Mirando al Sur

Positives: 1) Helpful staff members. I can't remember names, but one of the girls who worked most mornings was great in planning my schedule while in Bariloche. A guy who worked in the evenings was super helpful in recommending a cinema in town as well as a place to do laundry, in addition to helping me with a half-dozen other requests. They were both patient with my less-than-perfect Spanish. I really appreciated this element of my stay here. 2) Fast internet both in rooms and lobby/breakfast area. 3) Price. I got a great rate on Expedia, about 50% off the published prices for the low season. 4) Room includes microwave, refrigerator, TV (albeit tiny) Negatives: 1) Location. This hotel is located about 10 blocks from the city center. It is not a bad walk on a nice day. However, on a rainy day, you will either a) have to have a taxi, or b) trudge uphill through mud and puddles as there is no sidewalk for much of the walk, or c) rely on the city's terrible bus system that seems to have a timetable only on paper and almost always requires standing in the aisle with 30 other people (assuming that you are lucky enough to even board). 2) Differs from Hotwire listing. This is really the biggest issue in my mind. The checkout time here is not 11AM - it is 10AM. And they will want you out of your room at 10AM regardless of what your reservation says. Hotels really need to make sure this kind of information is accurate on booking websites. I don't appreciate being rushed out of my room because the hotel doesn't respect the terms it has established through booking agencies. That is a pretty big no-no and somewhat of a red flag. 3) Noisy. Most complaints about the noise at this hotel have to do with street noise. However, even if you get a room facing the side or back of the hotel, you may still find it noisy, as the walls are pretty thin and you can hear pretty much everything going on in the hallway and lobby area. 4) Unresponsive on email. I had emailed the hotel the morning of the day before my arrival in an effort to confirm my reservation and ask about how best to arrive from the bus station. However, I never got a response. Neutral: 1: Breakfast ... The breakfast here is buffet-style, consisting of bread with jam, mini-muffins, crackers/cookies, yogurt, juice and coffee. This would be great, except that the bread and cookies were stale every morning and several other items seemed to be recycled each day. When a place advertises itself as a "bed and breakfast" in Argentina, I tend to expect a little bit more because the truth is that even most Argentine budget hotels offer a similar breakfast as you will find here.