We had a two weeks stay in Catalinas Suites and after the initial confirmation that the web site photos show a more updated hotel than it really is, we had a comfortable stay. I'm comparing my experience to hostales in Spain, and the rooms were well cleaned with frequent replacement (daily) of linen. Also the matresses were good (unlike Spanish beds!) so once you got used to the slightly shabby decor it was fine and the separate kitchenette with table and chairs meant we felt like we were in a flat rather than camping in a hotel room. We did have problem in the first room as the fridge wasn't working but the staff were helpful and arranged a move even though the hotel was very full. The breakfast was excellent continental style, with no restricitions to quantity. Of course we'd all love to stay in upscale hotels all the time, but for my budget I think the location was great and the staff were all very friendly.

We have just returned from our 5 night stay at Catalinas Suites over New Year of 07/08. We had been staying in a cute B&B but had to move as there was no aircon and so we checked into Catalinas. we returned at about 2.30am on NYE to find that the aircon was not working. BA was in the middle of what I would call a heatwave - temps up to 40 degrees! I called reception but they told me there was a problem and it probably wouldn't be fixed until the 2nd when the maintenance person would be in. Anyway it kind of went on and off for the next 3 days - I couldn't really tell if they were teling the truth about the aircon. The hotel is very old and not maintained well. Their double beds are actually 2 singles pushed together - with a gap in the middle!! Buenos Aires is great though - so make sure you get a good place to stay over the summer that has good aircon.

La web no tienen nada que ver. Casi publicidad engañosa. Una entrada al hotel escondida junto a una zapatería da la bienvenida. Los ascensores de jaula no funcionan bien, quedando a desnivel en varias ocasiones. La cortina del baño no estaba sujeta a las paredes lo que me costó una caida. El deayuno no es de lo mejor. Los jugos no son naturales. No hay Internet, el pc estaba malo y no tenían intenciones de arreglarlo. Si hay WIFI en lobby. Lo bueno es su ubicación, porque está cerca de Puerto Madero. No había papel higiénico en el baño y el remoto de la televisión de 14 pulgadas tardó un día en llegar

Catalinas Suites Hotel This is a run down dump in a high crime area. The photos of the rooms in the Travel Bound website do not reflect the conditions of the rooms. They are drab and in poor condition. Ours had holes in the wall with wires coming through and the vanity in the bathroom was fiber board and was falling apart and the general workmanship was very low. When we checked into this hotel the desk clerk gave us a key to check the room out. It was very poor. Travel Bound rated this as a 4 star hotel. My wife then got another room key but got stuck in the elevator trying to get there. The room was equally unacceptable. He said that was all they had and had no concern or apology for the elevator. He talked on the phone constantly and we had to wait for him to finish his conversation to ask a question. He seemed irritated at having to answer questions. Finally he found he had a room on the 1st floor (second floor up) since my wife was now afraid to go on the elevator. The room was dark and in poor condition but we took the room. Since it was hot we called and asked the clerk how to turn on the AC. He said there was a switch on the wall. We looked and it turned out to be a ceiling fan. We called him back and he said he had turned the AC on down at his desk. After a while when there was no cooling affect, we called him again and this time he said he didn’t think they had AC. As far as we could tell there was no working AC for the room we were in. We got bit by bugs because we had to leave the windows open to sleep and there were no screens on the windows.. After checking in, we asked if the area was safe walk around. He assured us it was a safe area. One day my wife was outside the hotel at the corner waiting for me and a thug jumped off a motorcycle and choked and old man in an attempt to rob him. This was in broad daylight with people around. It was extremely fast and well practiced. About a half an hour later a block away, we were sprayed with a black goop by two pickpockets who then rubbed the goop off us in a attempt to pickpocket us. Fortunately I had read about this scam and we got away from them. When we moved to a better hotel one block away a couple of thieves stole our bag from the new hotel lobby. Beware this hotel is in a very high crime area. But the impression I get from other travelers is that Argentina is a very high crime country. When the general manager of the Catalinas Suites hotel saw we had been sprayed with this black goop, he offered to get our clothes cleaned on an expedited basis. It took over a day to get our clothes back while other hotels take about 4 hours. When we got our check out bill we found he charged us a 50% surcharge for the expedited cleaning (which took over twice as long as other hotels normal service). Also the Travel Bound voucher indicated that they offer a hot buffet breakfast. They do not - just pastries, cereal etc. Bottom line – don’t stay here and beward of Travel Bound hotel ratings.