Sandanzas Cultural Hostel - Buenos Aires - Reviews & Contact Details

If you are the sort of traveller that thinks meeting interesting people is one of the greatest things about travel, Sandanzas is the ideal place for you to stay in Buenos Aires. The staff is a collective of well educated locals who can tell you about every area of interest and how to get there.Tomás is a historian, Pablo is a sociologist, Verónica is a painter and sculptor, Irene is a history teacher, and Nicolás is a photographer. The hostel, named after a poem by Borges' friend Xul Solar, is located on Calle Balcarce 1351, and not as obvious as it could be: look for the awning, push the bell. You need to be buzzed in. It is as secure and safe inside as anywhere I've been anywhere. There is a total capacity for 28 persons, if every bed is filled. Most rooms share a bath (toilet, tub and bidet, mostly) but there are four full baths and a one-half bath, so this wasn't a problem while I was there. Breakfast comes with the room: coffee, hot water for tea or mate, croissants, fruit. There is a kitchen you can use with a microwave, stove refrigerator and oven. You can buy beer and soft drinks as well. There is one computer with broadband acess and Wi-Fi. There is an activities room with cable TV and DVD, a guitar or two, books, including guidebooks, and a heater in each room. There doesn't seem to be AC, but there are ceiling fans, and all rooms open on an open courtyard. The guests tend to be young and interesting and from everywhere: Austria, Australia, Korea, Germany, France, Canada, Mexico, Peru, Chile, Brazil the UK and Ireland, in the two weeks I was there. If you are headed to Brazil or Patagonia or Chile or Uruguay, the odds are that someone will come by that will love to tell you about it. It is located in Sam Telmo, a very convenient place to use as a base to venture about the city. The nearest Subte (subway) stop is San Juan about nine (long) city blocks away, but busses travel up and down Defensa and Paseo de Colon. The Subte closes down at ariund 23:00 on weeknights, but the busses run all night and there are cabs (for $2 to $7 US, most trips) on all the main streets. In Buenos Aires, addresses are numbered as in most US cities, with 100 numbers per block, so you can get an idea of where to get off a bus by looking at the house numbers, usually on an oval plate near the door. DesNivel is a parrilla (steakhouse) at 851 Defensa that Pablo or Tomas recommended, and it was great. The Plaza Dorrego on Defensa has an antiques flea market on Sundays, and all sorts of arts and crafts and other attractions on nearby streets. Make reservations: Sandanzas tends to be full. Lots of repeat travellers seem to prefer it to anywhere else.