Edificio Charcas Apart Hotel

The hotel building is old but the location makes up for it. The staff was very helpful (thanks for the umbrella). The apartment had every thing that you need ( although everything was old). Walking distance to Florida street ( one block away), Plaza de Mayo ( six blocks away), Obliseco (5 blocks away), Recolleta cemetery (around 10 blocks), Plaza San Martin (one block away). Supermarkets all around the hotel. The hotel was in a safe place even at 11 at night because of restaurant cafes around it. Good WIFI. My apartment had its own WIFI Router.

We spent 5 nights at Edificio Charcas, 2 of which were tainted by an unfortunate (and unrelated) case of food poisoning. Which means that unlike most of our travels, we did spend a significant amount of time in the room for 2 days. Our room was spacious and had a pretty decent kitchenette, although if you were planning on eating all your meals in the hotel you might find it limiting. We also had a grill on our personal patio, which we would have used if we had found a carneceria.The bed was nothing great and not the most comforting for spending two days in bed. There was also non-stop construction on nearby Maipu during the days, dogs barking at night, and kids screaming in the hall...a nightmare when you have a pounding headache and can't get out of bed. The room safe was small, but the security was a good comfort. We had no issues with staff; the front desk was very helpful and between their broken English and my broken Spanish, we were able to figure out everything we needed to. We were on the 8th floor, so on top of the uncomfortable and jostling ride up the cramped elevator, we had to climb a set of stairs to the room (not a big deal for us; if you have mobility issues, might be a problem). The breakfast was quite basic: medialunas, tostada, cheese slices, Tang, bad coffee (much better coffee at one of the many cafes in the area). A word on the area...which caused us a lot of stress after booking and before going...you will hear nothing but horror stories about Retiro, the barrio which, technically, this hotel falls into...but they have upgraded many of the streets in this particular area, and is really not the Retiro people will fear-monger you about. Florida is a neat but touristy pedestrian street nearby; there are some cool restaurants within 15 minutes walking distance; and, many of the main Buenos Aires sites are within walking distance (yes, even Recoleta Cemetery; a good 45 minute walk which I recommend). You would probably want to taxi/remise to Palermo, Plaza Serrano, or some of the farther barrios, but you might want to walk with all the meat you will likely be consuming. There are also a number of kioscos on the block, which is helpful for buying water, juice, beer, and suitable snacks for such beverages. Some decent cafes in the surrounding streets, and interesting restaurants (nearby 'Dada' on San Martin was great). There is also a laundrymat about a minute east of the hotel, where for ~45 pesos (as of April 2014) we were able to have the kind lady wash and dry all of our clothes. Anyway, for the price and the location, the hotel is worth considering.

Large apartment, but with an under equipped kitchen. No electric device as boiler, coffee machine, oven, microwave is available. Don't forget your matches or any lighter so that you can heaten some water on the gas for some coffee or tea. This is more or less the best you may be willing to prepare yourself in this kitchen. Fortunately some minimal breakfast is available as it is in any regular hotel... Some heavy duty cleaning would be great once a year to get rid of some old dirt. For the same rate, I went later to some nearby (more luxury) hotel without loosing any service and gaining a much better breakfast.