Stylish stay at Sofitel Buenos Aires

BASE yourself in this luxury hotel in Buenos Aires and you'll be captivated by its unique ambience, writes Kathy McCabe.

The bedroom at Sofitel Buenos Aires. Picture: Sofitel

BUENOS Aires' Ezeiza Airport tests the patience of even the most zen and pragmatic of travellers. Only a lucky handful will make it through the delirious early-morning shuffle of immigration and then the baggage carousel, which moves slower than a reversing snail in under 90 minutes. Sofitel Buenos Aires, Argentina Picture: Sofitel

Even the crew are still waiting for us two hours after landing before joining the horrifyingly long and jammed queue for the X-ray machines. And then there's a 45-minute drive to the Sofitel Buenos Aires Arroyo, however the stresses of the long haul disappear as we arrive at the Argentinian "Art Deco meets Classic French" hotel in the embassy district. Joining two historic buildings into one with a long atrium entranceway, the property features comfortably sized rooms with views over a motley collection of city rooftops that dominate the skyline. Walking around the reception desk and its attentive staff, you are greeted by a pleasant whiff of the Sofitel signature scent emanating from oil burners. THE ROOM Before venturing upstairs we enter Le Sud for breakfast and marvel at one of the most stunning buffets of pastries, fruits, meat and the usual suspects on several tables. It is gluttony on an Alice In Wonderland level. With sleep beckoning, I savour mini-serves of the feast and head to the superior room which is blissfully quiet except for the bathroom noise from the resident above. The bathroom is luxuriously large with the perfect shower pressure and temperature. And you don't need a rocket science degree to figure it out - some hotel showers these days should come with a manual. The bedroom at Sofitel Buenos Aires. Picture: Sofitel Heavy with traveller's exhaustion, it doesn't take long for the fluffy Sofitel bed to work its hypnotic magic. You can get all the usual world news channels but if you are hanging with a soccer fan, you may never get them out of the room with the plethora of 24/7 game options. The Wi-Fi was reliable and room service would provide an unexpected pastry treat each day. They looked delicious but this gluten-free girl couldn't sample them. The hotel has such a unique ambience, a lot of French quirkily fused architecture with original details and loads of Latin charm. It is in a quiet avenue of apartments and antique stores on the edge of the posh district of Recoleta. The Library bar with its stuffed couches and delectable selection of canapes and more substantial fare is that kind of place where you kick off a night or can spend a couple of hours after dinner chatting over a very nice glass of local malbec. Extra bonus points are awarded to the lovely staff after I leave a treasured jacket in the bar and find it stored behind the reception desk the next day. It is a little out of the way in the embassy district, yet most of the tourist areas are accessible by cab which are comparatively cheap for the Australian traveller. The writer was a guest of Sofitel Buenos Aires Arroyo (sofitel.com). "Like" Escape.com.au on Facebook Follow @Escape_team on Twitter