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Left Boutique Home Hotel in Palermo Right Cabaña Las Lilas restaurant<br />
Accommodation & Dining Tips<br />
! Choosing Hotel<br />
Locations<br />
Microcentro offers<br />
proximity to the main<br />
shopping district, but can<br />
be crowded by day and<br />
seedy at night. Upscale<br />
districts Recoleta and<br />
Puerto Madero, close to<br />
the city center, are quieter,<br />
and more pleasant<br />
alternatives. Both have<br />
several luxury hotels, and<br />
Recoleta also has excellent<br />
mid-range options.<br />
Both San Telmo and<br />
Palermo Viejo have good<br />
boutique-hotel and B&B<br />
options. For history, try<br />
San Telmo, and for proximity<br />
to shopping and<br />
dining, Palermo Viejo.<br />
Seasonal Demand<br />
@ The high season is<br />
July–August with several<br />
national holidays and<br />
winter school vacations.<br />
Easy availability of rooms<br />
and cheap rates are<br />
possible January–<br />
February, when porteños<br />
escape to coastal resorts<br />
and business travel slows<br />
to a near halt.<br />
£ Rack Rates<br />
The rack rates provided<br />
in this book are for<br />
the high season and aim<br />
at providing a guide<br />
price. However, it is<br />
possible to get a better<br />
deal as rates vary according<br />
to season, time of<br />
week, length of stay, and<br />
how you make your<br />
reservation. Sales tax, at<br />
a whopping 21 percent<br />
in Argentina, should be<br />
included in a hotel’s<br />
quoted rate, but doublecheck<br />
when booking.<br />
Hotel rates quoted in this<br />
guide include tax.<br />
$ Longer-Stay<br />
Options<br />
Several agencies specialize<br />
in short- and longterm<br />
rentals of furnished<br />
apartments. <strong>Buenos</strong><br />
<strong>Aires</strong> Travel Rent and<br />
<strong>Buenos</strong> <strong>Aires</strong> Stay each<br />
have over <strong>10</strong>0 apartments<br />
to rent. d <strong>Buenos</strong><br />
<strong>Aires</strong> Travel Rent: 4371-<br />
2424; www.buenosaires<br />
travelrent.com • <strong>Buenos</strong><br />
<strong>Aires</strong> Stay: 5365-0238;<br />
www.buenosairesstay.com<br />
% Traveling with<br />
Kids<br />
Most hotels allow children<br />
under 12 to stay with<br />
their parents free of<br />
charge by adding a bed<br />
to a double room or arranging<br />
a triple room with<br />
double and single beds.<br />
^ Restaurant<br />
Reservations<br />
Book ahead when dining<br />
out in <strong>Buenos</strong> <strong>Aires</strong>,<br />
especially on weekends.<br />
Give one or two days’<br />
notice, rising to three or<br />
four for the exclusive<br />
restaurants. If asked for<br />
a number when making a<br />
reservation, your hotel<br />
number should suffice.<br />
Meal Times & Porteños stop for<br />
lunch around 1pm, dip<br />
into a café for coffee and<br />
pastries around 5pm, and<br />
then have a late evening<br />
meal at around 9–<strong>10</strong>pm,<br />
and as late as 11pm on<br />
weekends. Accordingly,<br />
restaurants open noon–<br />
4pm and 8pm–1am.<br />
Kitchens stop taking<br />
orders an hour prior to<br />
closing time.<br />
* The Menu<br />
and Ordering<br />
Increasingly, menus are<br />
written in both Spanish<br />
and English. If you don’t<br />
understand an item, just<br />
ask a waiter. Many restaurants<br />
have “executive<br />
menus” aimed at the<br />
lunchtime crowd and<br />
featuring a three-course<br />
meal and a drink at a<br />
fixed price. In steakhouses,<br />
ask for your<br />
steak to come jugoso<br />
(rare), a punto (mediumrare),<br />
or bien cocido (well<br />
-done). For wines, ask for<br />
either vino tinto (red) or<br />
vino blanco (white).<br />
( Dress Codes<br />
Though most restaurants<br />
do not enforce<br />
dress codes, many diners<br />
choose to dress well for<br />
a night at upscale<br />
restaurants. Some<br />
nightclubs will not<br />
permit entrance if you<br />
wear sneakers.<br />
) Tipping<br />
Tipping in the city is<br />
in proportion with most<br />
other cities. Hotel porters<br />
are given a propina (tip)<br />
of around US$1–2. For<br />
the waiting staff in hotel<br />
restaurants tip <strong>10</strong>–15<br />
percent of the bill. On<br />
checking out, leave a tip<br />
for the maids.<br />
For more on the best restaurants in <strong>Buenos</strong> <strong>Aires</strong> See pp56–7.<br />
Streetsmart 111
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