I stayed 3 nights in mid-June at the Tryp Buenos Aires and was very impressed with the quality of the hotel room as it was one of the better rooms regardless of price I've been in the past 10 years of travelling.

I spluged and cashed in my Sol Melia loyalty points months ahead of arrival but wondered whether I should've when the price dropped a week or two prior to arrival to USD$99 + tax per night but in the end left the reservation as it was. The hotel main entrance is set back a dozen feet from the sidewalk on Calle San Martin and is at first fairly unimpressive. The glass door was opened by someone I first took to be a bellboy but later decided the staffer was hotel security instead. Once checked in I headed to the room and another security features was encountered, which is that to make the elevators work you must first insert your room key. I appreciated both steps taken to ensure no unauthorized access was given to non-hotel guests as it made me feel that much more secure while on site.

My room was on the 6th floor, though I have forgotten to note the specific room number, and overlooked a concrete jungle car park at the back of the building. The king bed is set towards the window facing a wall mounted 27 inch flat screen TV. A desk & chair together with a comfortable easy chair and stool made for a large room that was very well finished and the first impression was very positive. While hotel prices were high for the items in the mini-bar behind a glass door, it was luckily large enough to hold some beverages purchased while touring the city and brought back to the hotel. The bathroom was very modern with a nice vanity, toilet and bidet and a large walk-in shower stall, a unique feature I rarely see in hotels. Often the tub/shower combination works but sometimes I'd rather just have one or the other as showering in a tub can be a mild pain as can wanting to have a bath only to be sprayed on the head with a shot from the overhead shower wand. The water pressure in the shower was also strong making for a refreshing shower during the stay and was a definate plus to this traveller. The other bonus about the room this light sleeper very much appreciated was a heavy window blind set in tracks that could be lowered to block out most of the sunlight or light from streetlights. The drapes added to the effect and I can imagine that becoming even more of an attractive room feature in the summer months when the sun is up very early, which wasn't the case during my stay when it really didn't get full light until around 8 a.m. every day in middle of the South American winter. A remote control climate control was the final addition to the impressive list of room features that added up to make this one of my faveorite hotel rooms in my travels over the years. A hairdryer that gave off a few wisps of smoke when I used it one morning couldn't dampen the enthusiasm for the room, which also included a newer PIN code safe located in the spacious closet.

The buffet breakfast was filling and offered a good selection, though there wasn't any change in the choices during my stay and a little more variety would've been nice but it was still a great way to start the day with a filling breakfast and English morning paper, the Herald. Directly adjacent to the breakfast restaurant are two computer terminals, one with a printer and this seemed to constitute the hotel's business center. The free online access was nice given most North American chains charge for computer use and so I was able to do a few tasks such as printing off boarding passes and check-in online ahead of domestic flights. I was lucky the two times I wanted to use the computers that they were both free but can imagine they could be harder to get in high season so if access if really important I would recommend either bringing your own laptop or trying to stop by during lower demand times of the day.

The Tryp is a business part of the Spanish Sol Melia chain of hotels and the majority of the guests speak Spanish though all the staff I encountered spoke very good English. There were some curious moments when I checked in and was unpacking in the room and the flashing message light on the phone was lit and when I hit the message light the recording that came on was only in Spanish, though it was changed layer in the day to English and was only a recorded welcome mesage from the hotel manager. The other notices, hotel & room info and signs around the room were all given in both Spanish & English.

The hotel's location one block off the main pedestrian shopping avenue Calle Florida made for good access to shops & services, including the large high-end shopping complex Galerías Pacífico which is a few short blocks away. Most of the sights are within walking distance but taxi's are relatively inexpensive for shorter trips. The immediate neighborhood was a mix of commercial and residential and is an urban landscape without any green space though one larger park at Plaza San Martin is a 10-15 minute walk away.

In closing, I found lots to like about the Tryp including good security, a central location, quiet atmosphere but most especially the quality room features. At $99 per night I definately feel it's a great value worth returning to if I were back in Buenos Aires again soon.