The website and the brochures from this hotel make it look much more luxurious than it actually is. However, it is a clean, comfortable place to stay and in a good neighborhood. Check out their website at http://www.hotelrecoleta.com.ar/index.html

In March 2003, the rooms cost 50 pesos per night (less than US$20), but they only take cash. The rooms have air-conditioning, but you must call the front desk to have it turned on and off -- there's no thermostat. There is also a ceiling fan and cable TV in Spanish. The bathroom is small and lacks a shower curtain, so everything gets wet when you shower.

The windows have Italian-style roll-down wooden shutters that block nearly all light from entering the room, so it's possible to sleep very late in the day if there's no noise. The hotel tends to be noisy in the morning because of the thin doors and narrow hallways. If you get up early anyway, this would be a nice place to stay, but I'm a night person who went out to nightclubs often and the noise became too bothersome.

The hotel is on a very quiet street with absolutely no traffic. Nothing was ever missing from my room and they have a safe at the reception desk for valuables. The employees at the front desk all spoke basic English and were very helpful. The hotel serves free breakfast from 7am to 11am. There were two elevators. The checkout time is 10am.

After staying here for a week, I decided to try Hotel Principe, which I liked better.