If you haven’t entered any dates, the rate shown is provided directly by the hotel and represents the cheapest double room (including tax) available in the next 60 days.
Prices have been converted from the hotel’s local currency (USD217.08), via openexchangerates.org, using today’s exchange rate.
Sitting pretty in the Recoleta barrio, Hotel Casa Lucia, originally modeled on a lighthouse, is poised for a soigné city stay in the Argentine capital. There are plenty of interior details to get design lovers cooing with delight (sweeping Parisian ceilings, checked flooring that would have Beth Harmon strategising, and Argentinian-inspired artwork), but there’s more than just an appetite for style: food is where this haute hideaway shines. Locally inspired dishes are concocted with the freshest ingredients and paired with Argentine vintages, for dinners happily rounded off with a ramble around the Calle Arroyo.
Noon, and check-out is at 3pm. Both are flexible, on request and subject to availability.
Prices
Double rooms from £210.34 ($263), including tax at 21 per cent. Please note the hotel charges an additional local city tax of $1.50 per person per night on check-out.
More details
Rates include a buffet breakfast.
Also
One of the Executive Suites has been adapted with an accessible bathroom and widened entryways, and the lobby is wheelchair-friendly.
At the hotel
Concierge, and free WiFi throughout. In rooms: TV with Chromecast, air-conditioning, minibar, tea- and coffee-making kit, free bottled water, bathrobes, hairdryer, and custom bath products.
Our favourite rooms
Rooms are refined, with calming interiors, earthy tones, and contemporary artwork by Cristián Mohaded. But when you’re staying in what was once Latin America’s tallest building, it only seems right to bag the rooms with the best views; and here, that’s the Suite Tower. As its name hints at, these sprawling suites are set in the hotel’s peak, with elegant interiors and a private furnished terrace that makes for particularly scenic sunsets.
Poolside
The spa’s 16-meter infinity pool is primed for leisurely laps and pre-sauna soaks.
Spa
Book into the terracotta-toned spa for lavender-infused massages and deep tissue treatments. Exercise buffs can find their solace at the gym (open from 7am to 9pm), which is decked out with Life Fitness equipment and has personal trainers available for private sessions.
Packing tips
Leave enough space for the boutique finds you’re bound to stumble across in Recoleta, but otherwise light and loose linens are all you’ll need (and perhaps a poncho if you’re coming during the wetter months).
Also
A butler is available to help you unpack or pack, at no extra charge.
Children
Little Smiths are welcome, but there aren’t any special facilities in place to keep them entertained.
If you’re looking for a little privacy, ask staff to guide you to one of Cantina’s hidden dining rooms.
Dress Code
An Evita-approved wardrobe of sharp tailoring and vintage tea dresses will serve you well here.
Hotel restaurant
Modish monochrome interiors teamed with polo memorabilia, give Cantina its polished good looks. Overseeing Cantina’s culinary credentials, chef Julian del Pino focuses on local flavors and traditions – so expect plenty of asado, all cooked up with ingredients from Argentininian producers. If you’d rather savor something a little lighter, tapas-style sharing plates and sweet treats are served at moody-hued lounge spot, Le Club Bacan.
Hotel bar
Cocktails at casually cool Le Club Bacan, where the lounge chairs are as low as the lighting, are split by the classic and more creative, so pick from timeless old fashioneds and nippitate negronis or sample something a little more outré, say a strawberry-infused gin and tonic or dulce-de-leche-topped espresso martini.
Last orders
Breakfast is served at Cantina from 7am to 11am, lunch is 12.30pm to 2.30pm, and dinner is 7pm to 10pm. Le Club Bacan is open between 11am and 2am (food is served from noon till 11pm).
Room service
Dishes can be delivered to your door round-the-clock.
Hotel Casa Lucia rests in the center of Recoleta, an upmarket neighborhood in the north of Buenos Aires.
Planes
Most international flights have layovers in Rio or São Paulo before touching down at Buenos Aires’ Jorge Newbery Airport, which is a 15-minute drive from the hotel. Staff can arrange private transfers at extra cost.
Trains
Retiro train station is a 10-minute walk away from the hotel and has metro routes around the city, as well as longer-distance links to some of Argentina’s other cities (including Córdoba, Tucumán and Rosario).
Automobiles
You won’t need a car to get around the city, but if you’re planning on exploring further afield, there are plenty of rental booths at the airport and the hotel has a private carpark.
Worth getting out of bed for
Hotel Casa Lucia puts you right in the leafy center of upmarket Recoleta, and its rows of boutiques are a great place to start your pottering. Once you’ve sifted through luxury threads, there are more shops to browse in the historic barrio of San Telmo; and on Sundays, its spirited Feria de San Telmo market brings out the bartering best in locals.
Cultural highlights include the 19th-century Recoleta Cemetery, where rows of marble mausoleums attract crowds and former First Lady Eva Perón’s legacy is honored in an equally grand bronze tomb (and at Museo Evita, if you’re looking to learn more). Rembrandt, Van Gogh and Monet are just a few of the famed names that grace the hallowed halls of Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes on Avenue del Libertador, and Museo de Arte Español Enrique Larreta takes on a Spanish spin with Renaissance and Baroque artwork and an impressive selection of colonial artifacts. Pastel-hued Casa Rosada is packed with stories of Argentina’s presidential past, and the Teatro Colón has a noteworthy domed fresco ceiling and gilded interiors.
Local restaurants
Flirty and French interiors set the scene at Fervor, where menus feature grilled goods and steak every which way, paired with rich Malbecs and served to sultry red booths. Grab-and-go dishes don’t have to compromise on taste, and the oven-baked empanadas at unassuming La Cocina have been wowing crowds and locals alike for over 40 years. Set in a dimly-lit space that heightens the senses, Aramburu Restaurante brings culinary refinement to Recoleta, with an impressive 18-course tasting menu from renowned chef Gonzalo Aramburu.
Local bars
Fittingly named after Argentina’s love for all things polo (with decor to match its equestrian ethos), Pony Line serves freshly fried burgers and shakes up a lengthy list of craft cocktails. Reaching Florería Atlántico isn’t exactly simple, but once you’ve seen through its flower-shop façade and wandered through its antique underground entrance, owner Renato Giovanni’s speakeasy-style world is quick to impress. Spotlit walls are hand-painted with mystical designs, homemade spirits lay the foundation for creative cocktails, and ingredients are all locally and sustainably sourced – Renato has even worked with local historians to ensure every corner of his bar pays homage to Argentina’s indigenous communities.
Every hotel featured is visited personally by members of our team, given the Smith seal of approval, and then anonymously reviewed. As soon as our reviewers have returned from this stylish stay in the Argentinian capital and unpacked their bottles of Malbec and raffish Recolata finds, a full account of their cosmopolitan break will be with you. In the meantime, to whet your wanderlust, here's a quick peek inside Hotel Casa Lucia in Buenos Aires…
Ritzy Recoleta beams with Parisian maisons and bijou boutiques, and Hotel Casa Lucia is blending in beautifully. Set in the former Edificio Mihanovic building – which was once Latin America’s tallest, and was originally designed to replicate a beckoning lighthouse – hotel renovations shine a light on the original sweeping views of the Rio de la Plata brilliantly. Some rooms are graced with spacious, sun-soaked terraces and others have wondrously wide windows that gaze over the barrio’s leafy streets. Elsewhere, contemporary artwork courtesy of local creatives (including Cristán Mohaded and Cristina Codern) brings touches of the city’s storied spirit to French-inspired interiors. And a sprawling spa sports reposeful treatment rooms and an infinity pool that’s flanked with mirrored panels. You’ll find the warm welcome and expert local knowledge of hotel staff is impressive, too.
