This apartment, in the upscale bedroom neighborhood of Belgrano, was the perfect space for my husband and me. This is an established neighborhood with a lot of mature evergreen trees, which made for lovely views during our frequent walks. Within three or four blocks of the apartment were many embassies, so we took to calling “our” neighborhood “Embassy Row.” The neighborhood has all kinds of restaurants and cafés within walking distance, as well as a gluten free patisserie next door. The subte (metro) line D is easy to access, perhaps three, maybe four blocks away. Between the subte and Cabify, we had easy access to all parts of town. There are plenty of grocery stores within two blocks, including fruit and vegetables stands, basic go-to stores, and specialty cheese and past stores. Our favorite breakfast spot was Central Cook, two blocks away, where we were able to order traditional Argentinian breakfast items as well as American-style eggs, bacon, and toast; poached egg with fresh fruit; omelette with fresh toast; or yogurt with granola and mixed berries. Other local restaurants we frequented were Santillo and Pipí-Cucú. A bit farther afield, but still walking distance is the Italian restaurant Parolaccia or Argentinian parilla La Fonda de Polo. Another advantage of the neighborhood is that it was within walking distance to Buenos Aires’ China Town, as well as to our favorite restaurant, Cor-te, where we ate repeatedly and enjoyed the best meat (lamb merguez sausage and chorizo trio, in addition to fabulous beef) and the best dessert (Massini) of our lives, not to mention an amazing green salad, which was a rare find!
We were in town primarily for me to attend a professional conference at the nearby University of Belgrano. The apartment location, price, and space were fabulous. The building itself is a charming and old with one flight of marble stairs up to the unit, and the apartment has been renovated inside, so it was a lovely balance of traditional and modern. The apartment was impeccably clean. We stayed longer than the typical airbnb stay, so Marcelo arranged for the apartment to be cleaned and replaced all of the linens for us on a day and time of our choosing. The balcony was great, and quite private for being in a populated urban area. The bed was really comfortable, which is important because my husband had two herniated discs and usually is quite uncomfortable when we travel. The kitchen was well stocked, and although we intended to make use of the full kitchen, we didn’t because of the all of the wonderful, inexpensive restaurants nearby. There was plenty of closet space for storing our clothes and the rain shower was lovely with plenty of hot water.
Marcelo and his administrative assistant, Carolina, were extremely responsive and very helpful in answering all of our questions and giving us various kinds of recommendations for things that interested us. They even booked a couple of reservations for meals when we weren’t able to do so online and didn’t feel confident enough to do so over the phone in Argentinian Spanish.
We highly recommend this apartment and would certainly stay here again. The only minor caveat is that it is an apartment in the city, so if home for your isn’t in a city, you should be prepared for normal busy city street noises and plan on bringing ear plugs, as we did. Marcelo, the neighborhood, and the apartment really can’t be beat. Overall, we had a fabulous two-week stay in Buenos Aires and the apartment and our gracious host certainly significantly contributed to our very positive experience.