Description: The Faena Hotel & Universe (445 Martha Salotti, Puerto Madero Este) is an ultra chic and trendy boutique hotel and residential complex. Designed by Phillipe Starck, the hotel sports an idiosyncratic design with dark polished mahogany, and a thumping techno soundtrack in the background. It is a member of The Leading Hotels of the World.
The Faena is on the hot new eastern edge of town: the docks of Puerto Madero East. Alan Faena, a youngish local fashion designer, successfully turned his forward thinking from predicting the next fashion craze to predicting the next real estate craze. Situated along the Rio Plate and with an ecological preserve in its backyard, Puerto Madero Este was an abandoned port area. Faena purchased two old brick grain warehouses, the only two in the area, and converted them into the cultural heart of a now chic neighborhood. Now construction cranes surround up and coming office and condo complexes.
Doing its part to highlight the finest of Argentine culture, El Mercado in Faena is a richly designed restaurant that seamlessly blends brick walls with mahogany bordering and hutches. Gather a large party of friends and sit at the central banquet table. This table is framed by a fileteado, which is a type of Argentine drawing that features flowered, climbing plants and was traditionally used on buses and other public places. This artistic style is unique to Buenos Aires. Much of the homemade food at El Mercado is made in an earthen adobe oven in traditional cantina style.
After dinner at El Mercado, have a drink at the Library Lounge and marvel at the gazelle heads mounted on the walls, the shapely silver candle holders, and one very special piano. “This is the best piano in all of Argentina,” said Florencia Vrljicak of the giant black beauty. “Not even the Colon Theatre has a piano as good as this one.”
If you don’t want leave the building for a night on the town, the Universe has you covered. Head to El Teatro to for a superb tango show with as many as 15 artists and a live band. El Cabaret performance space features champagne, a cigar bar and a revolving door of fine musical acts from around the world.
When it comes to Phillipe Starck style, the Faena is a masterpiece. Red curtains shrouding the rooms’ windows, plentiful mirrors (Starck is a huge fan of mirrors), and glass encased bathrooms are the hallmark of the in-room design.
Close