Buenos Aires: Hotel Lion D'or (Hotel)

Address: Pacheco de melo 2019, Recoleta , Buenos aires C1126AAE, Argentina
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Lonely Planet Review

If you're one of those travellers who prefer character over comfort, who find creaky floorboards and cracked crown moulding more memorable than the perfect mattress, Lion D'or is your place. It occupies a converted mansion built in 1820, and some of the rooms are simply amazing.

And at this price and location, who needs room service? First things first: you have to choose your room carefully. If you want one of the beauties with a sky-high ceiling, fireplace, marble mantle, giant mirrored doors, big old-fashioned bathroom, a gilded wall-mirror, ornate trim and giant balcony doors, then you're going to have to kick down for the pricier rooms. The best in this category is room 111. If you opt for one of the cheap rooms, you get a nondescript but totally acceptable place to sleep, though that's not really what this place is about. The Lion D'or is about the fabulous arched ceilings of the entryway, the unadorned reception counter, the beautiful old wooden elevator that stops with a resounding clunk, the cracked paint, the incongruous coffee dispenser, the smell of old wood, and the perfect lack of modern conveniences.