Hombres,

On my recent trip to Argentina, I did not stay at the Etoile hotel; Instead, I used a free agency called "alojargentina" it translates to "Stay in Argentina". The reason I used them was because I wanted to experience between staying in an AptHotel vs a regular hotel...

I can tell you that the treatment I got was First Class all the way.

They were in charge of my accomodations, transporation and just about anything my heart desired 24hrs a day.

I loved staying at an Apt hotel called Design Suites in Downtown area on Marcelo T. Alvear Blvd. It is very hip and decorated Miami style, so I felt just like home. The concept is simple: give the travelling businessman a concierge to meet all his needs and of course free of charge to the traveller, the hotels they do business with pay them to bring you there. I was also a 3 minute cab ride away from Recoleta and all the chica action.

Anyweay their website is:
www.alojargentinba.com

request a girl named Myrna to help you she is "Da bomb" and will ensure you have all you need to facilitate your stay...BTW, staying at an Apt hotel all gave me the advantage of discretion with chicas...nver a hassle or walk of shame...

Sorry guys, the correct URL for the above is

www.alojargentina.com

FlyGuy,

Miguel, Kleber, Alejandra, Diego, Emilio, and Juan at the Etoile front desk said hi. We were in BA at the same time and I was trying to hook up with you from my posts. Glad to hear you had a great time in Santa Fe. My next trip, I plan to venture out to Mar del Plata and Iguazu with some of my favorites.

My favs invited me to stay at their houses during my next trip, but I don't think that is such a good idea for my mongering activity. It's also hard to beat the suite I had at the Etoile. The Alvear Hotel, near Black, and the Recoleta hotel seem to be really nice too. What was the cost for the Design Suites and did you have any problems taking multiple girls up at the same time? TIA.

Sorry I missed you Sakebomb,

I see you met some of my fans at Etoile ~grin...very nice people indeed. The Design suites are excellent, and I was complimented on the Miami style decorations each time a Chica walked to my room. I never had a problem, and I use to bring 7 girls at a time often to have party! You are the king at Design Suites and what you want, you get. As a matter of fact I am thinking of staying here vs etoile from now on. It was that good!

BTW, I payed USD 140/night including taxes..it was well worth it..the decorations in your room are top notch! The service, First class.

Thanks Fly. They are very nice people indeed. I haven't gotten a refusal for any requests. On my last two nights at the Etoile, Diego, Emilio, Miguel, and Alejandra sent me two bottle of champanges out of their own pockets. My favorites and I were really touched by their actions. Miguel told me they are earning 600pesos/month working there. That's about 194us/mo. Most of them are living in the provincias which are an hour to two hours train or collectivos rides. Man, life is really tough for them.

I changed my departure date 4 different times and they had to pay for the guests who were supposed to stay in my room 2 different times at the Hotel Francia at 60us/day. They really went out of their ways to make me feel at home so it would be really hard not to be with them on my next visit.

Also Fly, on my last night, two of my favorites took me to a discotheque pronounced "Cchis". It's a pure gay and lesbo club. Gay dudes didn't harrass me here so I felt safe. I went because my chicks wanted me to have a festival with regular club gals and them on my last night. They picked up a brunette and a blonde after several rounds of whiskeys and tequillas. (They were delivering Johnny Walker black label at 9pesos/pop, compared to 50pesos/pop at Black, so it was really hard to refuse.) We all headed back to my suite for a grand finale. The blonde threw up and passed out so she missed the action...or I missed out on her flavor.

Also, you may want to check out discotheque Asia de Cuba in Puerto Madero. Great place. BA's models and television people go there. The hosteses and waitresses are hot too.

Flyguy or Sakebomb,

Were the ATM's working when you left BA, or were they all closed down.

Thanks

Moondog,

ATM's were a headache for me. You were only allowed to withdraw cash from 4:00Pm to midnight not before, and 1000 pesos was your limit.I simply hit two ATMs and withdrew 2000 pesos every night or as needed, but again make sure you do not plan on visting any ATM during business hours...NO CASH!!

BTW, you can imagine the line for ATM's at 4:00PM. I simply waited til about 8:00PM and had no problem..Citibank,to my surprise, never had cash anytime..my best bet was Banco Frances..I usually got cash from them between 8-11PM.

ATM alternative. If you are not from Argentina, and have an American Express card, you can go to the AE office across Plaza San Martin from Calle Florida, and get travelers checks in dollars. When I was in BA in April, I got some money this way, and the lines were not long. Of course, not everyone in BA takes travels checks, but at least y ou can use them in Rio, or back in the US if you do not give them away in BA.
CP

Credit cards work in most hotels also, and you get the daily rate for converting Pesos to Dollars.

Flyguy and Canonperdido, thanks for the info.

Visa worked perfectly. I told the guys, Miguel & Diego, at the Etoile front desk to call me if he sees a good xrate. He called when it hit 3.2pesos-1dollar. I came down to pay my up-to-date portion of my bills, 745USD. I made his day with a 20pesos note. Remember, these guys are making 600pesos/month. The last portion was at 3.1-1. Not too bad.

I bought a tons of custom made silk shirts at Mancini store at the Alta Palorma shopping center at 85pesos-110pesos/pop. The same shirts run about 200-250USD/pop at US stores. They ran the xrate at 3-1, slid my VISA through, and individually wrapped my shirts. All 1st class services.

I found a lady, mom&pop shop, who would custom made your shirts for 35pesos/pop, but you would have to bring your own fabrics. Depend on the fabrics, it would run you an extra 10-15pesos max. What a deal. Nothing feels like putting on a custom made shirt, pants, and suits. Well, unless you're being naked with your favorites in a jacuzzi suite.

I love looking under the covers when she is sleeping and seeing her beautiful, curved, naked body. Love it.

Sakebomb: Custom made silk shirts ? How many days ? I get mine when I visit HKG, maybe next time I get to EZE I'll keep that in mind.

Had a mixed experience w/ Alojargentina, but I'll wait a little to see what kind of response I get.

Pickup went smoothly and Design Suites was very nice, however, the driver charged me pickup and return up front and didn't show up for the return to the airport. Front desk called and he claimed the car was broken, but he'd have another driver come. Of course, no other driver showed and his phone went dead after that.

Citydude, sorry didn't see your question 'til now, but a custom made shirt takes them 3-4days to make. They would put you at the priority if you have many made. I would buy tons of your choice of fabrics from the USA then bring them there for them to pull out their magics.

Mancini store at the Alta Palorma shopping center has tons of already made shirts. They fit perfectly, but will hem the sleeves for you by the next day if needed.

I would suggest when using this reservation service that one be most careful.

These people will make a reservation for you, but if you ever want to change reservation from place to another, there is a good chance that you will loose your deposit.

I booked an apartment with these people about 2 weeks ago. Last Wednesday, I wrote them asking to change the apartment I rented to a hotel.

They told me that I could not because I had to provide them with a two week notice to change.

Now in all fairness they may have told me that I needed to provide them with a two week cancellation notice, but I did not read it.

I have used their service before so I thought there would not be any problem.

Well, I decided if they were going to be that way, I did not want to do business with them. I was not out that much.

I have told them to find someone else to rent the room to.

I cancelled one week in advance, and it took them three days to get back to me.

I suggest that because of their slow responses, and minding the fine print too much to a previous customer, that they just do not care if you do any further business from me.

I made my reservation next week throught orbitz, and I can cancell up until 6 PM AR time on the day of the reservation.

If others of you have had good luck with them, great, but as a previous customer, and one the plans to make more visits to BA, I think these people were stretching their rules just a little to far to cover their own ass.

CP