I know that several people have reviewed the Axel Hotel in BA from the perspective of a tourist, I stayed there in late January as a business traveler and have the following comments:

What I liked most:

* Extremely helpful and friendly staff: when I needed help in arranging ground transportation for a meeting in Rosario, they connected me to a reputable and dependable car service that I wound up using for the entire length of my stay. The waiters and bartenders are motivated to work there and enjoy talking with guests.
* Fantastic chef and kitchen: I really believe that the restaurant at the Axel is a hidden gem waiting to be discovered. The chef makes bold and provocative decisions about flavors and pairings that are not found in other restaurants I've eaten at in Buenos Aires.
*Stylish decor and great outdoor pool/deck area - very W Hotel-esque.

What can be improved:

*Adding a small desk with lamp & appropriate office chair in guest rooms: there are plenty of options for stylish yet functional office furniture, and it would have been great to have had work space that accomodated my needs.
*Better gym equipment: there is room to add more/better weight machines in the fitnesss center; two of the machines were broken and were not repaired in the four days that I stayed there.
*Partnership program with major airlines: it would be nice to earn miles through some airline affiliation program.

Several other reviews that I read commented on the San Telmo neighborhood where the hotel is located and yes, it does get rough and it's not pretty: I walked past a major homeless encampment about 4-5 blocks away from the hotel, but walk in the opposite direction and soon you are at a little square with a Puma clothing store, a gym, several banks, etc. and I felt at ease in this part of the neighborhood.

While there are more luxurious and business-friendly hotel options to be found in Buenos Aires, overall I am happy that I made the choice to support a gay-owned and marketed hotel. I know that the hotel management reads reviews on Trip Advisor and I hope that they consider my suggestions.

We just returned from a stay at Axel BA and found the accommodations to be top notch and the staff to be helpful and knowledgeable, with a great sense of humor. This property just opened in October 2007, and after working out initial challenges referred to by previous comments posted, it was in a great state during out visit this past week.

The design is very modern and at times borders on the absurd - exactly the kind of design that is fun to visit. I have stayed at many boutique and Tablet hotels around the world and Axel ranks at the most modern and severe in its design. If you like minimal than this is a good choice for you. The beds are well appointed and the common areas of the hotel are immaculate and very chic.

The Axel's neighborhood of Montserrat, near San Telmo, has some great restaurants and is really coming along in what it has to offer tourists. It is a great way to see the city and its colonial roots and is really good for those that like to bargain hunt and for those that want to get a feel for what it is like to live in a real urban neighborhood of Buenos Aires. The close proximity to Avenida Defensa antique shopping was a big plus - there were also many unique and edgy designer and consignment shops to explore. That being said, if you would like a more polished and commercial view on the city I would recommend Palermo's Viejo, Hollywood, or Soho.

As for it being a gay hotel, it was really great to have a LGBT centered hub to come back to in BA. Sometimes it was hard to plug into the gay community otherwise and my partner and I were thankful to connect with so many other travelers from around the world and to have an inside track to all the goings on via the friendly staff. There is also a great night life scene on site at the pool and sky bars of Axel.

I highly recommend this hotel.

Overall I thought my stay was ok. A few comments and thoughts however:

1) I am shocked the hotel has not responded to any of the comments on this site. They need to do reply to the negative comments as they are turning many people off to the idea of staying at the hotel.
2) The neighborhood where the hotel is does remain a bit sketchy. San Telmo further south by the Plaza is fine but the hotel is not in the heart of San Telmo. On my first day at the hotel as I was walking towards the main Plaza and saw a mugging mere blocks from the hotel. It was very disturbing and I am from large cities in the US so I am not a stranger to an urban environment.
3) Towels on the chairs by the pool need to be replaced more frequently.
4) Is there any way to add CNN in English or BBC World News to the cable stations?
5) Despite 1,000,000 attempts I could not get my phone to dial out for a local phone call. I even asked the front desk for help several times and it would not work. Finally the person at the front desk begrudgingly made the call for me. (I just needed to find out a particular shop’s hours.)
6) The sauna door – it was still broken! This has become a running joke now on Trip Advisor! Also some of the gym equipment was broken too. This is a shame for a hotel that just opened a few months ago!
7) Front desk help – only the manager was friendly and helpful. Many of the others were apathetic and not friendly. I think they really need a concierge (and for the rates they charge they should have one) who sits away from the check in desk and that can answer questions, offer assistance, etc.

The bottom line is they are charging a high price compared to many other hotels in BA which is fine but only if the service and property warrants it. In this case I think ythey are falling short.

The best feature about any hotel is the staff. If you smile and ask how they are you will get a smile in return. If you are humble and ask for help that what we got. We stayed for four nights from 2 to 6 January 2008 in room 309.

The hotel is a "design" hotel which has its problems. If you hung about in reception you saw other tourists wanting to come in to see the glass bottom hotel pool in the 5th level which is over the central atrim. Great concept but I do not think I want four floors of other guests looking at me from below as I swim. There is another pool on the ground level which is bigger.

I agree that maintenance is needed. The door to the sauna still come off in your hand. The 5th level pool leaks down the central atrim stairs - safety issue- the first room we were allocated - 312 - had water leaking in from the window - room 111 which is used for massage had water under the bed. The proper massage room is on the 5th level but adjoins the steam room and needs to be airconditioned. Good management will get this right or no longer be in business. We saw these as opening pains as it opened, we believe in October 2007.

The rooms could be better - a clock radio and fridge would be nice. TV with at least one english news channel also would be nice. The TV has at least 30 channels so adding BBC or CNN (English language) should be possible. It does have CNN (Spanish).

We seemed to stike a group of USA "scene queens" who were aloof unless you appealed to then as sexual partners - gym fit 25 to 35 years old. Some of the guys we met from Brazil were the reverse - some old & tubby like me & some young - but all friendly and happy to share their travel experiences.

The food was excellant - expensive but we paid without complaint as it was so good, well presented and served by knowledgable staff. Especially the wine waiter. The cost certaining what we would expect to pay in an Australian top restrauant.

The massuer was excellant. Do not get the idead that it was sexual just because it was a gay hotel. It was not and he found all those knots in my sholder from stareing at too many computer screens.