An OUTSTANDING stay in every way. My husband and I are frequent travelers and have been using Air BNB for years and years, and this was hands-down our best experience to date. Firstly and most importantly, Norm was a spectacular host. He went above and beyond to make sure we had a great stay, including recommending local restaurants/events, helping us safely change money with the blue rate, and setting us up with a reliable taxi driver (who was amazing throughout our stay - we took many weekend trips and he was consistently on-time, communicative, and professional). Another example of Norm going above and beyond: we were in a separate air bnb for our first night in BA, but he still set up our taxi from the airport and met up with us pretty late in the evening to A.) Ensure our safe arrival, and B.) make sure we had enough pesos at the blue rate for the weekend before we were able to change more USD the next week. You can tell how much Norm loves Buenos Aires because he genuinely wants to ensure you have the best experience possible. He was extremely communicative throughout our stay without being intrusive; again, you could tell he just wanted to make sure we had a great stay.
Next, the place itself: you can’t beat the location. You step out of the building right onto Plaza Dorrego, which is the heart of San Telmo. San Telmo market is a hop, skip, and a jump away and has all the Argentinian deliciousness you could ask for. Though it’s right in the thick of it, the apartment itself is quiet. The only noise we heard from neighbors was from a concert pianist who practiced from time to time, which was absolutely lovely. You need a key to enter/exit the building, so we felt extremely safe at all times. The building is a classic colonial structure, and Norm & his wife have clearly tried to maintain its Argentinian integrity while making it appealing to Westerners. It looks like it could be featured in Architectural Digest. The exposed brick and high ceilings are stunning, and we loved the enclosed sun-room. He provides a safe so you can store all that USD you’ll need to bring along and cleaning once a week by the building’s super. If Norm was not there or able to help with something, the superintendent, Jose, was available to help us with anything apartment-related we needed, which was honestly just once (it was our own fault, we attempted to do laundry right before leaving and front-loading washers lock, so our clothes were “stuck” by our own doing). We texted Norm and 30 seconds later, Jose was at the door to help us. We work remotely, and the internet was definitely faster than average for what we’ve experienced in Central and South America. Speaking of which, power outages are common and we had one during our stay. Norm was very communicative about the issue, but that’s obviously out of his control. The only other thing to note is that the apartment has the loft bedroom, which is more private - the second has gorgeous glass sliding doors, but would not be a lot in the way of privacy if you had two couples staying there. Overall, the place is very well-equipped, including a washer & dryer, oven, toaster oven, microwave, new TV, speakers, a power strip compatible with US plugs, and two large water heaters (never ran out of hot water for the shower).
Overall, I can’t say enough good things about this stay! Norm is so gracious and kind. We are already trying to arrange our next trip to BA and plan to stay again.