My boyfriend and I stayed at the Design Suites for 3 nights on the recommendation of a travel agent. The hotels' location is great, lovey views over the lake and despite not being in the middle of the town, the free shuttle bus service run by the hotel works well.
Our room was nice and clean if a little warm and the bar/restaurant (good tasty food) area were very nice with friendly staff (although they do allow smoking in one area of the bar, as a non smoker I wasn't too keen on that). The highlight of the hotel was the pool/spa area and the views. The pool was so warm it was like swimming in a jacuzzi. Great gym, sauna and steam room. We got some amazing photos over the lake first thing in the morning and in the evening and it was very picturesque.

The Design Suites are very beautiful and the views outstanding. The staff, however, needs a full makeover. Service is the worst I have ever seen in this hotel category, or even lower. The hotel, although opened only three years ago, shows signs of not being well-kept.

At the buffet-style breakfast, empty trays and juice jugs sat for a long time, even after asking the staff to refill them. The scrambled eggs were gross and cold. When asked a waiter for dark bread (only white was served), she told me that they had been in operation for a short time (3 years!) and they were only serving white for now… While we were having breakfast, the staff was having Cappuccinos – I asked for one and was told no (not that it would cost more; just no); I guess they were too busy to prepare one for me.

The spa and pool area are spectacular but are in need of maintenance. None of the lockers work and some tiles have fallen off.

The hotel is not walking distance from the downtown; however, there is a free shuttle service to take you back and forth. The location has great views but the drive from town to the hotel goes by what used to be the town’s garbage dump.

The rooms are not sound-proof; we could hear a mother cuddling her baby in the middle of the night!

We had a similar experience at the Bariloche Design Suites. Management needs to get their act together because is a shame such nice locations deliver such a disappointing experiences.

We loved our stay here! My husband and I were here for our honeymoon and we had a great time. The hotel, which is very modern and cool, sits right on Lago Argentino and has amazing lake views. The hotel staff was so helpful and very nice -the front desk staff, waiters, pool up-keepers- they all spoke great English too! We had a lake view room which was beautiful - the bathroom is very clean & modern, there is a big closet and a nice TV. The room was really designed well. The pool and gym facilities were very nice - there was always friendly staff to help you, there is a nice locker room, the pool is well-heated. We also had really nice massages for a great price! The hotel helped us book our trip to the Perito Moreno glacier - same price as if you book in the city, but they only take cash. There was a free shuttle into town every 30 minutes; the town is only a 5 minute drive away. The breakfast in the morning was delicious - cereal, toast, sandwiches, pastries, yogurt , fruits and yummy juices!
We had a great time here and would definitely stay again!

Let's be honest here - there is only one reason you are coming
to El Calafate - Perito Moreno Glacier. One of the wonders of
South America, no doubts. But the "town" itself stinks.
There is one paved road crossing it with a few decent restaurants
and backpacking stores. Almost all the hotels are spread out
around the area with no good access. To get to them, you have
to drive those ugly dirt roads, no trees around, dust and dirt.
Combine it with the constant 200 km/h wind and you have trash
flying everywhere. Not a nice sight. What's really bad is that there
is no planning going on there at all. The hotels are popping up
everywhere, there is even an old airstrip left in the middle of that
mess. Anyone expecting a nice quaint mountain village will be
very disappointed.
We picked Design Suites based on very few pictures we could find
online. Looked new and modern. They never show the whole
building though - the reason is the building is built on dirt, no road
or even a clean flat area around it. The walls are standing straight
on dirt. The view is great, but the mountains are really far away from
El Calafate and the lake is nothing that amazing. It's more like
Patagonian emptiness.
The hotel itself is just plain awful. The service is bad, they don't
speak any English, but they pretend they do, so they say "yes"
and they never follow. They have a complete mess, they double
charged us for the minibar only because nobody refilled it
on the 2nd day so they found the missing bottles - charge again!
Try to talk about it with them. Everything is so overpriced and
there is no easy way to walk somewhere and buy it. They have
a shuttle running to town, but the schedule doesn't exist.
The building itself looks "modern" from the distance, but it's really
fake when you see it. Very cheap. Nothing works. Our first room
had a broken (like broken glass) window. The windows are
large and face the direct sun - it was very hot
(of course there is still the wind), but there
is no A/C. Even worse, there is no way to open a window!
They are all broken. We were able to create a little gap, it wasn't
enough. The room was so hot and there was nothing we could do.
All the rooms are like that. The modern bathroom don't work.
Ugly carpet and cheap, horrible furniture.
"Design"? Yeah, right. Overpriced trash. Avoid.