now, after we’ve left a country far behind, I’m willing to look at where we stayed versus where we would have stayed if the budget was bottomless.
This series will be kickstarting with the first country on our route, Argentina!
We started off right on track budget-wise with our cheapest stay of the whole trip at La Casa Naranja in the Palermo Hollywood district of the city. Translated literally as ‘the orange house’ (thank you, Duolingo), this bright home is a maze of rooms, small terraces and tiny yet perfectly usable shared bathrooms.
But the best thing about La Casa Naranja? The owner, Carolina, is an absolute delight to speak to. We ended up chatting to her about the house, her family, Buenos Aires, gentrification, good food spots in the area, the best and worst tourists and her ‘Harry Potter’ bathrooms (named because she fitted them in the eaves, rather than them being HP-themed).
After reading the stellar reviews for this hostel online, I was so keen to book that me and Harry ended up sleeping in separate single beds since that was all they had left. Weirdly, this was a trend which followed for the first few stays of the trip!
Plus, if you book through HostelWorld via a link from TopCashback you’ll get 30% off the cost of the deposit for your stay. Click here for a £10 sign-up bonus for TopCashback!
DREAM STAY:
Just down the road from our hostel is the effortlessly chic Home Hotel which looks like an oasis in the midst of a busy and bustling city.
Ever the interiors enthusiast, I mentally added Home Hotel to my travel wish list when we walked by one day and I caught sight of a) the reception’s Scandi mid-century modern aesthetic and b) the pool beyond. I’ll be manifesting a stay here for if (when) I visit Argentina again. Check out room rates via booking.com here.
Just outside Esquina - a town which is a hub for fly fishers - is Estancia Buena Vista, a traditional Argentinian gaucho ranch.
We spent ages agonising over which Estancia to book in Argentina (you can read more about that here) – the upfront cost felt quite overwhelming at face value as they act much like an all-inclusive with the cost including all activities and food too. The cost was slightly out of our budget, however, we reasoned that this would be a highlight of the trip and would be worth spending a bit extra money on and I’m so glad we did.
The Estancia is surrounded by hundreds of acres of plains and wetlands with grass-fed cattle wandering amongst wild horses, water buffalo, capybaras and a whole menagerie of birds. It’s a stunning location that felt like a welcome step back in time for me.
The rooms at the Estancia are certainly comfortable yet quite simple (no AC here!) however, thanks to a full itinerary which involved hours in the saddle everyday we barely spent any time in there apart from to sleep and get ready.
As a big bonus, the food here is incredible - every night we dined on a traditional Argentinian asado with grass-fed beef from the farm itself. This is either enjoyed inside in the comfy dining room or outside by the fire where you can watch the gauchos tend the BBQ.
You can read about my revived Horse Gal Era here.
DREAM STAY: I’ll caveat this one by saying that while I do have a suggested dream stay, I actually wouldn’t do anything differently even if I had bags of money. It is a cliche to say, but our stay in Esquina was a perfect experience and I’d wholeheartedly recommend any other horse girls to book a stay there now.
Saying that, when looking at Estancias in Argentina, it’s hard to avoid mention of Estancia Don Joaquin. This beautiful family-owned hotel doesn’t just offer you the opportunity to stay there, but to also join them on a Horse Trek experience where you can ride and stay at different farms in the area too.
The rooms at the Don Joaquin look a little bit dark for my taste, but if I was forced to choose then I’d go for the El Horneo room which has a view that looks out onto the corral of horses. This horse girl’s dream.
In El Calafate, we experimented with dorm living at America Del Sur hostel.
I’ll be honest that the choice of accommodation in El Calafate isn’t the best. Patagonia, in general, is an expensive region to travel to so you’ll pay a lot for something that is just ~okay~.
America Del Sur is one of the most popular hostels in the area as it offers a range of private and dorm room options, has relatively chic (for a hostel) communal areas and some epic views. Annoyingly, you’ll still pay more than you’ll want to, even for just a dorm bed! Case in point, we paid $35.33 per person per night for a bed in a four person dorm.
Now, when I was imagining a four person dorm, I naively anticipated that we’d be sharing with another couple but when we turned up, we were actually sharing with two male solo travellers. No issues there but it did make me pause for thought a bit and wonder how I’d feel if I was a solo female traveller staying in a room with just men.
Plus, I forgot that we may not be the first ones to arrive in the room so while I’d imagined that Harry would take bottom bunk and I’d be top, we both ended up being top bunk to a strangers bottom. The awkwardness of clambering down and almost falling off the side of my bunk onto a stranger will stay with me for a while.
Predictably, we haven’t stayed in a dorm since. Not because it was an entirely uncomfortable experience but because I forgot how much I cannot stand snoring. Annoyingly one of the men in our room was a RAMPANT snorer and even a good pair of ear plugs didn’t help. Since then, we’ve been stayed in private rooms (with ensuite or shared bathrooms) so that I don’t end up shouting at a stranger in the dead of the night.
DREAM STAY: Honestly, it’s hard to find anything that I’d be willing to pay more for in El Calafate itself as it’s all much of a muchness. So if you’re looking to get into the hospitality business and are currently searching for a destination that has a need for a chic new hotel, El Calafate could be the place!
However, EOLO - Patagonia's Spirit is probably the most luxurious option in the area. This Relais & Chateaux property is about a 30 minute drive out of the town and is closer to Los Glaciares National Park itself.
Set within 10,000 acres and surrounded by beautiful mountain-scapes, the 17-room hotel is a haven for those who want to spend their days horse riding, hiking and even mountain biking before retiring for a beautiful meal cooked with regionally sourced ingredients. Book me in!
On a whim, I only booked ourselves two nights in El Chalten – just enough to arrive in the late afternoon, spend the next day doing the Fitz Roy hike and then leave the day after. At the time of booking, I hadn’t realised that the weather in Patagonia is unpredictable and that it is recommended to stay in El Chalten for a few days in order to be able to stick around for a nice day to hike.
Thankfully we lucked out with the weather and our two night stay was the perfect amount of time to crack on and get going up the mountains. While I didn’t research the weather, I did hear that it was best to stay near the trailhead if you wanted to beat the rush and avoid adding more mileage to your step count, so I booked the closest thing I could find – an Airbnb (but really a hotel).
Again, El Chalten is expensive and a two night stay here cost us just about £150. To be fair, we did get breakfast and a super clean en suite included, plus, there was a communal kitchen which we used for meals and to prep the obligatory cheese and crisp sandwiches for our hike. We also may or may not have ‘accidentally’ taken one of the 5,000 spoons that was in the kitchen to join us on our travels…
DREAM STAY:
Would I personally want to be suspended from the side of a mountain for a night? The answer is no, however, if this sounds like your jam then OVO Patagonia could be the place for you. Vertigo-aside, the pods do look like they have stunning views and could be a cosy retreat, but I hazard a guess that this is the kind of hotel where you stay for one night and one night only before moving on.
The Explora brand is impossible to ignore if you’re travelling around South America – I’m sure this won’t be the last of their hotels that I mention in this series! If you’re a luxury traveller, then you’ll probably end up staying in one of their properties whilst on the continent and my god, I’ll be jealous.
What makes Explora so special is that they’re all-inclusive adventure hotels – so all activities from guided hikes to transfers and access to the spa are all included in your room rate. This means that they don’t really make sense as places to just go to and relax, but are bases for you to explore and make the most of spending all that cash.
The brand’s design language is fairly minimalist, so images of the rooms are a bit underwhelming, however, the focus is all on their surroundings and the incredible views. Picture windows galore, basically.
And our final destination in Argentina was the beautiful Mendoza. I’ve already spoken about our Airbnbs in this previous Substack post but if you’re looking to organise a trip to the area, I’d recommend checking out availability at our second stay.
This small hotel is still a favourite of mine from our trip and it has nothing to do with the two dogs who live there (read: it has everything to do with the two dogs who live there).
DREAM STAY: Luxury hotels are a dime a dozen in Mendoza. If you’re thinking of taking a break in the area, I’d recommend heading outside of the city itself and looking for properties in Luján de Cuyo (where we stayed) or if you want to level up, the Uco Valley.
Now, if I had over £700 a night to splash on a hotel, then I’d opt to stay at SB Winemaker’s House. How can a hotel command this lofty price, you ask? The suites come with their own in-room spas. Yes, that’s right, each room has its own sauna so you can sweat out the many bottles of red wine you’ve consumed in private. Obsessed.
And on the cheaper end of the scale, this Airbnb has captivated me for one reason and one reason only: a rescue pony roams freely around the property.
After thinking about dream stays, I’d love to know, what hotel is on your bucket list – tell me in the comments!