Argentina - Mendoza
I gotta say, I loved Mendoza and the Argentinian wine country, but these folks have some fantastic marketing people working for them because this place is simple. The weather isn’t considerably better than other places, it’s pretty but not even above average for a vacation spot, the town itself is pretty standard, and the wineries aren’t even close. I’m not sure what the draw is. I mean if you’re in the area sure, but this is no Napa Valley. It’s more like San Fernando valley with a ton of wineries an hour away. Don’t get me wrong, going from winery to winery is always a fun day, always, and I do love Malbecs, but you can have this experience in far better places.
Notes to self:
-Who the fuck thought riding a bike to wineries in this area was a good idea? You are literally riding a bike down a highway with cars going a million miles an hour. Sure the side streets are fun but getting there ain’t easy and it is in no way a “trail” or a “path” or anything else that a bike should be on. I’ve never heard so much buzz about something that turned out to be so impractical and stupid. Fun day though
-Mail yourself some wine next time you moron. Countless tasting rooms have the shipping process all worked out. It’s cheap and easy and these wines are fantastic.
-Tours are filled with older people, maybe a private car would be best, or even renting a car, or even renting a bike and a car so you can drive on the highway and bike on the side streets.
-Pay attention to the winery and olive oil farm schedules. They are rarely open late and lunchtime means go the fuck away.
Park Hyatt Mendoza - Feb 2013
I don’t know if this Park Hyatt is in the center of town, but it really felt like it for us. It sits right in front of a park that’s slightly larger than you want it to be, but across the park is a pedestrian friendly street with lots of patios and bars. Seemingly in every other direction there were also streets with cool restaurants and stores on them.
The façade of the hotel really does look like an old palace, or maybe a fortress. I wouldn’t call it impressive, but it is big, and very white. The lobby is nice and has a bar and seating area. There is a direct entrance to the very small and sad casino. There is also an entrance to a pretty decent wine bar and an outdoor area with a “not as sad as the casino” area, but still sad pool area (mainly it’s just small and there is too much concrete around it, but they did try).
The rooms are nice but not really nice. Certainly not nice enough to qualify as one of the best hotels in South America.
This hotel is a great home base from which to hang in Mendoza and explore wine country…but don’t expect to be dazzled. I would bet that it isn’t the nicest hotel in Mendoza by far, or for long. They do have cool and very private bungalow style resorts in the area…but I chose against that because you supposedly run the risk of armed battle with bandits in those types of accommodations…so, um, no.