Review - Panamericano Hotel, Buenos Aires

Smudge · October 27, 2012

I spent one night pre-cruise here in 2011 and was far from impressed.

From the outside the hotel is grey and uninspiring to look at. It used to be part of the Crowne Plaza group and it showed that the maintenance had dipped since leaving the group quite badly.

My first impression was a dowdy old lady that was once quite a beauty...marble floors that are chipped, lights that either flicker or don't work, mismatched furnishings in the public areas and rooms and just a general feeling of lack of love given to the building.

Location wise its not too bad, just over the road from the Opera House and Obelisk...but be aware that the traffic outside is murderous 24 hours a day. There is also a problem with pickpockets too, so be aware of where you are at all times.

My biggest bugbear was arriving after a 22 hour flight at 10am and being told that I had to wait til 3pm for a room...not acceptable in what was a highly recommended hotel for air travellers who just want a shower and sleep after a long flight. After intervention from Costa Crociere representatives everyone magically got rooms immediately. Departing the hotel was also a shambles....a definite case of couldn't organise a drinking session in a brewery came to mind. The hotel staff asked all 1900 pax to place the cases into a room...fine except there are 3 coaches all leaving at different times and the hotel did not seperate the cases into their groupings despite the cases being labelled into groups to make it easy for them to seperate them.

The best part of my stay (apart from getting out the door) was the breakfast buffet...superb...huge choice or hot & cold dishes, beautifully presented and freshly made. Could not fault that part at all.

My recommendation would be to use this hotel if no other was available.