I stayed at the Four Seasons for business 4 nights in early March 2008. We usually stay at the Duhau which was, unfortunately, fully booked. After having read all of the tremendous reviews for the Four Seasons we decided to stay there.
I expected a fabulous experience with unprecedented service and I'm disappointed to say that we received neither.
First, I got there and my room wasn't ready and they had no idea when it would be ready. Every time I would ask for info a new person would come and re-explain the situation again. I finally settled for going to the gym and had to bring my luggage with me into the gym (!!) and they told me they would take care of it and deliver it to my room or put it in safe keeping. After a half an hour I went back into the changing room and all of my belongings were just hanging out there for anyone to steal.
I finally got to my room which was nice enough, very non descript in it's decor. Certainly didn't communicate luxury, it felt like any room in any decent four star hotel. The room over looked the highway that passes beneath (make sure you ask for a pool view). Beds are extremely comfortable, and the curtains are true black out curtains. The bathroom is kind of small - no bigger than your average Marriott - and done with old style more classic traditional finishings. Lots of brass and marble.
The common areas are quite small and on the main floor they have both of their two restaurants - which are always crowded. The clientele seemed to be primarily Americans, a mix between older retired couples and business people. I will say that the food at both the restaurant and the bar were among the best meals we had in BsAs. The decoration is all very dark wood, barely lit. All pretty, but very heavy in terms of ambience. The bar staff is painfully slow and it seems that everyone is a bit jittery. We would hear on average, three broken glasses/plates etc every time that we came.
The gym and spa are very nice, though again, everything feels very cramped. Everything is designed in a rich wood, Incan style decoration and they burn a heavy incense. This was actually the only space in the hotel that made me feel like I was in South America. The spa staff (and the business center) are the best trained staff that they have in the hotel.
In terms of overall service, I was terribly underwhelmed. The front hall staff seems to be non existent. Not that it makes a difference, but not once did anyone open the front door for us - which is a standard in any other hotel. When we had lunch at the restaurant we were a party of 7 and the girl looked at an empty restaurant and said I don't know if we can put together a table of 7, and could we do 6 people (?!). At the pool, in 3 hours, no one came to ask us if we wanted drinks, did we need a towel - nothing. There were tons of little incidents like this.
Our last night we went to the Duhau for drinks and I was reminded of the dramatic difference between the two hotels. The Duhau feels like it's in Argentina - even two occaisional dancers during drinks - and has beautiful wide open airy spaces.
I'm sure it's a matter of taste, but I think that the Four Seasons is a good standby for a more traditional tourist and for someone who's looking for a newer luxury might feel more at home at the Duhau.
