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Four Seasons Hotel Buenos Aires is a part of the Toronto-based Four Seasons chain of luxury hotels and resorts. It is located in the city's culturally rich Retiro District.
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History
Constructed in 1992 as a Park Hyatt Hotel and renovated following its 2002 transfer, the Buenos Aires Four Seasons Hotel is a 13-floor main marble tower that combines contemporary and French styles. The main tower was built overlooking a French Renaissance-styled mansion, which houses the suites; the hotel currently houses 138 guest rooms, including 27 suites. The Mansion was a wedding gift from Mr. Felix Alzaga Unzué to his wife Elena Peña in 1920, and remains one of the most architecturally significant mansions in the Recoleta area.
The mansion adds a Parisian atmosphere to the hotel, with its stone façade and Belle Époque style. The Four Seasons Hotel Buenos Aires is South America’s only “World’s Best Hotel” recognized by Institutional Investor and rated in the Top 100 International Hotels, Resorts and Spas by Zagat in 2006.
Hotel Restoration
Francisco López Bustos is an Argentine architect who has worked on several 5 star hotels and embassies including the Irish and New Zealand embassies and business offices. His partner, Marcela Carvajal, is an expert in textiles. The restoration consultant for the mansion also worked on the restoration of the Colón Theatre Opera House.
Suites on the first floor (101, 102 and 103) have been restored to reflect classical French and Italian Styles. Suite 101 has a French Neoclassical style, but with contemporary accents. Its decor features woven and printed silks, lacquered wood, and fine marbles. The bedroom has a Louis XV and Louis XVI style. The dining room presents a more eclectical French style of the 20th Century. This room contains an armoire with Boulle marquetry, in a Napoleon III style. The living room contains two small cupboards in Chinese lacquer with Coromandel panels. All of these pieces were made in Paris during the 19th Century. An exact replica of Louis XVI's library has been made for the living room. This room also contains a Louis XV desk.
Suite 102 has a more eclectic style, yet keeping a classic-contemporary French spirit. Its living-room is decorated in a Pompeian style.
Suite 103 is closer to an Italian Belle Epoque style, and presents a livelier shade of colors. The sitting room contains a restored Persian carpet from the late 19th Century. The dresser in the bedroom is of the Belle Epoque Style, though French.
Suites on the second floor are decorated in a more intimate style, closer to English townhouses or French provincial, with period upholstery such as Toile de Jouy wall panels and draperies.