Richard Bence examines five fantastic new hotels in the Argentine capital, now enjoying a resurgence in tourism since the devastating devaluation of the peso four years ago.
When it opens in Buenos Aires' Recoleta district at the end of June, the Palacio Duhau Park Hyatt will mark the return of Hyatt International to a country it abandoned in 2001.
Hyatt are not the only ones viewing Argentina as ripe for a return. According to the Latin America News Digest, hotel investments across the country as a whole are set to reach 1.4 bn Argentine pesos ($453.3m, or Û352.4m) in 2006, creating some 200 new hotels. Starwood recently opened its eighth property in the country with the launch of the Sheraton Salta, one of five new hotels recently opened in the Salta region .
But the country's capital is the centre of hotel development activity. Buenos Aires, which translates as "good air" or "fair winds," has been called the Paris of South America. Home to Eva Peron and Maradona, it's a glamorous and passionate city which was for much of the 20th century the cultural jewel of South America but political instability has meant that the Argentine economy has lurched from one crisis to the next for many years. The 70% devaluation of the peso in 2002 lead to a surge in tourism and a refocussing from outgoing to inbound and domestic visitors.
Nowhere is this resurgence in fortunes more evident than in the country's capital. According to the most recent available data from Deloitte's Benchmark RevPAR increased by 22% in 2004, although it still lags behind its 2000 level.
Nevertheless, depsite the return in occupancy but the devaluation of the peso, and the increased numbers of low paying domestic travellers have prevented further revPAR growth.
Whatever the statistics say, there is no doubt that Buenos Aires is once again a hip watering hole for thoroughbred thin women and hot blooded polo players. Responding to the growing need for fabulous places to pose and party, BA is becoming a booming destination for the design savvy traveller. Palermo Viejo is the happening hood for reworked early 20th century former family homes getting a second coming as boutique hotels with oodles of charm. In the same barrio, a cross between Westbourne Grove and Shoreditch, trendy little places to shop, eat and drink are everywhere, including the architectural showstopper Olsen, a 60's inspired Scandinavian restaurant.
A thrilling mix of flamboyant Latino nightlife and elegant European architecture, Buenos Aires is at the same time exotic and familiar. And now more than ever you feel like something big is about to happen. Until now, Argentineans haven't been totally comfortable in their own skin, always harking back to their European routes while at the same time trying to forge a Latin American identity. Porte–os, the name for Buenos Aires residents, are throwing off these shackles of the past and diving into a new epoque with gusto. And with milestone events coming up including the bicentenary in 2010 you can bet Buenos Aires is in the ascendant.
