Buenos Aires’ latest boutique hotel, Casa Lucia, opened in January 2024. Although the hotel is brand new, it’s set inside the historic Edificio Mihanovich building, which was built in 1929 with a lighthouse-inspired design. At the time, the 20-story building was one of the tallest in Latin America. It was commissioned by shipping businessman Nicolas Mihanovich so he would be able to watch his ships departing for Uruguay from the nearby Río de la Plata port, although he did not live to see its completion.
Today, Edificio Mihanovich continues to stand out in Buenos Aires’ skyline, and particularly on the charming Calle Arroyo in the fashionable Recoleta neighborhood that’s lined with trees, cafes, and galleries in neoclassical buildings. Casa Lucia is managed by Spain’s Unico Hotels and boasts a redesign inspired by Argentina’s golden age (1880-1940), which was completed by Torrado Arquitectos, Caroline Weissheimer, and Fernanda Schuch Studios.
When the attentive doormen usher you into the lobby, you’ll be welcomed into a light-filled, glass-ceiling atrium populated with plenty of greenery and cozy seating areas spreada cross a black-and-white checkered floor. A lighting display by Argentinian Cristían Mohaded that’s inspired by Argentina’s flag hangs overhead, the first of several artworks by local artists throughout the hotel.
Cantina Restaurant and the chic cocktail bar Le Club Bacan are on either side of the lobby. Cantina, which sports décor inspired by polo clubs, offers a large breakfast buffet that spills into the lobby, and lunch and dinner with meat as the focus, allowing you to choose from an array of cuts like T-bone, rib eye, and Milanesa style. There is a lengthy local wine list serving the region’s Malbec and Torrontes wines.
The darker Le Club Bacan is a chic cocktail haven by award-winning Argentine bartender, Martín Suaya. The menu features specialty cocktails like the Suspiro de Bandoneón, with Johnnie Walker Red Label, basil, citrus and simple syrup and the Puente, made with Tanqueray gin, red fruits, black cardamom and a toasted marshmallow. Sip your drink as you admire the mural by Buenos Aires native Alejandra Winkhaus, which used the geometry and light of the nighttime Buenos Aires skyline as a muse.
The 142 rooms feature wood paneling with neutral and black accents. Mohaded also designed the lamps in the rooms, which are meant to evoke the valleys of Catamarca in northwestern Argentina. Above the bed are black and white photographs of Buenos Aires by Argentinian native Ricardo Piñeiro.
Marble bathrooms are spacious and some rooms boast sitting areas and balconies with outdoor showers, sun loungers, outdoor dining, and panoramic river and city views.
The basement level is an oasis from the city with a gym, three-treatment-room spa and sauna, and a pool framed by mirrors and dramatic landscape photography by Marc Zimmerman.
Top Takeaways
Location: Recoleta neighborhood, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Star-Rating: 5 stars
The Vibe: A sophisticated sanctuary in the city that helps you understand why people refer to B.A. as the Paris of South America.
Our Favorite Thing About the hotel? The airy lobby that makes you feel like you’re inside a greenhouse, thanks to its glass ceiling and plenty of plants carefully placed throughout the spacious room. There are plenty of cozy nooks to sit and read or have a drink as you people watch or read.
Food + Drink: The hotel has two drinking and drinking outlets next to the lobby: the Cantina restaurant, which serves three meals a day and focuses on local Argentinian food, and Le Club Bacan, and stylish cocktail bar.
Any Neighborhood Recs? Just across the street is one of the World’s 50 Best Bars: Floreria Atlantico, a speakeasy hidden below a charming flower shop. The Shelter Coffee is a third wave coffee shop with a sleek yet cozy décor and strong brews to pair with tasty bakery items. And if you need a break from all the meat, MARTi is a beautiful, plant-filled restaurant offering a vegetarian tasting menu.
Amenities: The basement level has a small spa and pool as well as a well-stocked fitness center. There’s a nice nightly turndown service as well.
What’s Nearby? The picturesque Recoleta cemetery where the iconic Argentine first lady, Eva Peron, is laid to rest; the hulking National Library; museums Museo Roca Instituto de Investigaciones Historicas Buenos Aires, MALBA, and Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes; Teatro Colon; Mercado San Telmo; and the famous bookstore inside an old theater, El Ateneo Grand Splendid.
Rooms: There are 142 rooms and suites in total, varying in size and including marble bathrooms. Some have living areas and balconies.
Pricing: Rates from $670 per night
Closest Airport: There are two airports in Buenos Aires you can fly into: the larger Ministro Pistarini International Airport (EZE), also known as Ezeiza, and the smaller, more domestic-focused Aeroparque Jorge Newbery (AEP), which is inside the city and closer to the hotel.