Faena Hotel Buenos Aires

The Faena is the dramatic alternative to the Recoleta hotels — Alan Faena and Philippe Starck's 2004 collaboration, the gilded interiors, the unicorn in the lobby, the El Cabaret room where the Rojo Tango show runs nightly and remains the best tango performance in the city. The location in Puerto Madero is the only meaningful objection — twenty minutes from the Recoleta restaurants and the Palermo nightlife — but the hotel has its own ecosystem (three restaurants, full spa, the cabaret) that justifies staying in the building most evenings.

For first-time visitors to Buenos Aires who want the most theatrical version of the city, this is the right hotel. For repeat visitors the Recoleta options are better located. Book the Library Suite for the proper room; the standard rooms are smaller than the public spaces suggest.

The theatrical hotel that built Puerto Madero.