I very much enjoyed my stay at this hotel, however I should preface that most of my time was spent enjoying the glaciers and dining downtown rather than living it up at the hotel.

However, for my time spent at the hotel, I was pleased by the service, enjoyed the hotel atmosphere and was impressed by the rooms. There are a few things that could be improved upon, but given the price I felt the service was in line with my expectations - to elaborate, I didn't expect over the top service but expected (and received) general courtesy, attentiveness when requested and a comfortable, clean, simple but modern room (i.e. like the pictures I had seen).

To provide some more color to my stay ...
First, in terms of areas for improvement:
1. The shower situation results in quite a wet bathroom floor. The shower head is located in a quite a large size tub however the partition between the shower area and the rest of the bathroom stops halfway across the bathtub. As a result, the sprays from the shower are not contained within the tub therefore eventually water will end up onto the bathroom floor. I found this was also the case at another hotel in Buenos Aires (Hotel Esplendor) therefore it appears this layout may not be uncommon. ??

2. When booking a tour with the front desk, they did provide a binder with all the tour activities around the area. We learned that all glacier tours originate from one company therefore whether you book from the hotel or within the city, the price is the same. (I'm assuming what I heard is true ...) We did book the ice trekking trip via the hotel and found the price to be exactly the same as what was listed downtown ... so in case you're wondering if they charge an additional fee, there's no need to fret. However, the only thing we found to be inconvenient is that you have to pay in cash at the hotel however you can pay via credit card if you head downtown. I'm guessing the inability to charge via credit card is related to some formality/policy, etc but it would be nice if this could be rectified. Since our huge party wasn't carrying a significant amount of cash and did not know about this policy beforehan, we had to book another trip in the downtown office. It was rather inconvenient but since we were going to shop downtown anyways, it wasn't too much of a hassle.

As for areas we enjoyed:
1. We were warmly received by the staff and the welcome drink was an unexpected touch. It was a nice welcome to start off our stay in El Calafate.

2. The breakfast was pleasant. Nothing elaborate but I was able to have yogurt, fresh fruit, bread/pastries, juices, coffee and tea. I think there may have been eggs but unfortunately I'm writing this review a few months later than I had wanted and so I can't completely remember. However, overall I was happy with the breakfast and definitely had no complaints.

3. The view is unsurpassed. Every room has a huge window that faces towards the lake. The hotel is situated rather high and looks directly down on the lake - if you wanted to walk down towards the lake, it's only a short walk. We noticed during our drive to our activities that no other hotel of equal caliber was located near the water with such a view ... however, I admit, this could possibly be contested but we did not notice any other hotel with such a prime view.

4. I was traveling with quite a number of people and we found the restaurant area pass the main lobby as well as a TV area on the second floor to be great places to relax, have a drink and chat with friends. (The 2nd floor area does not have a bar but you can order a drink downstairs and take it upstairs. The area is very cozy with huge couches, a flatscreen TV and DVD machine)

Overall I thought this hotel was extremely comfortable and provided the perfect atmosphere for our trip. The view was unbelievable and the service we received was what we expected for the price paid. The staff was attentive to our needs, always smiled and treated us with respect. However, as we rarely needed the staff except to help book us for our activity and only ate once in the restaurant, I thought the service and overall experience was fantastic and would definitely stay here again.