Destination: Buenos Aires
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Faena Hotel + Universe
Buenos Aires entrepreneur Alan Faena and designer Philippe Starck teamed up to produce Faena Hotel + Universe, a stunning 108-room hotel that opened its doors in late 2004. The avant-garde Faena, housed in a century-old former granary, is at once cutting-edge and historically relevant: Buenos Aires meets the Belle Epoque. Floor-to-ceiling silk and velvet curtains line the hallway leading to the popular Sunday brunch spot (El Mercato), charmingly designed with ceramics and glassware and knickknacks from the city’s antiques district, San Telmo, and the funky yet sophisticated restaurant Bistro, bedecked with white unicorn heads mounted on the walls and white leather sofas with gold claw-feet. Rooms and suites (including three new over-the-top residences) are equally dramatic, with cherrywood floors, red-velvet curtains and all-marble bathrooms. The reception area, two small desks in front of the elevators, is where the hotel dispatches its “experience managers,” butlers–cum–personal assistants who attend to guests’ needs. The state-of-the-art gym, spa (with La Prairie treatments) and hammam area is divine. Note: The hotel lies a few miles from the Recoleta area, so some guests find it a bit out of the way for many of the main sites. Rooms from $550.
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