I'll begin my saying I'm somewhat surprised at the scathing reviews of this grande dame after recently returning from what was a very enjoyable 4 nights stay in mid-June from the Marriott Plaza Hotel Buenos Aires.

As I'm sure almost every other review has noted by now, the hotel's location among the best in the city opposite Plaza San Martin park, at the end of the pedestrian-only shopping area on Calle Florida and only a short walk to Retiro train & bus station. However while the quality of the location isn't in dispute it seems the quality of the hotel is to many and so I'll focus more on my stay rathern than the very obvious benefits of the Plaza's location.

Having landed around 9:30 a.m. on a nonstop flight from the U.S., cleared customs and made my way to the hotel using an inexpensive transfer company Manuel Tienda Leon, I arrived at the Marriott around 11:00 a.m. and at check in was told my room wouldn't be ready for an hour. Rather than leaving my only bag, a carry-on as I travel light, and wandering around for the sake of wandering around I perched instead on one of the comfortable sofas near the business centre on a mezzanine level a short flight of stairs away from the main lobby and relaxed for the hour before heading back to the front desk where I was rewarded with my room key and a smile and thank you from the clerk for my patience.

A few days prior to leaving home I'd been sent an email from the reservations manager offering an upgrade to different rooms for a relatively small cost and so opted to upgrade from a regular room to a Park View room for USD$10/night, an upgrade I mentioned at time of check in and was confirmed by the clerk who confirmed I was on the top floor with a great park view in room #915 and once in the room the view was as billed so was very glad I'd opted to upgrade as it seemed well worth the price to me. I appreciated receiveving the offer by email ahead of time as it allowed me some time to weigh the other room options, such as a larger junior suite or a deluxe room on the concierge floor, rather than having to make a snap decision in a bleary and jet-lagged state while checking in as has happened at other hotels on other trips.

Room #915 features a balcony with two wrought iron chairs and table, a large king bed, electronic safe in a large closet, writing desk with chair and a easy chair & ottoman as well as a rather narrow bathroom with two sinks, a large tub toilet & bidet. The full size tub had no overflow drain so it was possible to fill it up more than the average
N. American tub and soak away the day of sightseeing and exploring so was appreciated. Being winter off season and cool at times spending lots of time on the balcony wasn't really going to be comfortable but I did spend some time out there enjoying the scenery usually at the beginning or end of the day. I rarely used either the mini-bar or the TV so can't really comment on either save to say both were there and working. The room was quite comfortable and the fit & finish and quality of the furnishings seemed up to Marriott standards I've experienced elsewhere in the past and there wasn't anything about the room I could fault in any way as it met or exceeded my expectations.

One quirk I did notice about the service was the relatively early start housekeeping makes in their day. One morning I slept in after a late meal and so wasn't up, bathed, shaved and dressed and out of the room a not long after 10 a.m. and when I went to leave the room noticed a printed card had been slipped under my door I hadn't noticed a few minutes earlier. It was a polite note from housekeeping saying they had tried to clean my room but a 'do not disturb' sign was on the knob, which it was, and to let housekeeping or the front desk know when would be convenient to attend to the room. While I admire the efficiency barely 10 in the morning seemed a little too early for housekeeping rounds to this guest, though didn't share those opinions with the hotel and as I was on my way out simply stopped at the front desk to inform they the room was vacant.

Overall I found the staff to be polite, professional and helpful and having very good English speaking skills. Several times early in the stay having been refused a 100 peso note for a relatively small purchase while sightseeing I learned to stop by the front desk and ask for change and was never refused. One tip would be to use the ATM in the lobby near the main elevators and withdraw in denominations that will give you some smaller bills. For example, rather than withdraw 700 Pesos I would withdraw 680 instead and every ATM I used allowed withdrawls in 20 Peso increments. I used the ATM in the hotel several times as it seemed more secure than others along Calle Florida and had instructions in English which I'm sure most though not all others offer around the city. The number of staff members usually found in the smaller main lobby was around half a dozen with front desk staff, bell staff and a polite lady at the concierge desk ready with a map or quick directions. I didn't arrange any car hire services or off-site tours so can't comment on any of those arrangements nor did I use the and fitness the hotel offers. The same can be said for the restaurants facilities at the Plaza as I ate my way around Buenos Aires skipping the hotel restaurants which seemed to be at a higher price. I did have a drink at the Plaza Bar as it was mentioned as noteworthy in a few city guides I'd read and it was a pleasant diversion for a drink, though again at a price premium.

The business center does offer two PC's with printers and the charge was a fairly decent 27 Pesos, or approx. USD$6.00, for 60 minutes and I used the computers to check in for domestic flights within Argentina and print boarding passes and email home. In off season dropping by the business center always found a computer free but with only two PC's I can imagine the demand to be much higher in the busier S. American summer months so should access be important bringing a laptop or going in lower demand time of the day would be two recommendations.

After a long day of sightseeing it was nice to return to the Marriott in the late evening and unwind with a hot bath & a little treat left on my bed daily, which was an Argentinian chocolate treat called an alfajor, which is like a chocolate covered wafer cookie that was heavenly. Havanna coffee shops are located throughout the city and made the best alfajors which came in at least a half-dozen varies including white, milk and dark chocolate.

So colour me unsure why this hotel doesn't rate higher in the popularity ratings as I certainly enjoyed my stay and would return again, though probably at a sale price and for a reasonable short stay as I couldn't imagine spending, for example, more than a week here. Buenos Aires has many affordable apartment rentals that are better suited to longer stays but if it's business or pleasure I found the Marriott offered a comfortable stay in a very convenient location with good service so in all those areas was all I could've asked for.