Before I left the US, several friends told me about their great experiences in Buenos Aires. Combine that with the reputation of the city, and I expected a great time for this, my last stop on the South American trip. Perhaps the high expectations made my first bad experience seem worse.
It was a long trip from Puerto Montt to Santiago and then on to Buenos Aires, so I was thrilled when the cab finally pulled up in front of my hotel in Buenos Aires - the Kimpinski Park Hotel. It was a small very elegant hotel and I couldn't wait to get settled.
While registering, I mentioned that I would love to add an extra day to my stay in the hotel and was surprised to hear that the desk clerk couldn't help me. My reservation for the hotel was with Expedia.com and I would have to contact them by email to change my reservation. The desk clerk could be of no help. He went on to imply that I would not be able to afford to stay there if I hadn't gone through Expedia.com.
In the past I've heard the derrogatory terms "white trash," "trailor trash," and "euro-trash," but after listening to this desk clerk, I truly felt like "Expedia.com" trash. It was very clear that he considered the Expedia.com folks a cut below the others staying at "his" hotel. Also, during the almost hour it took me to register, he would stop helping me anytime someone else stepped up to the counter asking for help.
I later found out that Expedia.com buys huge blocks of rooms so that they can offer great prices. The usual stay at this hotel starts at $250 a night and my rate was $120. I was very happy to pay the Expedia.com rate, but the desk clerk had no right to be condescending.
Part 2 of this rant involves trying to sign up for a tour to Uraguay. The country lies across the bay from Buenos Aires and the town of Colonia in Uraguay had been highly recommended. Again I approached my "friend" the desk clerk and was told that he couldn't call and make a reservation for me. I would have to travel to the tourist company offices on the other side of the city to arrange a reservation. It couldn't be done by phone. When asked why, he said, "They are the only tour company that arranges this trip and they are so spoiled that they don't care if they get any business. If I (the desk clerk) tried to phone them, you (me) would have to stand beside me with your credit card and even then you could not get a reservation."
After trying twice to get help making a reservation to see Colonia, I gave up. Later, I researched this on the internet and there are several sites that give you step by step instructions for making your own reservations and navigating the boat trip and the border requirements. I highly recommend doing this. I've always believed in voting with my dollar. If the tour company is too spoiled to provide basic customer service, they won't get my business. Sadly it was too late for me to arrange a trip to Uraguay before leaving and I missed out on the experience of a new country.
Also, I have to say that even though the Kimpinski Park Hotel was a lovely elegant place, I would never stay there again. I can't reinforce that kind of customer service.
Okey - end of rant. This was the worst of my South American experience, but the upcoming Evita tour turned out to be one of the best. Stay tuned.....
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