Palacio Duhau - Park Hyatt Buenos Aires

The dinner at the Piano Salon was a total disappointment. It was chaotic, with nobody clearly in charge, and we couldn’t tell who to ask for a table on the veranda. We waited 15 minutes despite the restaurant being nearly empty, and several other guests gave up and left. The food wasn’t worth the wait: bland, with beef full of fat and gristle. The view was lovely but couldn’t make up for the problems. Breakfast was good and fresh, though the buffet selection was narrower than at similar hotels. The setting elsewhere is beautiful. We had a spacious suite in the original building, with windows on two sides opening onto the garden and treetops. The hotel’s structure and fittings are superb, and the interior decor feels carefully done. Even the artwork in the basement was incredible. The garden joining the two buildings is exquisite. Reception was excellent, as was the butler assigned to suite guests. The text line was usually answered promptly. The gym is beautifully appointed, with French doors and picture windows looking over a small courtyard with European decor, but it needs more space. It felt cramped, with guests and their trainers taking up much of the room. It’s a great hotel in the right neighborhood, and definitely one of the top places to stay in Buenos Aires.

The view over the gardens and palace really carries the experience, and the service was very nice. Breakfast was good, though not great. What I ordered varied from day to day in both quality and what came with it. I stayed for seven days, so I got a decent sample. I booked with points through a Guest of Honor redemption. The room felt like something from a mid-level hotel, with no special amenities, and a few things were odd or didn’t work, including a lamp and the bathroom door setup. They put almost everyone in the modern building, which is much less exciting than the palace. It was a letdown if you don’t know that in advance. The most inexcusable issue was the Wi-Fi. For a luxury hotel, it was atrocious and couldn’t support a Zoom call. I lost three business meetings because of it. A $20 Airbnb has better internet. If you get to breakfast early, you can tell they reuse the previous day’s juice. It tasted sour and fermented, and seemed to be covered up with a lot of ice. The only milk option was skim. Those little things just don’t fit the luxury label. Since I used points, it was fun to check this one off the list. If I’d been paying $1,800 a night, though, I’d have felt seriously shortchanged.

I was here for just two nights on a business trip and didn’t get to try the restaurants. The rooms are nice, in the usual Park Hyatt style, though they may need an update in the next few years. It’s a lovely luxury hotel in Buenos Aires’ Recoleta district. The beautiful Palacio Duhau building, nearly 100 years old, is a big part of its appeal.

The gardens bring a rare bit of calm to the heart of Recoleta, and the spa and wellness facilities make for a peaceful retreat. Palacio Duhau combines the restored palace with a contemporary tower beautifully, with elegant, thoughtfully designed spaces that are impeccably kept. The service standards are consistently high, and the location and timeless feel make it one of Buenos Aires’ most sophisticated luxury hotels. Highly recommended for a visit to the city.