You could not choose a better hotel for your stay in Buenos Aires. The Alvear is the best. From the moment I arrived, early a.m. on overnight flight, everything went smoothly. Upon arrival the friendly desk agent told me the room was ready. My room was large and well appointed, it faced a side street, noise was minimal. Their complimentary buffet breakfast had an array of fresh pasteries, fruit, yogurt, juices, cereal and warm dishes and the coffees and freshly made espresso and cappuccino were sublime. The staff was excellent, friendly and efficent from the room attendants, waiters, butlers, front desk, bellmen and concierges were ALL ready to assist me with any request. By the second day every staff member addressed me by my name, a nice touch for such a busy hotel. Concierge recommendations were all accurate from restaurants like La Cabrera and Mirosol and shopping for leather at the nearby Rossi & Corusso. With the favorable exchange rate, I recommend spending the extra money to experience the excellent service and ambiance this hotel has to offer.

Buenos Aires is a wonderful place to visit and the Alvear Palace is in the best part of town. You can walk to Eva Peron's grave from here. There is alot of upscale shopping within blocks. The hotel is beautiful and the rooms and service are some of the best. I would strongly recommend a trip to Buenos Aires and stay at The Alvear Palace.

We spent the first week of March here to celebrate a special birthday and see a city that had long been on our "one of these days" list. Neither the hotel nor the city disappointed us.

Having just spent a couple of days at a Ritz-Carlton resort in the U.S. the comparisons are irresistable. The Alvear Palace is more European in ambience, elegant to be sure, but the grandeur is understated rather than overwhelming. The Ritz-Carlton, while luxurous beyond a quibble, seemed to say "let us super-size that for you" -- just a bit over the top.

In terms of staff and service, the Alvear stands out, however, as gracious, accommodating, and there for you before you even think about it. Whether for coffee or juice refills at the lovely (included) buffet breakfast, or someone to press the elevator call button, or start the revolving door for you, there was always someone at hand. (For those concerned about safety in Buenos Aires -- a concern I consider overblown after our week there -- the hotel is ringed by discreet private security staff.) The concierge staff was exceptionally knowledgeable and very helpful in arranging several outings and dinner reservations for us.

We had two rooms during our stay. The first, recently redone, was a perfectly satisfactory "premier junior suite" that began to suffer from a mysterious humming vibration two nights into our stay. After a couple of brief conversations with our floor butler and the front desk, we were promptly moved and upgraded to a different suite. Both were fine, though if you have a choice the recently renovated rooms are likely preferable due to showers being separate from tubs. The staff handled the move smoothly for us while we enjoyed breakfast and a stroll around Recoleta. This is a good indication of the level of service here, as this experience in many establishments would have been fraught with stress.

Buenos Aires is a great city for walking (almost all traffic is one-way so you are only dodging traffic from one direction), and the Alvear Palace is a good point of departure for lengthy strolls toward the downtown center, or in the opposite direction through the enormous, leafy parks of Palermo. The Recoleta area itself offers lively outdoor cafes, good restaurants, and an abundance of upscale boutiques and mid-range shopping.

Incidentally, the end of February and beginning of March are good times for bargain hunting. Argentine clothing is sold in-season (that is, summer wear in summer), unlike the American practice of selling a season in advance (Spring and Summer sold in winter. The shop windows were full of close-out sales as retailers moved the last of their summer inventories, just in time for our North American season.

Bottom line: The Alvear Palace is highly recommended. It isn't cheap, but its very fair value for what you get.

Great value for the money if you have American dollars. Reminds me of the New York City Plaza hotel in the 1960's. I can't think of anything negative about this establishment. Maybe a bit too formal for some but casual dressed guests were welcolmed. Food very expensive but no need to eat at the hotel. However, La Bourgogne restaraunt downstairs is fabulous but very expensive. Worth staying at this hotel and going to the complimentary buffet lunch but eating elsewhere for everything else. Service fabulous, rooms superb, gorgeous, elegant, gracious, beautiful.....in a wonderful city.