Hotel Parada

“Friendly English spk staff in industrial butiq hostel setting.Very basic breakfast.Rooms could do with a deep clean rota”

5-6/1/19 We three British middle aged guys are on the start of a month in Argentina starting in BA. We had stayed two nights in Tucuman Palace Hotel originally but a dental emergency has meant we have to extend our stay in BA till Monday. For variety and economy we changed hotels to this one. We … more

5-6/1/19 We three British middle aged guys are on the start of a month in Argentina starting in BA. We had stayed two nights in Tucuman Palace Hotel originally but a dental emergency has meant we have to extend our stay in BA till Monday. For variety and economy we changed hotels to this one. We arrived at 10.45 on Saturday (mind the huge pothole outside as you arrive) to find a 'ruin' type hotel which was the old big corner house, gutted and decked out open plan, industrial, with elephant grill walkways and a trendy see through lift (which we took to floor 1 reception) from the ground level lobby (0) to the 4th floor. We were welcomed warmly by the receptionist who turned out to be Venezuelan so we chatted about our surviving that trip (2012). He sent us up to room 203. We took the lift (we had walked a long way from TPH) which was only one floor up (we should have walked!) Walked beside the courtyard and into a largeish, bright, smart room with three narrow beds (monogrammed sheets and pillows) with towels on them. A simple dusty integrated A/C unit was already on so the room was cool (controlled by the black switch by door end bed). A small window at the end overlooked Talcahuana Street. An integrated wardrobe had only three coat hangers (not enough for three people as usual) and there were no hooks on any walls which was (as usual economy style) annoying as there was no way of hanging washed (in the sink as we do) clothes out to dry. A large and very dusty central fan/light combi unit was present with the fan (quite noisy) controlled by the doorside switch (turn on and off and on till it works!). We discovered one of the towels was quite dirty with smudges and red wine stains on so I returned it to the receptionist who happily changed it quickly. The floor was (synthetic) carpeted which was welcome but we found often that clumps of long hair appeared on our beds so although comfortable the carpet was difficult to clean by the cleaners. This proved a bit annoying after our second night. The 20 inch CRT analogue TV had 70 channels all in Spanish. Films tended to be dubbed. Under the TV was a square desk with a single power socket. I moved a bedside lamp onto it but a double adapter could have been useful to power one of our laptops. The wifi in the hotel was generally good, even in the room, with multiple routers. Occasionally the service was interrupted which seems normal in BA so getting a 4G/LTE SIM is advised. The softish mattresses had plain sheets that were just big enough to fit but came lose to reveal the mattress beneath overnight. Furthermore the mattress slid over the bed base which resulted two of us falling off whilst leaning over! No injuries were sustained!! There were a bedside table at each end if the beds although the bedside lamp had blown. The room lights were a combination of two central flourescents and 12v halogen downlighters over each bed. All were controlled from the door or the bed by the door (strangely not the bed furthest from the door). The lighting was either all on (too bright) or all off (too dark). After a bit of rearranging of bulbs the situation improved. Breakfast (7-10 officially) was in a room by reception on the first floor, with sets of cramped tables and consisted of sweet pastry croissants, 'biscuits', hot coffee and hot milk from separate urns and cold milk for sweet cornflakes. My friends with dental problems could only have the coffee or milk but I was happy. It got quite busy at 9 and it was difficult to circulate in the relatively small space. A few tables in the courtyard would have eased the situation although it did rain occasionally. Invariably breakfast was still available till 11:30 as the coffee urn cooled down and lots of medialuna remained. No-one was in a rush. The first floor included the big courtyard which surprisingly did not have anywhere to sit, a lost opportunity although it may encourage late night chats and disturbing all the surrounding guests. The second floor kitchen had six gas burners, a sink but no useable crockery or cutlery but there was a fridge/freezer for cooling drinks brought in from outside. It was left a bit messy by some people and we never used it. The hotel has a recycling system which is admirable (different bins) but the breakfast was supplied with disposable polystyrene cups which filled the residuals bin which defeated their environmental objectives. There were not enough staff to clean real crockery obviously and the receptionist was responsible for refreshing the breakfast. Shower room was a combi shower, toilet, bidet and small corner boutique sink style over function) with mirrors above and a central lamp (switch typically inside door so use dry hands only) which barely gave enough light to shave (so I used my own plug in LED lamp in the socket). The water pressure was fine but the tap design made it difficult to make a jet to clear out razors. I also found if the tap was left slightly turned on it 'leaked' onto the surround and water made its way to the front to drip on your feet. No plug was supplied as usual (I have my own collection). There was a small towel rail but no hooks. The shower was powerful and hot, although the taps were under the stream so adjusting the temperature whilst getting scalded was difficult (another design flaw). The floor had to be wiped down into the gulley as usual which resulted in a lot of long hairs (definitely not ours) emerging from corners. The tiled walls could have done with a deep clean too. At one point I spent half an hour myself cleaning the walls and floor recesses (behind bidet and loo) of the numerous long hairs and gunge. I lined the bin with a British small Boots bag too and using my plastic tweezers popped the lumps of hair into it. I also sorted out the recycling to drop by the recycling (contaminated as some people cannot read it seems) bin in the kitchen. There was a bin under the sink (with no plastic bag) but no bin in the room. I built up a couple of plastic bags worth of recycling to drop by the bin in the dining room. Overnight was quite peaceful despite overlooking Talcahuano road. The hotel was quite busy judging by the numbers at breakfast but was generally quiet as it marketed itself as a backpackers' hotel as opposed to a youngsters' hostel. By our third night we needed to rewash our clothes but found nowhere to dry them in the whole hotel. As a backpackers' Hotel there should be a clothes drying terrace or space in the sun. I resorted to hanging t-shirts on the hinges of the fire hose cabinet and service pipes above the door which spoils the courtyard ambiance somewhat. My friend rehung them over the railings, ignoring the aesthetics (nobody told us off). A couple of pairs of socks went mouldy inside. I wore wet clothes about the hotel just to dry them out in the general heat. On our fourth day we had leftover tortilla, bread and a whole bottle of Viejo Vasco (from Bellagamba the night before) supplemented with fresh salads and cooked vegan food from [the TA unlisted 'Rotiseria Green Time 116' (fb) on Pres Luis Saenz Peña 116' 150m away]. We asked the receptionist if we could move a table and chairs into the courtyard and he said no problem. We 'dined' al fresco in the hot shade but it was fine (reheating the Tortilla on the stove). I really think they could make this a feature! On checking TA reviews it seems that comments on cleanliness are justified. Superficially the room is smart but the (relatively expensive) carpets have introduced a problem of hidden debris which spreads. We saw the busy cleaners occasionally but were not offered automatically fresh towels in our three nights so far (not that we are heavy users and need them). Hooks and hangers would help to dry things out. On our fourth morning we asked at reception for clean towels and were told the cleaners would supply. None appeared by midday. I re-asked the next day and we got two to help us through our last night and morning. A good thing about carpet is that phones are safe from cracking screens if dropped! The rooms therefore need the occasional deep clean, right into the dusty corners and backs of toilets. The place is busy enough, albeit economy, so the income should provide a rota of deep cleaning. On leaving I noticed the fire escape route map on the wall. I did not see any detectors or sprinklers anywhere though. Overall the hotel is very good but has some basic shortcomings which should be solvable. Staff are great and the atmosphere is convivial although some (regulated) socialising in the courtyard would help this. Cold big beers were available to buy in a reception but they were unpriced, maybe to put people off drinking too much and being a problem later. Just before submitting this I checked TA reviews to find a couple of very bad reviews from 2015 and 2016. Ancient history now but I do not believe a 'traveller' with only four posts and another single contributer!

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“Bas”

Clean rooms with shower and toilet inside. Daily service available if required. Friendly and very helpful staff. Excellent value for money. Secure setup.Stayed at this hotel thrice , March to April .Breakfast good value for cost per night.Kitchen available for preparing meals.

“It's ok.”

We stayed at this hostel for several days. The location is ok. The rooms are clean, the bed was not the best. The staff members are friendly. The breakfast was not worth it, one croissant and coffee/tea.

“Ok!”

I stayed here for 3 nights in a private room with private bathroom. The room itself was massive and the bathroom was perfect. The bed was not the best and the breakfast was not worth it. It was pretty much 2 small cupcakes in a brown paper bag you pick up at reception on your way out for the day. I… more

I stayed here for 3 nights in a private room with private bathroom. The room itself was massive and the bathroom was perfect. The bed was not the best and the breakfast was not worth it. It was pretty much 2 small cupcakes in a brown paper bag you pick up at reception on your way out for the day. I used them as snacks while i explored. Location was good for me and felt very safe a single female traveller walking around the area at night. The front desk staff were very helpful and did go out of their way to assist people.

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