My family and I (husband, and two teens 13 and 15) just returned from our first-ever trip to Argentina and were thrilled with every single minute we spent in that beautiful country. We first arrived in Buenos Aires on August 1, and had accommodations at the Recoleta Guest House. We were very happy with this bed- and-breakfast for a number of reasons. The owner, Isabel, was extremely friendly and welcoming, greeting us all with a kiss on the cheek and kind words - we felt immediately at home. I had limited spanish, but my husband is Cuban so the language was never a problem for us, but Isabel's knowledge of English was proficient enough to allow us to have gotten by on English alone. We were shown to our rooms and helped with our bags up the stairs and were able to settle in and unpack right away - even though we arrived very early in the morning, certainly before "check-in". We were also offered breakfast right away, though we had just arrived - and this made us feel welcomed as well. The kids were happy with the little bonb-bon treats on their pillows that morning.

My kids had the Alamo room, which was spacious with two twin beds and a large dresser for their things. There was a TV in their room, complete with remote, and so they were thrilled. The room was clean, enough linens to keep them warm and extra linens and blankets in the closet just in case they were cold at night. Their bathroom was clean as well and nice and warm, with a radiator by the shower so they could warm their towels while bathing.

Our room was right next door - the Robles room, and we were very comfortable there. Large bed, with clean sheets and ample blankets as well. We had a safe in our closet (as did my kids in theirs) and it was easy to operate and we put our passports and valuables inside and felt perfectly safe doing so. We also had a TV with remote and ample heat in the room and the en-suite bathroom too.

Breakfast was continental in style, served graciously by their very nice and efficient staff. We were offered cappucino if we wanted, instead of regular coffee and my kids were always offered hot chocolate. Breakfast consisted of croissants (media lunas), little round toasts, crackers, and homemade coffee cake, wheat bread, butter, jelly and dulce de leche. In the mornings, we dealt mostly with Beltran who had been working with Isabel and her family for several years. He was kind and friendly and eager to help at all times. His English was great too, and he made wonderful omeletes for us with interesting spices and herbs in the morning

At night we were always greeted by another staff member, named Alejandro, a philosophy student, who was very eager to share his love and knowledge of his country. We had some great conversations with him as well.

We had the use of the internet for just $1 an hour (done by the honor system) and received two phone calls while we were there - one late at night. Isabel handled this very graciously, even though we were embarrassed by the late night call.

The Guest House is centrally located, with a super market right down the street, where we often bought empanadas and salads to bring back to the house and we had the use of the dining room at all times so we could eat at other times during the day and evening. We felt perfectly safe in the neighborhood and walked around at all hours of the day and night. The day we left Isabel helped us with ordering a cab to pick us up later . We were allowed to keep our luggage downstairs and to still have the use of the house and bathrooms until we left late that afternoon.

The architecture of the house was beautiful, the inside was lovely and clean - and it was a great introduction for my kids to see how a typical Argentine family lives.

I would absolutey stay here again, without hesitation.

Ask for one of the larger rooms. I stayed in the Alamo and it was spacious and comfy with a big window opening into a little courtyard. The staff was very responsive and helpful in booking and pre-stay communication, as well as during my stay. Lovely house with guest access to shared computer outside of rooms. Great and safe choice for traveling solo too.

My husband was turning 60 and wanted to see Buenos Aires. We went with two other couples and all stayed at Recoleta Guest House. I had been in Buenos Aires before and knew that Recoleta was a great place to stay so I did a bit of research and came up with this charming B and B in the heart of town. First of all it is very inexpensive compared to ALL hotels in the area. The rooms are very clean and large (with the exception of one room that is quite small). All have high ceilings and windows overlooking a central courtyard in the middle of the house. The staff is super friendly -- booking us dinner reservations and storing our luggage when we went to Mar Del Plata for two days. Now, it's not the Ritz. but for the price it is extremely comfortable. The owner let us cook our own breakfast on the morning of my husband's birthday and we had cocktails every night in the front parlor room (BYOB). SInce I had been to Buenos Aires before this was comparible to most other hotels that cost three times as much. If you want and experience that feels like living with a family in the heart of town Recoleta Guest House is for you!

Recoleta Guest House might be just fine if you get the right room. If you go in summer, be sure that the air conditioner works in your room. (We were there in late December.) The place can be noisy, depending on where your room is located. Definitely to be avoided is our "Roble" room. (The adjacent Alamo room looked fine from the doorway, more room and some charm.) Roble is a small, sparsely decorated room at the back of the building with a window opening onto a noisy space between buildings. The aircon did not operate, it was very hot inside, all night. No possibility of air from the adjacent bathroom, which could have mitigated the outside noise from our required open window, since the bathroom window was painted shut. There was only a noisy but quite necessary ceiling fan in our room. There was no bath mat (we asked). There is a metal bar window cover (ever heard about fire safety??).

On the positive side, nice commons area and you are invited to use the entire house. Some rooms face the quiet courtyard and we heard, from occupants, had operable aircon. Unfortunately we stayed on a night of lightening and thunder so at about 3 AM, that compounded the noise problem of the Roble room and added humidity to the hot air. On a quiet hot night, don't plan on sleeping until after 1 AM.

Breakfast was mediocre but acceptable if you like "tang" in place of real juice. The staff man was very nice and quite helpful. He didn’t object when we left after one night of our three booked; he definitely was listening. Their in-house Internet for $1 per hour proved very valuable; on it I found a place to move to after one miserable night in this worst-ever B and B sleeping experience. Caution advised for this place but I do suspect it could be a lot better experience.