Faena Hotel Buenos Aires

I was hit with a blast of cool air as I walked through the grand doors of the Hotel Faena Buenos Aires – I exhaled a sigh of relief. My fiancée and I had arrived in Argentina's capital after a week in Uruguay's rustic beach paradise of Jose Ignacio, Uruguay. As charming as that paradise was, it didn't have air conditioning and so this first impression of the Faena was especially welcome.

Two butlers (that's right: two) escorted us up to our suite after a most pleasant check-in experience, and a bottle of private-label Faena wine was there waiting for us on the bright red lacquered banquette. (We expect to see lots of red here – Philippe Starck is the hotel’s designer, which means that his signature splashes of crimson are found everywhere).

Our dynamic duo demonstrated the room’s numerous buttons and gadgets to turn on and off the lights. One butler then directed our attention to the rectangular entertainment stand composed of decorative mirrors, and with a magician's flourish he spun this piece around to reveal a single mirror perfectly positioned right in front of the bed. Interesting. 

Continuing with the reflecting-glass theme, the ensuite was encased in floor-to-ceiling mirrors (not my favorite design motif), but one that could easily be forgiven as the bathroom held the most inviting freestanding bath tub I’ve ever seen. But first things first: we collapsed on the big king-size bed and napped in the cranking cool air.

The hotel is set in the revived Puerto Madero neighborhood, an ideal playground for a chef, we discovered, as we strolled along the restaurant-lined Río de la Plata walkway. We kicked-off our gastronomic tour at the Peruvian/Japanese restaurant Osaka for an ambitious meal of Kobe beef, fried rice and a sea of sushi. We vowed we’d skip breakfast the next day.

A promise we couldn’t keep though, and we woke up with nothing but the buffet on our minds. I generally find that hotel breakfast buffets overwhelm with options. Faena however, got it just right with their spread of meats and cheeses, fresh fruits and pastries, a hanging honeycomb with fresh honey, eggs, sausage and potatoes.

Our attentive server Sebastian warmly called us by name and delivered traditional Argentinian breakfast items to our table without us even asking. In fact, when Sebastian learned that we’d be departing before the traditional Argentinian barbecue on the final day of our stay, he brought us a sampler plate of meat at breakfast. Who doesn’t love sweetbreads before 11 am?

At some point on every vacation, Ms Smith suggests that we do some touristy thing: see historic sights, visit museums or explore local neighborhoods. True to her travel style, she unfurled a map during breakfast, but all I could think about were the lounge chairs next to the placid pool with that giant gold crown at its center. I hinted that perhaps the gilded headpiece be the first piece of local ‘art’ we study.

We arrived at a very happy compromise, and for the next few days we fell into a relaxing rhythm of morning yoga, followed by breakfast, pooltime and city exploration in the afternoon. We’d return in the early evening for bonus pool time before dressing for dinner. The sun doesn’t set until after 8.30 in the summer (we were there in January) and dinner is late, so you can pack a lot into the long days.

As a chef, I am always looking to be inspired by a single taste, a creative dish or even a painting on the wall, and Buenos Aires appealed to all of my culinary senses. I knew to expect high quality with the Argentine emphasis on grass-fed beef and the wealth of fresh ingredients grown locally, but the level of cooking and presentation was a delight to discover.

Our evening at Tegui, in the trendy Palmero district, now stands as one of my top five favorite meals of all time. Germán Martitegui, the chef and owner, creates art on every plate while still honoring the true texture and taste of each ingredient. I am old fashioned in that I want food to taste and look like food, and chef Martitegui did a perfect job of combining molecular gastronomy with honest, delicious cooking.

Another fantastic restaurant was La Cabrera by Chef Gastón Riveira. In a city full of steakhouses, this one truly is the star. We had a bone-in rib eye that was perfectly cooked and presented on a long wooden board accompanied by tangy pickles, house-made sauces and creative sides.

We did indulge in something touristy one night and made a reservation for the hotel’s Rojo Tango show. It’s pretty pricey per person (it does include dinner, though), but well worth it just to spend time in the glamorous rococo-style theater. Plus, the performers were certainly much better than anything I’d painfully witnessed on Dancing With the Stars.

We never like to see a vacation come to an end, but it was particularly difficult to pull ourselves away from the fabulous Faena and beautiful Buenos Aires (so much so that we extended our stay by a few nights). Not to worry though, I’ve decided that I must come back to Buenos Aires every year, if only for that bath tub …