Buenos Aires: the Tango Festival by Byron Browne

So states an older man, his wife on his arm, who is standing outside the Gran Café Tortoni, Buenos Aires’ oldest café (founded 1858). The café is only one of the dozens of locations that host the annual Tango Festival, ten days are filled with music, dancing and even cinematic competitions. Buenos Aires, the “Paris of South America”, becomes the proud host of festivities celebrating the dance and music that has made it famous around the world.

Visitors to Buenos Aires will undoubtedly be excited to visit those local icons like the Teatro Colón, the opera house, or the city’s Zoológico, established in 1875, in the famous Palermo barrio. The Plaza de Mayo certainly would be included on anyone’s itinerary but, it is the lure of the Tango, with its attendant sensuousness and mystery that travelers to Buenos Aires are most eager to be involved with. To accommodate such interest, many of the city’s cafes and theatres participate in dance contests and exhibitions, orchestras that specialize in the tango and vals and milongas (variations on the tango theme) play continually to accompany dancers in the bars, theatres and the streets. Indeed, the whole of Buenos Aires gives itself to celebrating this most sexual of dances during the festival.

Buenos Aires has become, due in some ways to similarities with its European cousin, a favorite destination for tourists wanting a slight change of pace. With a stronger euro, reaching the South American continent has become a little easier of late.

Resting in the solitude of the Las Canitas district, near the famous Barrio Palermo lies Tailor Made hotel – petite and unique, with just 5 rooms. That’s right, 5 rooms only. However, each is extraordinary, resembling a scene from a James Bond film more than a hotel residence. The amenities are plentiful. Computers (the hotel proudly declares - Apple) are installed in each suite; the flat screen television doubling as cpu. A full bar is on site and Novecento, a trendy, New York bistro-style restaurant frequented by young Porteños, is next door.

Sofitel Buenos Aires is much larger, more a luxury resort than boutique hotel. Make no mistake, you could stay here a week and still not enjoy all the amenities that are offered. Providing 159 rooms, three of which are bungalows, the resort has an 18-hole golf course, tennis courts and a football field. The hotel boasts a spa, four pools (one is indoor/heated), a library, meeting rooms and, yes, four bowling lanes. The restaurant’s menu displays fare more aligned with French cuisine than standard Argentinean steak house.

The Claridge, located in the center of the city, advertises itself as an international hotel. From the “British bar” that serves a high tea in the afternoon to the “American breakfast buffet” each morning, the hotel delivers on its promise. The sauna and outdoor heated pool will only augment an already memorable experience.

The Faena Hotel and Universe seems to be an entity from an alternate reality. This place is wild. Swan-headed faucets, claw-footed beds and unicorn heads on the wall of the bistro give the appearance that some slightly inebriated hunter went on an expedition through a Lewis Carroll book and brought home trophies. The Faena has the standard amenities of the excessive-sauna, outdoor pool, Turkish bath and spa. However, the rooftop Farmer’s Market, the cabaret (which stages a rather prurient production) and theatre are not your ordinary staples for a hotel. Feeling overwhelmed by the selections and amenities? No need - the Faena provides your very own "Experience Manager" who will guide you not only through the undulating space of the hotel proper but is also armed with whatever tools and/or weaponry you might need for a night on the town.

There are, in Buenos Aires, about 20 boutique hotels but few have the charm of Krista. And as so many have observed, with only 10 rooms the century old mansion feels as if you’re staying at your (wealthy) grandmother’s home. So many have mentioned this because, it is unquestionably true. The owners of Krista’s, during their renovations, only augmented the property’s splendor. The marble floor, original wood trim and claw-footed baths are still as attractive today as when the home belonged to President Juan Perón’s personal physician.

Hotel Legado Mitico is located in the Palermo Soho district of Buenos Aires. Each of the eleven rooms draws its visage and ethos from a particular Latino personality. La Contestataria is the cartoon, Mafalda’s space and framed stills of her character hang in the bed and bathrooms. Another, El Idealista, is dedicated to Che Guevara. The now iconic photograph of his profile is placed, somewhat ominously, above the fireplace and stares down onto the king-sized bed, inspiring waking guests to greatness.