Vain Boutique Hotel

My family, including myself, husband and two young daughters, my mother, my brother, his wife and two daughters all visited Buenos Aires this August for a family wedding, staying a little over two weeks. After some research we all booked at the wonderful Vain Boutique Hotel.

We were delighted with our stay. The rooms were a very comfortable size (even with a 5 and two year old!) and they were decorated in a sleek modern style that felt both upscale and livable. The staff was always there for us, offering advice, directions and useful suggestions. We even had an, um, incident, with our two-year-old in the middle of the night and needed a change of sheets. They came up and took care of us even though we were practically too tired to stand. Plus, the breakfasts were first rate! Fresh, wonderful fruit, delicious strong coffee and rich hot chocolate for the kids. Great egg dishes and a mouth watering assortment of breads and pastries. Also, a nice plus is the breakfast ran into the late morning so no rushing especially with little ones.

This hotel felt like one of those rare, great finds that you almost don't want to tell folks about in fear that it will get too crowded. However, anyone traveling to Buenos Aires, whether a couple or a family, can feel very confident choosing this great accommodation for their stay.

Unique Quality: This hotel features lovely rooms and a beautiful lounge with adjacent outdoor rooftop patio. We visited in the winter and we were still able to enjoy the lovely outdoor patio as the high walls kept the temperature moderate.

Directions: Palermo

I had a very bad experience in this place (I can't call it "hotel").

I've been there with my girlfriend and when we arrived we couldn't believe we were paying about 200 USD for such a place. The room was ridiculous small and it had no windows, no natural light at all, no shelves, no local air conditioned, no privacy... It was very noisy (a strange bird starts to sing extremely loud at 6AM and the cleaning staff starts to work at 7AM) and the bed was very small too (it was more appropriated for just one person). It’s dirty and you can even find some cockroaches in the floor.

The staff was not professional at all. They were always very impolite (they seem to be doing you a favor when they talk to you). They were always unavailable. Even for leaving the building we had to wait for several minutes for someone from the hotel, because we had no other way to open the door that gives access to the street!

Breakfast was not the buffet kind and we had to ask several times for coffee, fruit, bread... Things were coming very slowly and in ridiculous small portions... There’s a very heavy atmosphere among the breakfast tables, since all the guests seem to be very annoyed with the rooms they got (I heard some comments) and with the unfriendly treatment they receive from the staff.

Before and during my stay, I tried to contact the hotel several times by phone but the only answer I got was an answer machine saying silly things about "boutique hotel" that made me waste a lot of money without reaching any of the results I wanted.

The beautiful photos you can see on the website are very far from reality. That’s not what you find when you reach the place. The word “universe” (from “Vainuniverse”) makes you think that this place belongs to the “Universe Chain” (to witch belongs the Hotel Faena) – but it doesn’t! This place belongs to no chain at all – and perhaps this can explain the lack of professionalism.

There are many other options that I visited in the area and all of them are by far better.

The night we arrived, we said to Mr. Blaz, at the front desk, that we wanted to change room. There was a room with a small window available, but we were told that the only person in the world that could allow the change of room was Julieta Vince. Anyway, Mr. Blas "was not allowed" to contact Miss Julieta that night. Since he didn't want to contact her, I personally sent her a mail, explaining that if that was the room they had for me, I wouldn’t stay at that place any longer. I didn't get any answer from her for two days. I also left several messages at the front desk, but I never got an answer.

When Julieta was finally available, at my request to speak with her, she tried to speak with me by phone... I refused that and only then she showed up to speak with me personally. She offered me an unacceptable offer (sleeping one more night at that "prison cell" and then change to a room with a small window). I said I wanted to leave. After some discussion and no excuses at all, the manager was called (that was the first time I heard about this “manager”) but all I got from him was paying an extra night of penalty for leaving earlier!...

Before that, however, he tried to convince us to stay offering us a glass of wine and some “tapas” to “compensate” us for any inconveniences. Can you believe such a nonsense and impoliteness?!

Directions: Palermo Soho