Whenever I traveled in the past I have always stayed in hotels. When I started planning my two week trip to Buenos Aires I decided to try something different. Since I was going to stay in one place for two weeks I figured I would rent an apartment. Besides, that's what everyone else I knew did when going to BsAs. It would save me money too--I could get a nice apartment for as little as $300 a week (a hotel would cost me at least $100 a night). I did some research, but every apartment booking website would require a credit card to hold the reservation, but not to pay for the actual stay. The way all of them operate is that upon arrival you meet with an agent and pay in cash the full amount of your stay plus a security deposit. I didn't feel comfortable traveling with all that cash and didn't want to put up a security deposit (which was supposed to be refunded upon the return of the keys). Also, I was arriving on a Saturday and since my arrival fell outside of the regular business hours I would have to make special arrangements to pick up the keys. This whole ordeal with the apartment was getting more and more complicated. I was going on the trip by myself and was also concerned that if I stay in an apartment all my myself I wouldn't even have anyone to talk to or to even get any basic information like where to buy a calling card, using public transportation, etc. etc.
So I decided to go a different route. I started looking at some Bed & Breakfast inns. There was quite a lot to choose from. Prices ranged from $35/night for a room with shared bath to $200+ for a room in a very nice villa. I settled on a room with a private bathroom in
Domus BA in Palermo for $70/night. I emailed the owner and my reservation was confirmed. There was no security deposit and I could just pay for my stay when I got there.
Perfect! I was not disappointed. Leonor (the owner) made me feel right at home. The rooms are loft style and somewhat small with an office area on one level and the bed on another level. If you bring your laptop with you you can take advantage of the free wifi (just don't forget to bring the converter and an adapter or you can purchase one in BsAs). I wasn't planning to be spending much time indoors so the size of the room was not a concern to me. But climbing the stairs all the time to get to my bed did get tedious after a while, especially after doing so many tango lessons and going to milongas. The best part was the breakfast--if the weather was nice (which it was most of the time) I could have my breakfast right outside of my room in a small garden. My breakfast consisted of three media lunas (it's a kind of croissant), cheese, dulce de leche, fresh orange juice and coffee or tea. In addition to the small garden which the rooms face (there are only two guest rooms in the house) there is a bigger Japanese garden with a swimming pool. The pool was not heated so it was too cold for me to swim in it (it probably is great during summer), but it was very nice for relaxing after spending all day running around the city sightseeing and going to tango classes. Since all of the rooms in the house face the garden you don't get any outside noise and get a really good rest. There is also a living room area with a dining table and a small refrigerator and some armchairs. There are some guidebooks and maps that you can browse through.
If this is your first trip to Buenos Aires and you are traveling by yourself I would highly recommend staying in a B&B.
