The Hotel Vista Sol Buenos Aires is, to me, almost perfect.

The hotel is beautifully designed in a modern, Ikea-like fashion, with smooth hardwood floors and dual motorized curtains that are controlled from the side of your bed allowing you to let some or no light in from outside. The TV is a modest-sized flat screen, better than you'll find at other locations in Argentina. The internet is free and was generally reliable and quite speedy. The breakfast is free and is very complete. The hotel is well located and reasonably priced. In all these respects, the Vista Sol is so much better than most hotels in Buenos Aires, which is a wonderful city but a city that doesn't boast great hotel accomodations unless you are willing to stay with the expensive foreign chains like Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott, etc.

But for all the good that I have to say about it, I will think twice before I book the Vista Sol again. For them, the design has prioritized beauty over function in my view. For example, I would echo the prior reviewers' comments about the bathroom, which is sleek looking, but not very practical. Water does splash everywhere, both from the small sink, and from the shower, which doesn't have a curtain covering all the way. Also, the bed is an Ikea-style bed without a box spring, very European / Asian style. This was not a problem for me, but if I had my girlfriend with me, I'm not sure we would've liked sharing it.

And, last but certainly not least -- the walls are paper thin. I could hear absolutely everything going on in the next room! I've stayed in hundreds of hotels in the last few years and I've never been anywhere as poor as the Vista Sol for soundproofing. Part of it may be that there was a pass-through door between the next room and mine, and certainly the stylish hardwood floors don't help in keeping things quiet, but the sound problem from neighboring rooms could be a deal-breaker for me.