Alvear Palace Hotel

I’ll be honest — I’m not usually mistaken for royalty, a European dignitary or a Hollywood celebrity. But after five nights at the Alvear Palace Hotel in Buenos Aires, I certainly got to experience what it must feel like! I stayed here with my girlfriend in February 2026, booking a Junior Suite, and from the moment we arrived, it was clear that this is a hotel that does classic luxury exceptionally well. The Alvear Palace opened its doors in 1932 after taking an incredible ten years to build. Originally designed to welcome Buenos Aires’ elite European travellers, it has since hosted royalty, dignitaries and celebrities and is now officially recognised as a historical monument. And you can see why. Think Louis XIV and Louis XVI décor, marble everywhere, chandeliers, polished finishes and an unmistakable old-world grandeur. This is not minimalist, stripped-back luxury — this is the sort of hotel where you half expect someone to arrive with a silver tray and ask whether you'd like your crown polished. Our Junior Suite Our Junior Suite was an excellent choice for a five-night stay, particularly because it gave us plenty of space to spread out. The separate living area included a TV and a dedicated desk, which was particularly useful if you need to get some work done without disturbing someone who is still enjoying their beauty sleep! The bedroom itself was elegant and comfortable, while the bathroom was suitably grand, with twin basins, a separate bath and a separate shower. The toilet is also in the bathroom rather than being in its own separate room. Despite all the traditional styling, the hotel hasn't forgotten about modern travellers. The TV supported Netflix, which was a nice touch — proof that you can admire Louis XIV-style interiors while watching something completely ridiculous on Netflix afterwards! Storage was also excellent. There were wardrobes in both the bedroom and living room, so there was no need for the usual hotel-room game of "How can we fit all our clothes into one tiny cupboard?" An iron and ironing board were also provided, which is always appreciated. Breakfast Fit for Royalty Breakfast was one of the highlights. It’s served in a gorgeous glass-domed room that is every bit as impressive as the rest of the hotel. The setting alone makes breakfast feel like an occasion rather than simply something you need to do before heading out for the day. The buffet was excellent, with plenty of choice, and I’ve included photos of the dining room so you can get a feel for it yourself. There was also a much larger dining room outside the glass atrium room where the actual buffet was located. It’s definitely one of those breakfasts where you find yourself thinking, "I’ll just have one more thing..." approximately seven times. Drinks and Exploring the Neighbourhood We spent one evening enjoying drinks in the ground-floor bar. It had a lively atmosphere but was still comfortable and sophisticated — exactly what you'd expect from the Alvear. The surrounding neighbourhood was another big plus. It felt safe and pleasant to explore on foot, and we were surrounded by beautiful parks, statues and some lovely architecture. We ended up doing a lot of walking, which was a great way to experience this part of Buenos Aires. Would I Stay Again? Absolutely. The Alvear Palace isn't trying to be the latest trendy boutique hotel — and that's precisely why I enjoyed it. It embraces its history and delivers a wonderfully traditional version of luxury, while still providing the modern comforts you expect from a five-star property. For five nights, our Junior Suite gave us plenty of space, the breakfast was excellent, the service was very good and the location was ideal for exploring. If you're visiting Buenos Aires and want somewhere that feels grand, historic, elegant and just a little bit extravagant, the Alvear Palace is definitely worth considering. And while I may not technically qualify as royalty, I was very happy to pretend for five nights! Verdict: A magnificent slice of old-world Buenos Aires glamour — and somewhere I would happily return to.

I love the Alvear Hotel! The staff make your experience a pleasure from the minute you check in until you check out. I will definitely return there. The rooms are beautiful and service is superb.

As one of the beautiful, grand, historic hotels of the world, we felt it was a lovely ‘achievement’ to be able to stay there. The foyer is opulent but not in an off-putting way, and it was especially lovely with festive decorations.  The delightful welcome received and room upgrade given, with the associated extra floor space to spread out the luggage, was very welcomed! And oooodles of drawer and cupboard space to unpack into was so great….an old school room with proper cabinetry is rare now as modern hotel room designers tend to think a couple of hooks on a wall will do well enough for hanging space!!!  We’ve separately reviewed our drinks/light dinner at the rooftop bar, which was sadly disappointing, and the same must unfortunately be said about the lobby bar. The waiter who served us drinks there had a serious attitude that was quite shocking!! It was an abysmal experience. So we are happy to be able to report that the team serving breakfast each morning was so much more pleasant than the ‘evening staff’ we encountered!!! The breakfast buffet had a very generous spread. It was fun exploring and working our way through the different options - many traditional, but some new and intriguing. Aside from breakfast, our other two big praises were the toiletries - very special and well chosen - just love L’Occitane verbena!!! - and the location because of the great ease of transport, and taxi/uber pick up is a breeze.  But there is definitely room for improvement in that was no tea/coffee in the room - that was about as shocking as the lobby bar waiter’s attitude!!! We gather the idea is to call to room service to bring it to you (as if you have time to wait!!!), yet there are NO prices in the menus etc.  So you would probably spend at least US$10 for a cup of filtered coffee! It should really be mandatory to display prices for such things.

We stayed as a family of three in July 2026 in a Deluxe Suite for 3 nights. The Alvear Palace is sublime luxury, impeccable room - super spacious and acres of storage space, elegant breakfast, attentive and knowledgeable staff. We felt completely safe at all times and also for storing our luggage at the hotel after we'd checked out as we had a late-night flight and they kindly offered for us to continue using the hotels facilities, the pool, showers etc. Apart from breakfast we didn't eat at the hotel, as we'd booked Tango/Dinner, used one day to visit Uruguay by ferry, had a wine tour/lunch and a cooking class organised which was a shame as the restaurants looked lovely, we did use the bar on our last evening and this was very nice. Our little guy managed a burger on room service and he's a burger connoisseur and this was given a thumbs up. A very slight negative was the view from our room which was on the left-hand side of the hotel from the entrance perspective and overlooking some pretty dingy apartments and rooftops, it would have been nicer to have been looking maybe out of the front of the hotel or on a higher floor, I want to say we were on the 9th floor but I'm not 100% certain, this is not the hotels fault of course, being in the district of La Recoleta we were expecting luxury views, but only a minor negative. For this high level of luxury though, expect to also spend high.

Five star hotel with great accomodations and service! Food could be better.