Review: Say Hueque, Andesmar, CATA Internacional, ByT Argentina, Hilton

So, I decided to save all of my reviews of the various places that we stayed and services we used for one blog so people that aren't interested in hearing about these can just skip this post.  That way readers didn't have to sift through the other blogs for more interesting information.

Say Hueque
This is a company that made a presentation at our initial orientation when we arrived at the University of San Andres.  I understand why they say the are the "travel agency for independent travelers."  The people at the agency were extremely nice, so that part of the service isn't the problem - it's the support and actual value.  I almost used them for my trip to Iguazu, but what they were quoting for $510 - I found for $350.

I know that travel agencies offer the value of not having to figure some things out for yourself, so initially I felt better that I booked the Mendoza trip through a travel agency when the bus companies went on strike.  I sent my representative an e-mail, so she decided to call the hotel - I wasn't there.  She didn't reply to my e-mail until after I returned to the hotel and they told me I had a phone message from her.  I asked her about options to get back to Buenos Aires and her best advice was to just wait.  I ended up finding an airline ticket that could be reserved for up to 6 hours without payment.  I went ahead and reserved a plane ticket for the next day and then not having to pay for it, but had the strike continued at least I would have been able to return to Buenos Aires.

Overall:  I would not recommend this agency - for the amount of support they offer, you are better off just booking it for less yourself.

Andesmar
This was my favorite bus line - we took it going to Mendoza.  If I have advice for travelers in Argentina it would be to use the Omnibus service.  If you have the extra $25 USD it is MORE than worth it to take the "cama suite" option on the lines.  The seats recline like a bed, you get your own t.v., they have curtains, the seats are leather and the food is better.

Cama Suite on Andesmar

Also, the added bonus on Andesmar is that you get to play BINGO and the prize was a bottle of wine!

Overall:  HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

CATA Internacional
This is the bus line we took returning from Mendoza to Buenos Aires.  It was comparable to Andesmar because we booked the "cama suite."  The difference was the shocks on this particular bus was probably due for maintenance because it was a little bumpy at times.  The service was still good, but there was no BINGO.  Also, they only had one of the movie options in English with Spanish subtitles.  Both bus lines offered your own selection of movies.

Seats on CATA Internacional

Overall:  Recommended

ByT Argentina
This is a service that was recommended to me from one of my professors.  There is a search engine and you can rent an apartment that comes fully equipped for less than many of the hotel rooms.  The minimum stay is generally 3 or 5 days depending on the apartment.  The other catch is that you have to pay in U.S. Dollars - so you will have to come prepared.

Also, with this service I would recommend booking the transfer through their company to the apartment.  It is only $190 ARS Pesos, but they organize a car that will take you directly to the hotel you have rented.

They are kind of willing to work with individual situations and arrival times - so that helps and they will help you determine how long it will take to get to the airport and will be waiting to receive you at the apartment.

The apartment above was bigger than many hotel rooms in the city and it had T.V., WIFI and local calling included for $75 a night.  You are able to search by the area of town you want to stay in.

Overall:  Recommended 

Hilton
Hilton Buenos Aires is where we are staying on our last night in Buenos Aires.  I would recommend booking this through a website once you are in Argentina if you have the chance.  Some of the discount website like Despegar will give you a better rate in Argentine Pesos than you can get from the states in U.S. Dollars depending on the exchange rate you are getting from your bank.

The above room was about $200 USD per night.  The service has been absolutely excellent and when we showed up earlier than scheduled check-in from our bus returning from Mendoza they gave us two free drink vouchers for the restaurant and free WIFI while we waited.  The check-in time is 14:00, but they got us into our room at 10 a.m. because they told us they knew we probably wanted to shower.

Overall:  Highly Recommended


If you have any questions about the services that I didn't answer above - please e-mail me.

Ciao,

Tim

Mendoza Wine Tours

We arrived in Mendoza on a fantastic bus from Andesmar that I will do a full review of later.  It is a pretty city and a lot more clean than Buenos Aires.

We checked into our hotel and had some lunch and then it was off to tour some wineries.

The first winery that we visited was Dante Robino.  It was the more modern, industrial and higher capacity of the two that we visited.  The picture below is how they used to store the wine in barrels, but now that has been turned into this museum portion.

The picture above is the private tasting room of the family that owns the winery.  They keep 300 bottles of each type of wine on hand, I guess in case of a wine emergency.

The second bodega that we toured was much smaller than the first.  It is pictured above and you can see that building on the right looks a bit older than Dante Robino.  This winery is the Cavas de Don Arturo.  Notice there is no link... this is small enough to forego a website altogether.

This winery was much more personal than the first winery and the tour guide, Denise, was much more proficient at English.

At this winery they still complete a lot of the process manually.  This is where the grapes stripped of the leaves and stems before they are crushed and sent to the other building through underground pipes for further processing.

At this winery we ended up purchasing two bottles of Syrah Roble Premium and two bottles of Malbec Roble Premium.  We also bought grape oil, a byproduct they sell.  All of this for about $65 USD, which I thought was quite a deal.

After the winery tours we went to tour an olive oil and food dehydration processing plant named Pasrai.  It was pretty interesting to learn all of the rules behind making extra virgin olive oil.

We took a picture of all of the products they make from olives:  soap, lotion, body oil and other things.

We ended up having a tasting at this place also and big surprise ended up buying some cheap things there also.  We got a three pack of garlic infused olive oil, balsamic vinaigrette,  and balsamic infused olive oil, a dried tomato and olive oil paste and a green olive paste for around $25 USD.

It was an interesting day filled with a lot of tasting.  We met some nice people from the states that were on vacation and it turns out that one of them was actually in Argentina studying to be a Spanish teacher also.

Ciao,

Tim